8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok — portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck — who soon after embarks upon a cross-continental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land...
Starring: Max Schreck, Greta Schröder, Gustav Von Wangenheim, Georg H. Schnell, Gustav BotzForeign | 100% |
Horror | 82% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.32:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Before Twilight and Let the Right One In, before Interview with the Vampire and From Dusk Till Dawn, before even Carl-Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr and Tod Browning's Bela Lugosi-starring Dracula, there was and always will be 1922's Nosferatu, the sickly, terrifying progenitor of them all. (Their "maker," in vampiric parlance.) What Fritz Lang's Metropolis did for science fiction, F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu did for horror, giving the genre its visual DNA, congealing its thematic tropes, and providing a grim tonal template for the future makers of cinematic nightmares. It's a near-miracle, though, that the film even existed long enough to have this kind of influence. Not only is there the sad fact that so many silent classics—including some of Murnau's own—have simply been lost to time, but Nosferatu, as an entirely unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, also faced legal annihilation immediately after it was made. Stoker's widow, not unreasonably, brought a lawsuit against the film's producers in Germany for copyright infringement, and the courts ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed.
The film opens with a description of the restoration work that was entailed:
"Nosferatu was restored by Luciano Berriatúa on behalf of Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Weisbaden in 2005/06. A tinted nitrate print with French
intertitles from 1922 from the Cinémathèque Française, Paris, was used as a basis for the restoration.
Missing shots were completed by a safety print from 1939 from Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin/Koblenz, drawn from a Czech export print from the
1920s. Other shots were taken from a nitrate print of the 1930 version, distributed under the title Die Zwölfte Stunde (The Twelfth
Hour), preserved at the Cinémathèque Française, Paris.
Most of the original intertitles and inserts are preserved in a safety print from 1962 from Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin/Koblenz, originating in a print
from 1922. Missing intertitles and inserts were redesigned on the basis of the original typography by trickWilk, Berlin. They are marked with F.W.M.S.
The lab work was carried out by L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna."
This is quite simply the best Nosferatu has ever looked on home video. As a film in the public domain, it's seen numerous releases by less-than-
reputable distributors using thrice-duped, badly tinted, and poorly mastered prints. Kino-Lorber has aimed for a more definitive presentation, using an
original print and attempting to stay true to the film's intended appearance. While not as immediately jaw-dropping as the recent Friedrich-Wilhelm-
Murnau-Stiftung restoration of Metropolis—which was given the frame-by-frame clean-up treatment—Nosferatu is gorgeous in this new
1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Specks and scratches still remain throughout, but the print's grain structure is preserved, with no signs of adverse noise
reduction or edge enhancement. Detail is massively improved from previous editions—with finer textures and sharper lines all around—and both the
contrast and color tinting are balanced perfectly. This edition is by far the best way to appreciate Nosferatu's stunning visuals.
Note: The first disc of the two-disc set features reconstructed English intertitles—using a great Art Deco typeface—while the second disc includes German
intertitles, some original and others reconstructed.
Update (11/20/13): At first glance, it appeared to me as though both transfers were identical, but on closer examination—and thanks to the
sharp eyes of some of the readers in our forums—it's obvious that the German edition on the second disc is superior. It's visibly sharper throughout, and
when compared back to back, the English version is slightly but noticeably cropped. Purists will want to stick with the German version, which is
comparable in quality to Masters of Cinema's U.K. release.
Kino has supplied the film with a partially speculative rerecording of Hans Erdmann's original score, some of which is lost. The music is as eerie as the imagery, complementing the onscreen horrors with deep cellos, clanging cymbals, and piercing brass. Presented in either the default lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track or an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 stereo mix-down, the arrangements sound fantastic—rich and clear and dynamically expansive. We couldn't ask for better.
Nosferatu's influence—from its stark visual style to its editing to its grim tone—can't be overstated. This is a pioneering cinematic nightmare that can still send shivers up your spine today. It belongs in every horror lover's film collection, and Kino-Lorber's new Blu-ray is by far the best edition to purchase, featuring English and German versions on separate discs, a striking high definition presentation, a rerecording of the original score, a fifty- minute documentary about the making of the film, and excerpts from other F.W. Murnau classics. Highly recommended!
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens / Dracula
1922
100th Anniversary Edition
1922
Preservation Cinema / Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
1922
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
1979
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam
1920
دختری در شب تنها به خانه میرود / Dokhtari dar šab tanhâ be xâne miravad
2014
Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage
1926
AIP Cut | 60th Anniversary
1963
1932
[•REC]⁴: Apocalypse / [•REC]⁴: Apocalipsis
2014
Temnye vody
1993
Dèmoni 2... l'incubo ritorna | Standard Edition
1986
La perversa caricia de Satán
1976
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
1920
Quella villa accanto al cimitero
1981
Лептирица | The She-Butterfly | Limited Edition
1973
El jorobado de la Morgue
1973
Terrore nello spazio | 2K Restoration
1965
1980
1968
Вий / Spirit of Evil
1967
The Mask of Satan / La maschera del demonio | The Mario Bava Collection
1960
Dracula / Warner Archive Collection
1958