Nosferatu

Starring:Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta SchrÃ¶der, Alexander Granach, Georg H. Schnell, Ruth Landshoff, John Gottowt, Gustav Botz, Max Nemetz, Wolfgang Heinz, Albert Venohr, Heinrich Witte, Karl Etlinger, Hardy von Francois, Eric van Viele, Fanny Schreck, Guido Herzfeld
Director: F.W. Murnau
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Werner Herzog's remake of F.W. Murnau's original vampire classic is at once a generous tribute to the great German director and a distinctly unique vision by one of cinema's most idiosyncratic filmmakers. Though Murnau's Nosferatu was actually an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Herzog based his film largely on Murnau's conceptions--at times directly quoting Murnau's images--but manages to slip in a few references to Tod Browning's famous version (at one point the vampire comments on the howling wolves: "Listen, the children of the night make their music."). Longtime Herzog star Klaus Kinski is both hideous and melancholy as Nosferatu (renamed Count Dracula in the English language version). As in Murnau's film, he's a veritable gargoyle with his bald pate and sunken eyes, and his talon-like fingernails and two snaggly fangs give him a distinctly feral quality. But Kinski's haunting eyes also communicate a gloomy loneliness--the curse of his undead immortality--and his yearning for Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) becomes a melancholy desire for love. Bruno Ganz's sincere but foolish Jonathan is doomed to the vampire's will and his wife, Lucy, a holy innocent whose deathly pallor and nocturnal visions link her with the ghoulish Nosferatu, becomes the only hope against the monster's plague-like curse. Herzog's dreamy, delicate images and languid pacing create a stunningly beautiful film of otherworldly mood, a faithful reinterpretation that by the conclusion has been shaped into a quintessentially Herzog vision. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Resurrection of the legend:.......2007-05-22

Fifty seven years after F.W. Murnau, Herzog resurrected the Dracula's legend with this film in which his favorite actor/best friend/worst enemy Klaus Kinski played the title role as a very tired, very quiet, very lonely Count Dracula who looked like he literally had not slept for centuries. The film is undeniably Herzog's and has many of his signature signs - the stunning views, the slow deliberate pace, the eerie music, the dreamlike atmosphere, the admiration by the nature and its indifferent to the humans' worries power and remote beauty; even the story of the ship with all crew members dead as the result of the horrible mystery. Breathtakingly beautiful Isabelle Adjani plays an object of Dracula's obsession and the contrast between his ugliness and her divine beauty is simply mesmerizing. In this film, the pure-hearted and brave woman takes it upon herself to face off the undead evil. By the time, Dr. Van Helsing arrives with the stake and hammer, his services are not required.

Count Kinski.......2007-05-15

Best Count Dracula I've ever seen.

Kinski is a marvel, in fact, the entire cast is spot-on perfect. Direction and writing, cinematography...just about flawless--and this is praise from someone who was never a huge fan of Dracula to begin with. A friend suggested I see it, and am glad I did.

Better than Bela, than Lee, than Peter Cushing, et al... Kinski is the man. Some talent.
R.I.P.

a good reinterpretation.......2007-05-12

This film is a wonderful reinterpretation of the 1922 original. It includes dialogue by the characters, while still maintaining a sense of being more visual than audio-based.

I recommend this to anyone who loves the Dracula mythology, especially if you like the 1922 original.

Nosferatu, aka Dracula, has found a natural heir.......2007-02-22

A remake of Murnau's Nosferatu. It speaks and it is full of colour. Very standard remake but a few changes are difficult to explain. For instance Mina and Lucy are inverted and Jonathan is married to Lucy. It may be Bremen but it looks like Amsterdam but with the sea next door. We have the same idea of a plague. But the director takes liberty with this plague and seems to organize at the end of it some kind of open air festivity and Last Supper for the survivors soon to be dead anyway. Morbid in other words. Herzog keeps the ending in which Lucy sacrifices herself by giving herself to Dracula to make him trespass the cock's crowing line. And she succeeds. A vampire in love is thus very silly and selfless enough to forget his survival instinct. But Herzog doubles up the ending with a good stake planted in Dracula's heart, but in the wings, and the arrest of Van Helsing for the murder of Dracula. He will be tried sooner or later. But the best change is that Lucy is dead and Jonathan has completed his transformation and has become a full-fledged vampire and we recapture the ending of the original where the danger of a next generation was left open. Here it is clearly stated and we see Jonathan crossing Europe again on horseback probably to go to his castle in Transylvania. The main interest of the film is not there. The main interest is in the phenomenal actors used for the main three characters and of course the absolutely astounding make-up of these actors. In other words, make-up added, this film recaptures the phenomenal body language and body expressivity of the old Murnau's film. It explains the fact that it does not seem to have very rich dialogues. It is all happening in the movement and syntax of the bodies on the screen.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

