NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE

(A.k.a. NOSFERATU: PHANTOM DER NACHT)

Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) wants to earn more money to support his pretty wife, Lucy (Isabelle Adjani). He gets the chance to do this when his cackling employer, Renfield (Roland Topor), ships him off from Varna to Transylvania to sell a property to the mysterious Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski).

Off Harker ventures to foreign soils, leaving his love's trust in the hands of a friend. But when he meets the Count in his Gothic settings, Dracula catches glimpse of a photograph of Lucy which Harker carries and is inspired to relocate to Varna, where ... well, everyone knows the story, surely?

With the likes of THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER, EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL, AGUIRRE THE WRATH OF GOD and FITZCARRALDO to his credit, Werner Herzog has earned his place as one of the world's greatest living directors.

Over the years he's also proved himself to be excitingly unpredictable, such as when he chose to loosely remake BAD LIEUTENANT with Nicolas Cage in the Harvey Keitel role, or when he found a new lease of life as a documentarian with subjects such as GRIZZLY MAN and THE WILD BLUE YONDER.

I'm guessing few could predict Herzog helming an adaptation of F W Murnau's seminal NOSFERATU A SYMPHONY OF HORROR in the late '70s. Few - if any - German directors would've had the audacity to even approach such a landmark piece of their country's cinematic legacy with an eye to making it their own. Herzog, a man known almost as much for his eccentricity as his genius, had no such qualms. Furthermore, he pulls off the almost impossible by remaining faithful to the source material (some scenes are recreated shot-for-shot) while adding his own interpretation to events elsewhere and successfully expanding on the melancholia alluded to in the original film. It helps that the rights to Bram Stoker's source novel had expired by 1979, so Herzog was able to use character names from the "Dracula" story where Murnau was prevented from doing so.

Adjani, also renowned for being as mad as a box of frogs, is wonderfully pretty and vulnerable here. Her doe eyes work within the context of her character in the beginning, while her reputation as a volatile spirit helps her convince as a wide-eyed disciple of darkness later. Kinski, of course, was a law unto himself: a thoroughly arrogant, detestable man off-screen, nigh on impossible to work with. And yet, Herzog made five films with him and with good reason. Here, for example, the late actor delivers a performance of poetic sadness, his mournful expression often conveying the loss of centuries that pages of screenplay wouldn't have been able to do justice to. His eyes burn with longing and regret, his wafer-thin demeanour and sickly grey pallor rendering him as pathetic as he is unsightly and sinister. He is a monster, yes, but one who feels love and hunger in a very human manner.

From the opening footage of mummified corpses in catacombs, to the stunning sight of Dracula's arrival in Varna flanked by thousands of rats, to the attentive period detail applied to the costumes and location footage, to Popol Vuh's unexpected by perfectly pitched score and beyond: Herzog's NOSFERATU triumphs as a measured, intelligent, stylish and respectfully adult interpretation of an old classic.

It stands as one of the few genuinely great horror 'remakes', alongside Philip Kaufman's INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS (I won't include John Carpenter's THE THING, because it wasn't a remake as such).

The film was shot simultaneously in both German and English languages, proving that not only could Herzog make a great film but effectively make it twice for both European and International marketplaces.

The BFI's 50gb blu-ray disc opens to a static main menu page. From there, you get the choice of watching either the English or German version of the film. Both are presented as MPEG4-AVC files in full 1080p HD. The original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 has been respected in each case, and naturally events are enhanced for 16x9 televisions.

Both transfers are generally excellent, with minor softness in imagery being no doubt inherent of the original negative. Colours are subdued but natural-looking, detail is strong especially in close-ups and blacks offer a great deal of noise-free range and depth.

Filmic and occasionally washed-out in look, NOSFERATU looks like a movie from 1979 despite this being a very clean presentation. It's worth noting that this 2K restoration was struck from a composite of an original negative and "best available print materials".

The German version carries 1.0 mono and 5.1 surround mixes. Both are sturdy, problem-free propositions. Optional English subtitles are well-written and easy to read.

For the English variant, we get a sole LPCM mono mix. Again, this is clean and consistent for the duration of playback. No subtitles exist for this version.

Extras begin with an audio commentary track from Herzog, moderated by Norman Hill. Owners of the previous 2-disc Anchor Bay DVD set will already have heard and enjoyed this. The director gives a good commentary, being witty and intelligent at all times. It's a highly informative, candid chat track - well worth a listen for anyone interested in the film, Herzog or Kinski.

Next we get an archive 13-minute on-set documentary with Herzog addressing the camera sheepishly, and in English. It's a good insight into the shoot, interspersed with clips from the completed film. Best of all, we also get a brief on-screen interview with Kinski.

A 3-and-a-half minute gallery offers a wealth of interesting stills, the best of which were taken on the shoot.

Finally we get the film's original theatrical trailer. This is a nicely ambient affair and is in pretty good nick for something 35 years old.

Also included in this set is a lovely 20-page colour collectors' booklet. Nice photography complements an insightful review of the film by Tom Milne and a new essay by Laurie Johnson. We also get full film credits and notes about the new transfer.

Werner Herzog's NOSFERATU is as beautiful, haunting and melancholic as it ever was. Kinski's performance remains truly affecting; the film has never been better served than on this blu-ray release.

The film is being released in a Steelbook blu-ray packaging, and as part of a blu-ray boxset containing no less than 18 Herzog films.

Highly recommended.

By Stuart Willis