Nosferatu

Pros: horrifying and fascinating in many ways
Cons: not all could be restored, it seems; my netflix copy seems flawed

True horror. What does that bring to your mind? For me, after watching 1922’s silent horror feast called Nosferatu (meaning the undead), true horror comes to life when it reveals the universally mythic qualities of nightmares. In cinema this ...

Pros: Classic movie, Max Schreck as the Count, Revolutionary Direction
Cons: Some production errors but you can look past that

Nosferatu was the first movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It did not take on the same title as the novel because it did not get the approval of Stoker’s estate. The production company was successfully sued and ordered to destroy ...

Pros: Schrek's makeup.
Cons: Slow, predictable, silly acting.

Going in to F.W. Murnau’s 1922 movie NOSFERATU, I was already aware it was basically a retelling of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. Stoker’s widow sued over copyright infringement, and won, so I knew of the connection. However, I didn’t know just how similar. ...

Pros:

Disturbing, with Max Schrek’s horrific appearance, and F. W. Murnau’s highly visual, poetic direction

Cons:

Technically primitive, with a few unintentionally funny moments and portrayals

The real estate agent, Hutter, traveling to the Carpathians on business, to a clutch of fear-squeezed villagers, then into a land of forestry and mountain ghosts, is met by Graf Orlok, who with knees and elbows scrunched in tightly, scuttles from the ...

Pros: Brilliant direction, cinematography, imagery, atmosphere. A classic. Kino "Ultimate" best restoration yet.
Cons: Some acting may seem dated. Original score not action-specific. Some tinting odd.

With epinions URLs changing over time, reviews sometimes disappear. A review I had written about a previous issuance of NOSFERATU (1922) is no longer accessible. With the release on November 20, 2007 of Kino's 2-disc "Ultimate Edition," I now combine ...

Pros: A dark nightmare that gripped audiences worldwide and shows little diminution now.
Cons: The Munich Film Museum Edition (assembled from around the world) is scarce.

UPDATE: For fans of the seminal classic NOSFERATU, let us note that SHADOW OF A VAMPIRE, a fanciful depiction of events around the making of the film, starring (of course) John Malkovich as Director F.W. Murnau and Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck...

Pros: Great Vincent Price, Interesting Plot
Cons: Cult Type 'B' Movie

By no means a new movie, The Abominable Dr. Phibes was absolutely great. When Vincent Price who plays Dr. Phibes loses his beautiful wife, he's determined to avenge her death on the doctor's who let her die. With his eerie assistant, Vulnavia, he...

Pros: This is the definitive tale of Dracule.
Cons: It's way too short.

I am going to write a three-part review of the major installments of the legend of the undead. This is the first review, of NASFERATU. I am a purist, and perhaps somewhat of a snob, but I turned off the sound on my television so that I could view this...

Pros: Good cinematography, and Count Orlok is creepy.
Cons: Not really frightening, and the enthusiasm to make this film seems to have drained out of everyone once the first half was past.

I'd heard great things about it, an unashamed rip-off of Stoker's classic with enough changes to avoid being sued. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to expectations. A much truncated version of 'Dracula' (presumedly due to cost) it starts off promisingly,...

Pros: Second is Series, Good Sequel
Cons: 'B' Movie for Vincent Price Lovers

As the sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Vincent Price reprises his role as Dr. Phibes. This time he comes back from death, at a predetermined time, so he can try and bring his beloved wife back from death. He is in search of an elixir to assist...

Pros: The Best Adaptation Of Stoker's Novel
Cons: NONE

F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" is my favorite interpertation of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". With Max Schreck as the horrible vampire, this 1992 silent film is a classic. Probably the most frightening and definitely the most eerie...