GREAT REMAKE OF AN OLD CLASSIC.......2007-01-14

I LOVE THE MUSIC AND FEELING OF THIS DVD. A GOOD CHOICE

Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy

Average customer rating:

WOW!
Good Value
BUY THIS!
Kinski, One Of The Greatest Actors Of His Generation?
A Match Made In Hell

Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy
Starring: Herzog , and Kinski
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005YKXQ
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Amazon.com

The six-film Herzog/Kinski boxed set is a sleek compilation of a visionary cinematic collaboration. The history of cinema is dotted with great directors who have found an actor whose face, voice, and style capture that director's point of view: Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich; John Ford and John Wayne; Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. In 1972, the German director Werner Herzog cast Polish actor Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God--the result was perhaps the definitive film for both. Kinski had previously made almost 100 films, but his malevolent role--as a Spanish conquistador obsessed with finding gold--shot him into international stardom. Though Herzog and the volatile Kinski were at each other's throats through much of the filming, seven years later the director cast Kinski as the tortured vampire of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Night (a color remake of the silent horror classic) and the title character of Woyzeck, based on the classic expressionistic German play about a jealous, unstable soldier who murders his lover. Both films continued the Herzog-Kinski trademark of intense unflinching emotion and the palpable presence of the raw physical world.

In 1982, Fitzcarraldo carried this ethos to new heights as Kinski portrayed a man who, in order to bring grand opera to the depths of Peru, has a huge steamship hauled over a mountainside using ropes, pulleys, and human endurance. The mad ambition of the film matched that of its hero as Herzog repeatedly placed crew and actors at risk of their lives. Nonetheless, the love-hate relationship between the director and his star carried them into one last film, the uneven but still remarkable Cobra Verde, about a Brazilian bandit sent to Africa to reopen the slave trade. After Kinski's death in 1991, Herzog made a documentary, My Best Fiend, about their decades of collaboration; the result rivals their previous work as a testament to human extremity. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

WOW!.......2007-05-18

The quality of the DVDs is among the best. Picture and sound is great. I had only ever seen "Nosferatu" before getting the set. "Fitzcaraldo" has become one of my favorite all time movies since getting the set. The documentary "My Best Fiend" is wonderful.

Good Value.......2007-02-23

I already had two of the films in this set, "Nosferatu" and "Aguirre", so I looked into buying the others separately. Buying the set was less expensive, so that's what I did and gave the duplicates to the local library. I compared the disks before giving them away, and the ones in set were the same as the individual editions. Highly recommended for Herzog and Kinski fans.

BUY THIS!.......2006-03-03

I can't help but add my voice to the chorus of positive reviews for this set. It is without a doubt the most well put together dvd box set I have ever seen. Even the packaging is awesome. Whoever is responsible for the physical look of this collection should win a product design award or something. All the movies (except Woyzeck) have very entertaining and insightful herzog commentary and most of the movies have english tracks aswell. I'm not sure what restoration was done on these movies but they all look great! I would say that if you are thinking of buying any of these movies alone on DVD just go ahead and opt for the box set. Chances are, if you like and understand the Herzog aesthetic, you will love all of these movies! Cobra Verde, which I once thought was the weakest of the Herzog/Kinski efforts, has become my favorite upon multiple viewings. Could not have a higher possible recommendation!

Kinski, One Of The Greatest Actors Of His Generation?.......2006-03-03

I think that he is, his on screen presence is as powerful as any actor I have ever seen. From the dark ferocity, burning evil of Kinskis portrayal of 'Nosferatu'; without question he is the greatest 'vampire' to have ever graced cinema. To the manic depressive/shockingly haunting eyes of his portrayal of 'Woyzeck' his character in the films name-sake; indeed one of the most troubled yet somehow believeable characters seen on film.

Woyzeck versus Travis Bickle?....that would be an interesting answer.

Outstanding.

A Match Made In Hell.......2005-09-14

It is said that all drama stems from conflict and there was certainly no shortage of it between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Their relationship reminds me of a troubled romance that is doomed to eventually fall apart, but ignites with such passion when the two are together that it's more than worth the grief. One would expect an arrangement of this nature to result in one or two films before the rift became so great between director and actor that they could no longer tolerate one another. Yet, there exists an undeniable sense of brotherhood between these cinematic legends that underlies their artistic struggle.

I can't tell you how pleased I am to have this set after all these years. Including "My Best Fiend" in this set is absolutely essential for a complete appreciation of the unique relationship Herzog and Kinski shared. As has been mentioned before regarding the documentary, there is a sense of one-sided storytelling as Herzog lays out Kinski's many flaws. And, yes, one has to wonder just which man had the larger ego after hearing some of Herzog's rather polished explanations. While it would have been nice to have Kinski there to argue his side of the story, it's still a unique and fascinating look into the creative lives of two very different sort of men.

