Nosferatu:Phantom der Nacht 
 (1979)
review by Head Cheeze

Warner Hezog's retelling of FW Murnau's take on the Dracula mythos has long been a fan-favorite, and Anchor Bay has re-released their long out-of-print set of Nosferatu at a much more attractive price without sacrificing any of the extras that made the original set such a completist's dream.

Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) is sent to visit a reclusive royal named Dracula (Kinski) in Transylvania regarding a real estate deal. Harker's wife, Lucy (Adjani), senses trouble from this meeting, but Jonathan assures her that upon it's completion he will be home and they will be the wealthier for it. When Harker arrives at Dracula's castle he is immediately ill at ease, as the Count's inestimable hospitality is eclipsed only by his absolute eccentricism, which prompts Harker to delve deeper into the tales of vampirism that were told to him by gypsies en route to the castle. Dracula attacks Harker, traps him in his abode, and makes his way by ship to Bismark, whereupon he sets forth a plague with his army of rats, before seeking out the pure hearted Lucy whose life-blood he so craves. Meanwhile, Harker races back to his home by land in hopes to stop the beast.

Nosferatu is more of an homage to Murnau than a straight out remake. Many scenes are blocked and staged with an eye toward a precise recreation, showing Herzog's obvious love for the source material. While there are obvious changes made for contemporary audiences (and the fact that Herzog had both the benefits of a larger budget AND sound!), the film is very true to the original while also achieving it's own place in horror's upper echelon of quality films.

Anchor Bay's two disc set includes both the German and English language versions of the film, the latter shorter by 9 minutes, but I prefer the English version because Kinski's performance seems much more desperate and tragic. Both are presented in very clean transfers, with only some artifacting and grain during darker scenes, but this is more in line with the film stock used rather than the restorative efforts on AB's part. We are also given a "commentary" on the German version by director Werner Herzog as he is interviewed by Norman Hill about the film. A short making of documentary, and a host of trailers round out this impressive package.

Nosferatu is one of the very best film versions of the story of Dracula, and never goes out of it's way to "improve" upon Murnau's classic original, instead opting to simply expand upon that film with the means available to his modern counterparts. It's a stark and beautifully filmed tale and comes with the highest of recommendations.