Nosferatu the Vampyre

Werner Herzog's eerie 1979 color remake of F.W. Murnau's original 1922 vampire classic—itself an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula—is at once faithful to Murnau and quintessentially Herzogian. Klaus Kinski is both hideous and haunting as Count Dracula, the chalk-skinned gargoyle and melancholy monster who is seeking to end his eternal loneliness, while Isabelle Adjani's dark eyes and alabaster skin lend her Lucy Harker the suitable appearance of death's bride. Herzog's only remake, the tale is a perfect fit for a filmmaker focused on outcasts and obsessives, with landscapes both rich in natural grandeur and mythic power. Herzog named the vampire Dracula, as in Stoker's novel, but kept Murnau's title, Nosferatu, in tribute to the latter, and he here pays homage to many of Murnau's memorable images in stunning re-creations while also conjuring up his own dreamy moments: the twilight hike of Bruno Ganz's Jonathan Harker (Lucy's husband) through the fog-ringed Carpathian Mountains, the ghostly aura of the deserted village, the surreal march of pallbearers parading caskets through the town square—all elevated by the ethereal music of Popol Vuh. Herzog shot the English and German versions simultaneously, resulting in subtle but palpable differences between the two seemingly identical editions. Herzog considered the German iteration more “culturally authentic,” and Kinski and Ganz in fact display a greater ease and confidence performing in that language. This Blu-ray debut features both versions, with extras including a pair of audio commentary tracks on the German version and a vintage featurette. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)