Of the films themselves, I'm most fond of Nosferatu and Woyzeck, but Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo are truly magnificent epics. I just have to find myself in a particular mood to watch the latter, where the former always hold my attention. In my opinion, Woyzeck is the most overlooked of the Herzog/Kinski collaborations. Certainly Cobra Verde is an inferior film, but it at least has a reputation. Considering Woyzeck was finished in just 18 days with only 27 cuts, I like to think of it as a little miracle.

I've seen Kinski in other films and I've seen works by Herzog without Kinski and it's clear to me that, with a few exceptions, their best work came when they worked together. So, do yourself a favor and pick up this set, then settle in for some intense viewing. And, whatever you do, don't pass on the documentary!

Average customer rating:

Vampire mold
Nosferatu
creepy and creepy
Different soundtracks make big diffeence.
Quite good overall.

Nosferatu
Starring: Max Schreck , Gustav von Wangenheim , Greta Schröder , Alexander Granach , and Georg H. Schnell
Director: F.W. Murnau
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000055ZB8
Release Date: 2001-01-02

Amazon.com essential video

As noted critic Pauline Kael observed, "... this first important film of the vampire genre has more spectral atmosphere, more ingenuity, and more imaginative ghoulish ghastliness than any of its successors." Some really good vampire movies have been made since Kael wrote those words, but German director F.W. Murnau's 1922 version remains a definitive adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Created when German silent films were at the forefront of visual technique and experimentation, Murnau's classic is remarkable for its creation of mood and setting, and for the unforgettably creepy performance of Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a.k.a. the blood-sucking predator Nosferatu. With his rodent-like features and long, bony-fingered hands, Schreck's vampire is an icon of screen horror, bringing pestilence and death to the town of Bremen in 1838. (These changes of story detail were made necessary when Murnau could not secure a copyright agreement with Stoker's estate.) Using negative film, double-exposures, and a variety of other in-camera special effects, Murnau created a vampire classic that still holds a powerful influence on the horror genre. (Werner Herzog's 1978 film Nosferatu the Vampyre is both a remake and a tribute, and Francis Coppola adopted many of Murnau's visual techniques for Bram Stoker's Dracula.) Seen today, Murnau's film is more of a fascinating curiosity, but its frightening images remain effectively eerie. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The greatest horror film of all! A long time ago in middle Europe, a decrepit, forbidding castle stood. Casting an ominous shadow over the townspeople who dare not look upon it, the unholy dwelling is home to one Count Orlok (Max Schreck), an undead night creature with a taste for human blood. Showcasing the extremely eerie Schreck, "Nosferatu" is the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula," stylistically directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau. Now available in this gorgeous newly remastered and rescored by The Silent Orchestra in 5.1 audio.

Customer Reviews:

Vampire mold.......2007-06-27

For anyone interested in horror films, this is a must to add to your collection. The style has become the mold for countless generations of vampire movies, up to and including Bela Lugosi's version (His is the definitive modern version). The dark cinematography is enhanced by the otherworldly makeup. It's only after a few minutes that you realize that it is a silent movie, and you really don't care. A later remake with Klaus Kinski was made, but it hardly comes close, although it gets kudos for its homage to the original by keeping it as close to the original plot, with filler scenes added to make up for the short movie length. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Nosferatu.......2007-06-18

Still the eeriest and most atmospheric of all the Dracula films, Murnau's "Nosferatu" gave the German director an opportunity to explore experimental visual techniques--like stop-motion and negative exposures--in bringing Bram Stoker's version of the legend to the big screen. But his biggest coup was in casting the mysterious Max Schreck (rumored to be another actor's alias) in the title role. With his rat-like features, ghastly pointed ears, and long, talon-like fingers, Schreck doesn't seem at all like a creature from our planet. Murnau completed the effect by filming on location in Eastern Europe. The result is a Gothic chiller you simply can't miss.

creepy and creepy.......2007-06-08

a little long for me but good to have for nostalga's sake. very creepy at times. a classic.

Different soundtracks make big diffeence........2007-06-08

"Disgruntled" refers to a previous review and not Nosferatu.

There are a number of different "versions" of this movie distributed by different companies. I bought the Keno version, and the transfer and tint quality are excellent. However, I had previously seen the movie with a pipe organ arrangement and was dissapointed with the orchestral arrangements on the Keno DVD. Not that there is anything bad with the music, it's just that the pipe organ creates a creepier mood for me. I then bought the Image companies offering and am very pleased with the pipe organ soundtrack, though the DVD transfer is not quite as good as the Keno. I would have given 5 stars if the Keno video and the Image audio were on the same DVD. Oh, and the audio commentary is admirable in ponting out the symbolism and stlye of the film. great movie.

