Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

• Year: 1979
• Released: 17 Jan 1979
• Country: West Germany, France
• Adwords: 5 wins & 8 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079641/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Nosferatu_the_Vampyre
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/nosferatu-the-vampyre
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: German, English, Romany
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Drama, Horror
• Runtime: 107 min
• Writer: Werner Herzog, Bram Stoker
• Director: Werner Herzog
• Cast: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz
• Keywords: small town, vampire, doctor, castle, ship,

	7.4/10
	79/100
	95% – Critics
	83% – Audience

Nosferatu the Vampyre Storyline

In Wismar, Germany, Lucy and the real state agent Jonathan Harker is a happily married couple. Jonathan’s boss Renfield sends him to Transylvania to sell an old house in Wismar to Count Dracula. Jonathan is advised by the locals of a village to return since the count is a vampire, but he does not give up of his intent. Jonathan visits Count Dracula and when he sees the photograph of Lucy, he immediately buys the real estate. He drinks the blood of Jonathan and navigates to Wismar, carrying coffins with the soil of his land, rats and plague in the ship. Along the voyage, Count Dracula kills the crew-members and a ghost vessel arrives in Wismar. Meanwhile Jonathan rides to his homeland to save Lucy from the vampire.

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Nosferatu the Vampyre Movie Reviews

the real standout is the cinematography…but it’s painfully slow.

I would like to heap strong praise on the cinematographer in his ability to make a color film that looks almost black and white. These muted colors and use of dull blues and lots of grays REALLY enhance the film and give it a beautiful moodiness and creepiness. This is by far the best aspect of the movie.

As for the acting and writing, I was less enthusiastic. In addition to the stark lighting and cinematography, the acting itself was VERY stark and way too subdued. The moody scenery was good–the moodiness of the acting was NOT. While the movie should not have been high energy, at times it felt like it had almost none and tended to bore me from time to time. With a SMALL does of adrenaline, it would have been a lot better. The slowness of the film just seemed too much and the film would have improved by just speeding up the filming, as there are just too many long and deliberate scenes. Some see this as artistry–I see it as just too over-indulgent.

Although very dated, I still think the original is the better movie of the two. Unlike NOSFERATU (1979), it was unique and not just some come lately remake. And, and many ways, the original silent version is more haunting and terrifying.

Nosferatu through the eyes of Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog was, and still is, a very talented film-maker, but he’s not the only reason as to why to see ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’. That it is based on a classic story, had a larger than life, commanding and great actor in the title role in Klaus Kinski and that it was a re-make of the 1922 Murnau masterpiece ‘Nosferatu’ were further interest points.

Admittedly did question as to whether ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ would work, being a re-make. Re-makes hardly ever are equal to their originals and some don’t even come close. There is no doubting which is better and more influential between Murnau’s film and this, but ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ is a strong example of a re-make that works well, with the Murnau film being a very clear influence, and is a very good film on its own terms. Found myself never questioning its necessity, like can be the case watching re-makes.

The ending is a little rushed and doesn’t quite have the unforgettable chills or power of the 1922 film. Personally had little problem with the acting, but a couple of actors did deserve more screen time, a notable example being Van Helsing. Can understand the criticisms with the pacing, ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ to me actually worked very well as a deliberate mood piece and as a film told through primarily visuals but maybe yes it could have taken a little less longer to get going.

‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ looks magnificent, perhaps one of Herzog’s most visually striking and most atmospheric films. This is coming from the director whose films were also well-made and looked great but when his films are being talked about this element can be upstaged by the talking about the themes and Herzog’s trademarks, which are undeniably fascinating to read and talk about but Herzog’s production values are worthy of a little more credit. The colours dazzle, the lighting is very atmospheric with a striking contrast of light and dark, the production design is both audacious and eerie but how the camera shots and editing are composed.

Popol Vuh’s music score is both unsettling and dream-like, matching the nature of the visuals perfectly. Typically Herzog directs splendidly, delivering on the substance as well as the style. The script flows surprisingly well and is cohesive, and the story is rich in an atmosphere that’s at times grimly eerie and at times contemplative. Despite calling it a re-make, ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ is more a faithful homage while also having significant updates and expanding on the titular character’s tragic loneliness.

Klaus Kinski is in towering form as Nosferatu. He is genuinely scary in a larger than life way, almost as nightmare inducing as Maximilian Schreck, but counter-points that wonderfully with tragic pathos delivered with heartfelt sincerity. While the other actors aren’t quite as good the divide isn’t as wide as one would think. Isabelle Adjani is suitably ethereal, making even more of an impression are Roland Topor’s creepy, skin-crawlingly so, Renfield and Bruno Ganz’s assertive but vulnerable Harker (a role much better acted than most, a notoriously bad example being Keanu Reeves in Coppola’s otherwise often impressive film). Walter Ladengast is suitably low-key though with not a role as meaty as ought.

Overall, great film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Werner Herzog’s remake of the silent vampire classic is a thing of beauty: an intensely visual viewing experience in which every shot is as carefully composed as a landscape artist’s painting. Indeed, NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE is a feast for the eyes, packed full of beautiful Gothic imagery from beginning to end. While it lacks the power of the director’s earlier AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD, this is nevertheless a compelling film of the type to be savoured It’s a superbly judged movie in which every scene has been carefully created to contribute to the eerie atmosphere.

It opens with a chilling pan over a number of real-life mummified bodies (actually filmed in Mexico) and from there throws us into a dark and compelling world. Kinski, so frequently Herzog’s muse, is as good as Nosferatu as you’d expect, a mixture of the repellent, the pitiful and the disturbing. Isabelle Adjani makes for a suitably ethereal heroine, matching the best of the Hammer scream queens. Bruno Ganz, later to come to some acclaim for his performance as Hitler in DOWNFALL, gives one of the most interesting interpretations of Jonathan Harker that I’ve seen in an adaptation of the Stoker novel.

In the end, though, it’s Herzog himself who holds the attention here with a film that could be split into individual frames and sold for its artistic beauty. The highlight is undoubtedly the rat invasion halfway through, in which the streets are seething with vermin and townsfolk hold an impromptu “last supper” to celebrate. As much a Gothic masterpiece as you’d hope for.