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"Nosferatu" has the distinction of being the original theatrical telling of Bram Stoker´s "Dracula." The film is widely regarded as one of the great films of the silent era and true cinematic classic. It has not always been so highly regarded. Only a few years after Bram Stoker finished his novel, director F.W. Murnau decided to adapt it to film. This decision was made without securing any rights from Stoker to make the film. Instead, Murnau changed the names of the characters and locations contained in the story. He did, however, remain fairly true to the tale. This eventually outraged the Stoker estate and all copies of the ´illegal´ film were ordered destroyed. A few less than pristine copies of the film survived. Nearly eighty years later, and the film has been restored from these surviving elements to offer what may be the best look at the picture since it was first released.
The style and look of "Nosferatu" is what makes this film special. The single most powerful stylistic piece of Murnau´s film is its star, Max Shreck. Shreck portrays Count Orlock and is easily the most intriguing looking vampire to hit the silver screen. Instead of looking like a nobleman, Murnau made Shreck more rat-like, with a pointy nose, ears and claw-like hands. The performance by Shreck is simply amazing. His appearance is enough to send chills down most viewers´ spines. The pure appearance by Shreck brought about folklore that stated he was an actual vampire and this has recently been featured in the film "Shadow of the Vampire."
Shreck is not the only visual treat in "Nosferatu." The gothic scenery and wonderful sets chosen by Murnau are perfectly matched to the story and help set the tone, which is a very important part of a silent film. Some of the special effects are noteworthy as well. A chariot ride to Count Orlock´s castle and his famous scene of rising from his coffin are noteworthy scenes featuring special effects. This DVD is the restored version of the film and also features corrected color tinting and has fixed the pace of some sequences. These restored changes strengthen an already great film and perhaps for the first time in decades the film can be fully appreciated for its visual style and eerie tone.
This remastered version of the film has some new elements added as well. Since this is a silent film, inter-title cards are used to help the viewer along and supply dialog. These cards were newly created for this DVD release. They have been ´blended in´ nicely and do not stand out from the rest of the film. Compared to the previous release on DVD, they are much nicer and a great deal cleaner. The second addition is that of a new soundtrack. The Silent Orchestra has created a new 5.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack. This new soundtrack contains New Age music and was intended to make "Nosferatu" accessible to a broader audience. Of course, the older organ music is included on a separate audio channel for purists.
Audio:
The two channels both sound incredible. They are crystal clear and utilize both the high end of the spectrum and resonate truly deep bass. The new sound track is mastered in 5.0 Dolby Digital surround. It is noticeably the newer recording between the two soundtracks and easily the more active of the two. Even though it is sonically superior to the Timothy Howard organ track, it is not as pleasing when meshed together with the film. The organ track is mastered in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. It has deeper and stronger bass than the Silent Orchestra mix. The greatest accomplishment of the organ mix has to do more with context than sonic quality. It fits "Nosferatu" like a glove. The organ track is more or less how the film should sound and offers a better overall experience. Film buffs will appreciate the stereo mix much more than the multi-channel surround mix.
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