Quite good overall. .......2007-05-12

For a film released in 1922, the archivists in Italy did a very good job in their judicious splicing together of the few existing prints of this film (which are of varying quality) to produce the best possible transfer that we shall probably ever see. However, both musical accompaniments have their weak points. Still, I would recommend this film to any silent film fan or discerning fans of films based (or in this case "inspired") by DRACULA.

Average customer rating:

Vampire mold
Nosferatu
creepy and creepy
Different soundtracks make big diffeence.
Quite good overall.

Nosferatu (1922)
Starring: Max Schreck , Gustav von Wangenheim , Greta Schröder , Alexander Granach , and Georg H. Schnell
Director: F.W. Murnau
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006JDSI
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Amazon.com essential video

Album Details

Overture to the Opera the Vampire, Copmosed by Heinrich Marschner and Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror, Composed by Hans Erdmann.

Customer Reviews:

Vampire mold.......2007-06-27

Nosferatu.......2007-06-18

creepy and creepy.......2007-06-08

a little long for me but good to have for nostalga's sake. very creepy at times. a classic.

Different soundtracks make big diffeence........2007-06-08

Quite good overall. .......2007-05-12

German Horror Classics (Nosferatu (1922) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Waxworks / The Golem)

Average customer rating:

Great collection of German silent classics
Awesome for those who get it!
German silent horror masterpieces in definitive prints
Landmarks in film history
The Height of Silent-Era German Expressionism

German Horror Classics (Nosferatu (1922) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Waxworks / The Golem)
Starring: German Horror Classics
Manufacturer: Kino Video
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Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Fritz Lang Epic Collection (Metropolis/Die Nibelungen/Woman in the Moon/Spies)
M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition)
Faust
Destiny (1921) aka Der müde Tod

ASIN: B00006JMQJ
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Customer Reviews:

Great collection of German silent classics.......2007-06-19

F.W. Murnau's interpretation of Dracula, "Nosferatu", is a visually powerful film and perhaps the eeriest of all of the cinematic versions of the tale. In Max Schreck Murnau seems to have found an actor who was born to play the role of vampire Count Orlok. This combined with the vision of Murnau produces several unforgettable scenes in a tale most people already know very well - Orlok walking through Hutter's bedroom door, Orlok rising from his coffin on board the ship, and the shadow of Orlok walking up the stairway to Ellen's bedroom door, just to name a few.
Extra features on the "Nosferatu" disk include:
1. a still photo and promotional materials gallery (18 images)
2. More than 30 minutes of excerpts from the Murnau films "Journey into the Night" (1920), "The Haunted Castle" (1921), "Phantom" (1922), "The Last Laugh" (1924), "Faust" (1926) and "Tabu" (1931).
3. Scene comparisons between the Stoker novel, the script, and the film itself.
4. An excerpt from a 1938 Orson Welles radio performance.

"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" has a man, Francis, sitting in a garden reciting a tale of horror to another man involving a mad doctor, Dr. Caligari, and his sleepwalker, Cesare, who supposedly has the ability to tell fortunes that turns into a tale of murder. At the conclusion of the tale, though, you realize some things that make you doubt whether the tale as it was told is the truth at all. The story is very Hitchcock-like in its open-ended meaning, and the art design looks like it had a heavy influence on Tim Burton, with its oddly angled and decorated doors and hallways.
Extra features include:
1. a 44-minute condensation of Caligari director Robert Wiene's "Genuine" (1920) which represents nearly all of the surviving footage.
2. a sketch, photo and posters gallery (40 images, not counting detail closeups)
3. clips of Wiene on the set of I.N.R.I. (1923) (3 minutes)
4. excerpts from a German language print showing the calligraphic artwork of a few of the original intertitles (7 minutes).

"The Golem" lays the cinematic groundwork for the 1931 motion picture version of "Frankenstein" . In character design, wardrobe, and interaction with its creator and the world around it, the two monsters do resemble one another. In this case, "The Golem", is a monster created from clay and magic rather than from spare body parts and science, and the monster's creator is a Rabbi. I think I was more shocked to see a Rabbi portrayed as someone who openly dabbled in the black arts and astrology than anything else the film offered. The Rabbi is even shown conjuring up a "god" - Asteroth - and forcing him to produce the life-giving word to bring "The Golem" to life. If this is how Germans perceived the practice of the Jewish religion in 1920, fifteen years before the Holocaust began, it might explain a great deal, but nothing about this aspect of the film is mentioned in the extra features.
The extra features include:
1. an excerpt from a rough 1937 American print of Julien Duvivier's Le Golem (1936) [6 minutes]
2. a comparison of creation sequences from diverse sources such as Wegener's The Golem (1920), the Chayim Bloch book The Golem (1925) and F.W. Murnau's Faust (1926)
3. a gallery of stills, illustrations and promotional materials [15 images].

