Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht AKA Nosferatu The Vampire (1979)

[Raphph]

Have just reviewed Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht AKA Nosferatu The Vampire (1979 (check out the review link in my sig). I thought the film was the most stylish adaptation of Dracula, and argubaly one of the finest.

Just curious if anyone's seen it and what they think of it.

[ian turner]

This DVD is taking the ****, an extra 12 minutes in the german version !!! So how come its shorter than the english version by 4 minutes ?!!!! The German is 102 minutes and the english 106 nearer to the stated length of 107 on imdb despite comments about 10 minutes being removed.

[gZa]

Get the r1 - English version one side German the other + a Herzog commentary and featurette.

[Narshty]

Or better still wait for the R1 anamorphic re-releases of both versions by Anchor Bay.

[John Hodson]

Originally posted by Garry Cowell
Get the r1 - English version one side German the other + a Herzog commentary and featurette.

Why, when the R2 is a two-disk complete with both the English and German versions, commentary and featurette, plus a perfectly adequate anamorphic transfer?

I recently picked up the R2 from MVC for £6.99 (£7.99, plus a further £1 off for being a cardholder); quite excellent it is too. I think I also saw it in the (otherwise lame) HMV BOGOF sale.

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So many films, so little time...

[gZa]

Ooops! I assumed that ian turner was referring to the r2 and it sounded like an all to common r2 cock up.

[Johnny Vodka]

Isn't the R2 meant to have crappy picture quality?

[ian turner]

its the R2 Anchor bay double disk, one with German and subtitles and one in English (not dubbed but filmed each scene twice , once in each language).
The review and other sources suggest that the english version had 10 minutes docked from it but the German is 102 and the english 107 minutes long which is the stated length on IMDB

[Malick]

To answer the question (!), yeah I saw it when it came out, bought the superb original (no reprints for me!) film poster, and I love the film. Great soundtrack (which I also have).

I also have the Anchor Bay R1 DVD double disc but haven't checked it out yet.

[JulesH]

Also note that the Anchor Bay R2 is £7.99 at Play247 ;)

[davey1970]

slightly off topic, but anyone notice that the music in the plague scene in a square (I think) was on the kate bush album Hounds of Love?

Read something yesterday saying its an old traditional song and that the Bush one is just similar, but to my ears it sounded IDENTICAL - there's just a thanks to Herzog in then album credits.

anyone else think it sounds more than just similar? if anyone has heard it that is.
d

[ian turner]

yup its on the second half of hounds of love in the
concept album section and is definitely the same. Its also used in the menus section as well isn't it ?

[Mario Gauci]

Quote:

"This DVD is taking the ****, an extra 12 minutes in the german version !!! So how come its shorter than the english version by 4 minutes ?!!!! The German is 102 minutes and the english 106 nearer to the stated length of 107 on imdb despite comments about 10 minutes being removed."

Coincidentally, I was just watching this 2-Disc Set at the start of this week and I too was baffled by finding that the English language version included was the complete 107-minute cut rather than the expected 96-minute one (incidentally the only one I was familiar with prior to acquiring the DVDs, having watched it twice on TV, albeit dubbed in Italian), which would have justified the “12 minutes longer” German version advertised on the sleeve!

I proceeded to make a thorough search for DVD reviews of the disc (or discs depending on the Region) and came up with the following statement, actually taken from a review of the NTSC VHS, in the excellent “Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture” website (http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue08/reviews/nosferatu/):

“A shortened English version (shorn of 11 minutes) may also be to blame for this perception. But fans of the movie need not worry: Anchor Bay's English language release is the complete version.

I wanted to see for myself the differences in the two versions, so I set the tapes going on two VCRs side-by-side. I discovered the two versions are very similar; however, vigilant observers will notice many small differences. Because Herzog shot the English and German dialog scenes separately, the actors aren't always positioned the same in both versions. Sometimes, an actor might move slightly differently in one version, as when Harker gives a door at Castle Dracula an extra kick in the German version, and at other times, the actors might hold themselves differently, as when Herzog's camera gives us a close-up of Dracula and Kinski holds his head at a slightly more severe angle in the English version. These differences are noticeable but they are also relatively insignificant.

The editing differences, however, are more substantial. For example, in the movie's first scene, Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) wakes from a nightmare and stares directly into the camera; in the German version the camera holds on her face for only a couple seconds, while in the English version the camera holds on her face for over ten seconds. Several other similar instances occur in the movie's first hour. As a result, while introducing us to Jonathan Harker, Lucy, and Count Dracula, the English version acquires a more languorous atmosphere. The difference is relatively slight but it's definitely perceptible. (Critics have frequently complained that the movie moves a little too slowly for its own good, so the English language version may actually be to blame for exacerbating this perception.)

Dracula's ship drifts into Wismar, Germany at 1h 3m 37s in the English language version. His ship drifts into Wismar at 1h 2m 32s in the German version. None of the extra 65 seconds in the English version comes from extra scenes. Instead, it simply comes from accumulated seconds at the beginning and end of several scenes--an extra line of dialogue here, a longer camera shot there.

This pattern becomes reversed once Dracula reaches Wismar. Now the longer camera shots belong to the German version. Once again, the difference is relatively slight. During the final 44 minutes of the movie, the German version slows down slightly, allowing the movies to almost get back in sync, almost. The English language version remains slightly longer at 1h 46m 42s vs. 1h 46m 13s for the German version. It's tempting to suggest that the continuity differences may have been the result of Herzog tailoring the film for two different audiences--that Herzog thought American audiences preferred to linger over introductory scenes (as represented by Jonathan Harker's visit to Dracula's castle), while German audiences would prefer to speed through the introductory scenes and linger over the more chaotic developments once Dracula reaches the city.”

In fact, as I was watching the English language version, I did notice most of the “discrepancies” between the two versions mentioned by the reviewer. I felt a bit cheated that I did not get the edited version because, as I was thinking of buying Anchor Bay’s upcoming “The Herzog/Kinski Collection” 6-Disc Set (which includes the original German cut), I will now have 3 versions of NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE on my hands, and all with the same running time!

By the way, since the review states that both versions should run 106 minutes, could it be that the English language cut on the Region 2 disc is transferred in NTSC format rather than PAL – hence the difference in running time between the two? Finally, has anyone noticed that the Audio Commentary that accompanies the original German version ends rather abruptly, seemingly in mid-sentence, on the R2 disc (I cannot comment on the R1 as I have not watched it), especially when considering that the Scene Selection includes a still showing “The End” which is not in the film?