"Waxworks" is really more of a fantasy tale than a horror story. It has a young man applying for a job in a wax museum with the task of writing stories to accompany each of the exhibits. This allows the film to be turned into a series of rather imaginative short stories in various exotic settings.
The extra features for this film are Paul Leni's experimental short film Rebus-film No. 1 (1926), and an excerpt from The Thief of Bagdad (1924).

The prints are all good quality and the accompanying scores really fit the mood of the individual films. This set is probably a good place to start exploring German silent film. My only real complaint was a lack of a commentary track on the films. Certainly, don't fall for the budget releases that are available for some of these films. They are usually incomplete and certainly not restored. Unfortunately, silent film restoration costs money, but in Kino products you get what you pay for in good transfers and complete works.

Awesome for those who get it!.......2007-02-19

I purchased these as a piece of history and was not dissapointed. Kino obviously has their act together and I will be buying more of their high quality movies in the future. It is obvious that the greatest care was taken to make these DVDs as clean and clear as possible, and those of you who will actually enjoy watching something as facinating as silent expressionist films will totally love these. Those of you who laugh and crack jokes during the show (you know who you are!) won't appreciate the quality and should rent something stimulating like "Friday the 13--Part Seventy-Four" instead.

German silent horror masterpieces in definitive prints.......2005-09-25

When it comes to horror films, I am far off the beaten path and in another world. I like my horror subtle and moody and intelligent, not the modern slasher and splatter variety. Four of my all-time favorite horror films are the German Horror Classics silents in an elegant (and expensive--$70) boxed set from Kino Video-THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919), THE GOLEM (1920), NOSFERATU (1922), and WAXWORKS (1926). This boxed set is perfect for Halloween season, year after year. It is the ultimaTe show and tell at parties. Kino has the finest and longest prints, with original roadshow color tinting and a variety of evocative new music scores. You get what you pay for, and you are averaging only $18 a movie.

Most prints of Robert Weine's DR. CALIGARI only run 52 minutes, in B&W. This collection has it color-tinted at 75 minutes from a 35mm German film archive print and with two music score options-modern jazz or soft orchestra. This is the first great horror film, about a traveling circus with a madman and his murderous assistant. Also included on the disk is a 48 minute condensation of another Weine film, GENUINE: THE TALE OF A VAMPIRE (1920). A CALIGARI photo gallery is included.

THE GOLEM, from star/director Paul Wegener, is set in a medieval German town. A giant clay man helps save a village from an evil dictator. This was the forerunner of all the FRANKENSTEIN movies. It runs 86 minutes, from the Munich Film Archive, with a new music score.

Paul Leni's WAXWORKS was made in Germany only a couple of years before he did THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1927). Jon Marsalis provides a lush new music score. The movie has the original roadshow color tinting and runs 85 minutes. A young scholar is hired to write wax museum program notes for statues of Jack the Ripper, Harrun al-Raschid, and Ivan the Terrible. This is the finest print I have ever seen of this.

The crown jewel of this exquisite Kino boxed set is a restored, way longer than usual 93 minute archive print of Murnau's NOSFERATU. (I've seen several prints that only run 63 minutes!) You get what you pay for from Kino, the Rolls Royce of the DVD industry. An unauthorized, yet definitive, film of Dracula, this lovely print has full color-tinting and a choice of two different music scores. You also get a photo gallery and lengthy excerpts from several other Murnau silent films.

Happy Halloween with true chills from Kino with their German Horror Classics boxed set. Again, it is expensive, but a true labor of love for serious collectors. You know who you are. Now to choose between this and the Val Lewton Collection, the new 3-disk WIZARD OF OZ, and a special two disk PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)! (REVIEWED ON 35MM ARCHIVE DVD)

Landmarks in film history.......2005-08-12

What an amazing boxed set. Wow. Works on every level. On a technical level, Kino Video has done a great job of presenting these films. They look great, have awesome menus, really cool extras, and each movie has two different music scores to choose from.

Now, onto the movies themselves. These are some truly great films. The most famous, and truly the most terrifying, is "Nosferatu." A groundbreaking feat from a legendary director, this is an atmospheric and chilling twist on the vampire legend (and quite a liberation from Bram Stoker's vision). I'm no film studies expert, but I know that a lot of the filming techniques here are pioneering, and produce a great "symphony of horror."

"The Golem" is an adaptation of an old Jewish legend dealing with the ancient branch of Hebrew mysticism known as Kabbahlism. (I wonder if all those Hollywood A-list types have seen this movie!) It is an eloquent and frightening tale of the chaos that results when man meddles with powers beyond himself; the Golem is Proteus' fire, or Victor Frankenstein's monster, or John Hammond's dinosaur theme park. A timeless message, presented here in a religious context. Quite a remarkable movie, boasting the best score of all the movies in this set.

"Waxworks" is perhaps less weighty than these first two, but no less entertaining. It's sort of like Madame Tussaud-meets-Scheherezade (pardon my poor spelling!). A compelling story well told, with good acting and pacing. Very good.

Finally, we come to "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." I've arranged my reviews in order of my esteem, and this one comes last because it fell short of my expecations. The story is fascinating. The set design, casting, and costuming are probably the best in the field of German expressionism (which is saying something) but the pacing of the film, in my opinion, is really off, and that causes it to drag a little bit. It's still a real thrill ride; after all, the story of a madman who uses a tragic somnambulist as a pawn in his diabolic schemes is wonderful. The set design and the actors work together to create an atmosphere as chilling and surreal as anything Tim Burton has ever done. It's just a little slow.

Over all, this collection is a must-have. German expressionism was a visionary art movement, one that died long before its time. The ultra-realism of most modern (and primarily American) art has its limitations, and expressionism, a sort-of counterpoint to realism, is a refreshing change. Furthermore, these movies are remarkable simply for their gravity. Although I love many movies from the 40s and 50s, it seems that many movies from that time were more pulp, whereas some silent movies were profound and human in a way that's often hard to find in cinema. (For example, compare Tod Browning's "Dracula" with Murnau's "Nosferatu." Both great, but Browning's is a bit more whimsical and stylized, I feel, whereas Murnau's is operatic.)

And so, whether you're a fan of all things antique, just a film buff, deutcheophile (try that one on for size!), or a sucker for horror flicks, this is a great buy.

The Height of Silent-Era German Expressionism.......2004-10-04

Like most artistic "isms," expressionism is difficult to define. In a general sense, it refers to art where the artist is less interested in depicting reality than in making a highly personal statement about a specific subject. Since this occurs to some degree in virtually all art, expressionism has very deep roots--but in the early 1900s it began to develop into a very specific arts movement, most often associated with the stage, where the legendary Eugene O'Neill would prove a master of the style. But it was also very specifically associated with post-World War I Germany, and in 1919 director Robert Wiene would create the first purely expressionistic film: THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI.

The film divided both critical and popular response, but once pure expressionism reached the screen it touched off a series of German films that dabbled in the style to at least some degree. This memorable Kino Video box set collects four of the most famous: the aforementioned CALIGARI, the 1920 THE GOLEM, the 1922 NOSFERATU, and the rarely seen 1924 WAXWORKS. Both individually and collectively, these films and others like them have cast an extremely long shadow, influencing directors as diverse as James Whale, Frederico Fellini, and Bob Fosse.

CALIGARI, THE GOLEM, and NOSFERATU are widely available in various "budget" releases, but it has been my hard-won experience that in such situations you get what you pay for: most are unwatchable. The Kino editions, however, are very much "best case" prints, contrast balanced and with original tints restored. Short of full digital restoration, this is as good as it gets, and while they may seem pricey in comparison they are well worth every cent.

Sadly, none of the DVDs offer significant bonus material. This is particularly unfortunate in the case of CALIGARI, which is such a unique film that it alone would be worthy of a double DVD edition. Still, the occasional bonuses are entertaining if not greatly satisfying, and even with this drawback the box set as a whole--and every title in it--is a must-have for any one who is seriously interested in world cinema.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Average customer rating:

Vampire mold
Nosferatu
creepy and creepy
Different soundtracks make big diffeence.
Quite good overall.

Nosferatu
Starring: Max Schreck , Gustav von Wangenheim , Greta Schröder , Alexander Granach , and Georg H. Schnell
Director: F.W. Murnau
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht
Battleship Potemkin
M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition)

ASIN: B0000897C4
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Amazon.com essential video

Album Details

Overture to the Opera the Vampire, Copmosed by Heinrich Marschner and Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror, Composed by Hans Erdmann.

Customer Reviews:

Vampire mold.......2007-06-27

Nosferatu.......2007-06-18

creepy and creepy.......2007-06-08

a little long for me but good to have for nostalga's sake. very creepy at times. a classic.

Different soundtracks make big diffeence........2007-06-08

Quite good overall. .......2007-05-12

Horror Classics Triple Feature, Vol. 1 (Metropolis (1927) / Nosferatu (1922) / The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Average customer rating:

Terrible product...
Metropolis and other classics on DVD! To die for!
Two Stars For The Flicks...
three good movies, but there's a catch
Amazing movies raped by garbage DVD transfer

Horror Classics Triple Feature, Vol. 1 (Metropolis (1927) / Nosferatu (1922) / The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Starring: Alfred Abel , Fritz Alberti , Grete Berger , Erwin Biswanger , and Ellen Frey
Director: Fritz Lang
Manufacturer: Rph Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Battleship Potemkin
The Birth of a Nation
Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Nosferatu

ASIN: B000065Q9N
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Customer Reviews:

Terrible product..........2004-09-16

This dvd is pretty bad. I've seen the online trailer for the kino dvd release and the picture quality on the streaming quicktime movie was better then the picture quality on the "triple feature" dvd.

Metropolis and other classics on DVD! To die for! .......2004-08-15

Above standard triple feature DVD chock full of classic and deserving films. This review will discuss each film included on the disc, explaining the movie quality, picture quality, and audio satisfaction.
Nosferatu: The tale of a century old, immortal vampire creature named the "Nosferatu". This is an undead creature that has survived since 1443 and has superhuman qualities. This film tells the experience of two innocent villagers who encounter the evil creature. Jonathan Harker and his wife Nina are living their usual lives, when Harker receives a strange business letter from a rich count that wishes to buy a house adjacent to theirs. The sequences when Harker arrives at the castle and falls into the clutches of the count are frightening even to today's standards. A memorable scene is with Harker in the count's castle bedroom. He opens the door to the mess hall, to see the count standing motionless at the fireplace, 7 feet high. Harker literally grins with fear and shrinks into his bed. Later, Harker manages to return to Bremen, just when the plague has hit. The count arrives by ship, killing the crew in his wake. The plague curse can only be broken when the dreaded and powerful vampire is destroyed.
A classic silent film and a very entertaining one. However, note that this is NOT the restored Nosferatu included on this triple feature. Instead, we view a scratchy, 80 year old, fuzzy focused print. It is quite watchable, but inferior to the more recent Kino Video release. The film looks and sounds its age frequently on this DVD.
Phantom of the Opera: My very first horror classic was this 1925 masterpiece starring Lon Chaney Sr. My favorite movie of all time. The Phantom is physically a mountain, and has face is terrifying. It takes a whole mob to outwit and kill this cunning man, who is far worse than your average film villain. Countless classic moments. Note that this isn't a film for young children. The transfer here is suitable.
Metropolis: The son of a heavy authority in a futuristic city discovers the bleak conditions of the working class, who live in the underground catacombs of the city. The young man works to fight the slavery. However, when the authority, the man's father, discovers floorplans in the uniforms of workers killed in a machinery accident, he orders his threatening accomplice, C.A. Rotwang, to construct a robot of a worker girl to cause revolts. There is a near apocalypse of the giant city when the ranks clash in a revolting fight. Also a historical classic directed by Fritz Lang.
The title cards during the film are legible, but the print looks rather overexposed and pale. This is also the oldest DVD print available and certainly not the best. If you are picky for quality and want a superior print, buy the Kino DVD.
This first volume of the "Triple Feature" Collection by Navarre Entertainment contains three classic films, and is well worth the extra money. The picture quality is from old, unrestored prints, and will displease intolerant viewers. But this DVD is recommended for carefree horror classic fans, which include me and some reviewers here on Amazon.

Two Stars For The Flicks..........2004-05-25

Nosferatu is the finest vampire film ever, Lon Chaney makes a spectacular phantom, and Metropolis is one of the most haunting and majestic films ever created, but the transfer of these films are so horrible on this disc it's insane. The image is unbearably painful to watch and actually gave me headaches. Buy all 3, just avoid this disc.

three good movies, but there's a catch.......2002-11-13

All three of these movies are very good, but the image quality isn't good. I found all three movies watchable, but would definitely prefer a nicer copy. If you are willing to pay more for one movie than you would here for all three you will definitely see and appreciate the difference. These are silent movies so the audio tracks are music - not original recordings, so the sound quality is better.

Metropolis - A sheltered young man in a futuristic society comes to realize the slavery on which is society is based and works to fight it. This is a very good movie - my favorite on this disk, though I would probably have put it on one of the science fiction disks - not horror. The titles are all readable (which is import in a silent film!). The worst problem with this copy is that a large number of scenes and shots are too pale and look very overexposed. The visuals were often frustrating but I was always able to see well enough to see the important details and the story was engaging enough to keep me watching.

Nosferatu - This is the story of Dracula. They changed some of the names and I couldn't tell whether they were trying to pretend it was not Dracula. The vampire was called "Dracula" once in the movie that I caught. (I'm sure there's some history I could read up on if I cared enough.) I didn't find the movie all that scary but most of the original elements were there. The vampire makeup was not very mobile so the vampire seemed card-boardy. Some of the titles were cut off by the screen width which was annoying but I was still able to follow everything. Another reviewer mentioned that this version is also a bit cut up with some interesting pieces missing, which I didn't know from watching this version. If you are a serious Dracula fan I know that there are other editions available and you would probably prefer one of them. For myself, I found this sufficient.

The Phantom of the Opera - A disfigured and insane man lives in the catacombs beneath an opera house and gains a reputation as a Phantom. He falls in love with a singer and helps her reach stardom but when she falls in love with another man he kidnaps her and trys to kill everyone who gets in the way of his marrying her. I enjoyed this one a lot, though I kept expecting them to break into the music from the Broadway production. This was a very well done film at the time with some very impressive sets that feel like real spaces. This is probably the best quality video on the DVD of the three movies. Everything is visible including the falling chandelier, the titles are readable and don't get cut off. One scene is done with a red light to very interesting effect when the Phantom arrives at a masquerade ball costumed as Death. With this film I think you are losing less against a more expensive separate release.

Amazing movies raped by garbage DVD transfer.......2002-10-10

I never realized people had the balls to make such abysmal tranfers of films and sell them on DVDs.

The title of Fritz Lang's film sums it up. It's misframed, scratchy, and fuzzy focused. You only see, "Metropo". The rest is off screen.

The DVD is complete garbage. If I could return it, I would.

Customer Reviews:

Good transfers of great films.......2004-07-14

The five titles in this collection are available separately, and you can find in-depth reviews for each. So I'll keep my review of the entire collection more general. Murnau, of course, was one of the giants of silent cinema, and four of these films are masterpieces. (Tartuffe is a bit weaker than the rest, IMO.) It's surprising how well these films hold up today as works of art AND as entertainments. Only the comedies of Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd are more compelling. Now for the discs:

Nosferatu: The best-looking North American transfer of Murnau's most famous film right now, with a longer running time and more accurate aspect ratio than most. The extras are skimpy; for example, the scene comparison is a good idea, but poorly executed since there isn't a clip from any other Dracula movie to compare it with! Best of all is the English-language trailer for Herzog's remake -- hidden as an Easter Egg. My only real complaint is that both music scores are terrible.

The Last Laugh: The earliest and poorest transfer of the bunch. My guess is that this was done before Kino's excellent restoration of Metropolis, when they started thinking more carefully about the DVD market. It's still acceptable, but the extras are even worse than Nosferatu's. At the very least, they could have provided a liner note essay!

Tartuffe: A fine transfer of the weakest film of Murnau's mature period. It will interest fans of his work, and the liner note essay offers a convincing analysis of the film-within-a-film framework. But the real gem is the 35-minute documentary on Murnau provided as an extra. Well worth checking out.

Faust: My own personal favorite, and the transfer is brilliant! There is a degree of decomposition and debris, but sections of the print appear almost pristine! Few extras (only a picture gallery), but who cares when the transfer of a silent film is this stunning?

Tabu: This is a Milestone/Image disc, not Kino. Surprisingly, it offers the most extras, including out-takes and a nice commentary track. The transfer is pretty clean, but unfortunately there is extensive cropping at the top of the frame throughout (something that Kino is much better at avoiding). The *original* music score definitely sounds its age, but isn't overly distracting.

Final words: Although I have reservations about the transfer of Last Laugh and Kino's lack of extras on its older discs, I highly recommend this collection. Value dictated my decision, and I bought the whole collection, which reduced the average cost per disc to a reasonable $21.50. The extras also come off better when taken as a whole.

Average customer rating:

Vampire mold
Nosferatu
creepy and creepy
Different soundtracks make big diffeence.
Quite good overall.

Nosferatu
Starring: Max Schreck , Gustav von Wangenheim , Greta Schröder , Alexander Granach , and Georg H. Schnell
Director: F.W. Murnau
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Horror | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht
Battleship Potemkin
M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition)

ASIN: B00005R87K
Release Date: 2002-01-22

Amazon.com essential video

Album Details

Overture to the Opera the Vampire, Copmosed by Heinrich Marschner and Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror, Composed by Hans Erdmann.

Customer Reviews:

Vampire mold.......2007-06-27

Nosferatu.......2007-06-18

creepy and creepy.......2007-06-08

a little long for me but good to have for nostalga's sake. very creepy at times. a classic.

Different soundtracks make big diffeence........2007-06-08

Quite good overall. .......2007-05-12

Average customer rating:

Vampire mold
Nosferatu
creepy and creepy
Different soundtracks make big diffeence.
Quite good overall.

Nosferatu
Starring: Max Schreck , Gustav von Wangenheim , Greta Schröder , Alexander Granach , and Georg H. Schnell
Director: F.W. Murnau
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Horror | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht
Battleship Potemkin
M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition)

ASIN: B0001EFTTM
Release Date: 2004-02-24

Amazon.com essential video

Description

Famed German director F.W. Murnau's creepy adaptation of Nosferatu, stills holds up today as one of the greatest horror films of all-time. With an absolutely ghoulish performance as Count Orlok (Max Schreck) and the superb visual style and special effects of the film's German Expressionist filmmaker, Nosferatu has lodged itself in the cultural subconscious where it has left impressions impossible to erase. Collectible poster included

Customer Reviews:

Vampire mold.......2007-06-27

Nosferatu.......2007-06-18

creepy and creepy.......2007-06-08

a little long for me but good to have for nostalga's sake. very creepy at times. a classic.

Different soundtracks make big diffeence........2007-06-08

Quite good overall. .......2007-05-12

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