View Full Version : Silent Nosferatu - BFI Version
Lik Mearse
22-01-2002, 16:59
Fellow Blood-Suckers,
the fourth(?) R2 UK release of "Nosferatu" is apparently out courtesy of the BFI - with the James Bernard score....
Nosferatu - A Film by F W Murnau
Germany / 1922 / black and white and tinted / silent with music / 89 minutes / HiFi Stereo Cert PG
DVD additional features: film essay by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling (24 mins), on-screen biographies of Murnau and Bernard, and downloadable ROM content of notes by Ennio Patalas on the restoration of the film.
The print has been restored by the MŸnchner Filmmuseum and the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna, and replicates the tints and tones revealed in the nitrate original. Presented by Photoplay Productions, this version also features a new music score by James Bernard, who scored many of the classic Hammer horror movies - including the 1958 Dracula.
At last, I can buy with confidence.
Yours Bitingly,
Lik.
Fantastic!
The score is wonderful - I'm ecstatic to replace my old Channel Four videotape.
Although I have the new US special edition (which is pretty bloody good in its own right), the orchestral score adds infinitely to the experience, in my opinion, brilliantly capturing every scare and the extraordinary atmosphere.
It's so sad that James Bernard (the composer who scored the BFI restoration) died such a short time ago, but he was churning them out right up till the end.
The 2 disc Eureka version is fantastic too, and well worth considering. I've never heard the Bernard score, but the one on the Eureka disc by Art Zoyd (I know nowt about him or when he did it) is wonderfully 'out there'.
You also get the film in tinted version, black and white, making-of, and a commentary (read by an actor). Great stuff.
You can now buy the 2 disc set in a £25 box together with Murnau's Faust. I bought it last week but haven't watched Faust yet.
Maybe if the BFI disc is all that it'll be a film to own on 2 seperate releases. Feel free to report back anyone - particularly if you can do a comparison.
Stunning film in any case.
Originally posted by Narshty
...I have the new US special edition (which is pretty bloody good in its own right)...
Is this another different score and another different commentary to the 2 UK editions?
(One problem with the Eureka set is that so little info is given - about the commentary or the composer)
The US special edition by Image has two scores - one electronic by the Silent Film Orchestra (two guys, basically), the other a fairly pallid organ score by Timothy Howard.
For the full sweep and majesty that's always eluded the film, now reinstated by James Bernard's wonderful orchestral score, plus what looks to be a gorgeous restoration, then the new BFI disc is the one to own.
feverpitch96
23-01-2002, 00:41
Originally posted by McD
You can now buy the 2 disc set in a £25 box together with Murnau's Faust. I bought it last week but haven't watched Faust yet.
Are you quite sure that this box includes the 2-disc Eureka and not simply the one-disc version? I got the impression that it was one disc Nosferatu and one disc Faust.
:confused:
Originally posted by feverpitch96
Are you quite sure that this box includes the 2-disc Eureka and not simply the one-disc version? I got the impression that it was one disc Nosferatu and one disc Faust.
It contains the identical 2 disc Nosferatu. I've now had three of the 5 UK releases (counting the box set), and checked to see if both 2 disc versions were the same, right down to the bar codes and 'Shadow of The Vampire' trailer stickers. They are.
I swapped my discs, putting my old one in the box, so that I now have an unwatched one, in brand new condition as it is sold separately. So not such a bad deal at £25.
UPDATE: I've just double checked. The outside packaging IS identical - but the box set Nosferatu did not contain a booklet. The booklet itself is informative about Murnau and Shadow of The Vampire, but not about the actual discs and extras.
And the artwork on Disc 2 is different!!!
Faust is on a single disc, the same as the separate release, with a commentary track.
feverpitch96
23-01-2002, 10:58
Waaaaaaa! :(
Blackstar already list this double-pack as unavailable!
What a pity the standalone Faust disc is 20 quid...how much WAS the LE double?
Now if only some one would release F W Murnau's <I>Sunrise</I>.
Thank god I got it taped off FilmFour during the holidays! :D
Kevin Harper
23-01-2002, 12:44
Originally posted by Garry Cowell
Now if only some one would release F W Murnau's <I>Sunrise</I>.
:D
And what about Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL with the superior Carl Davis Score ?
For anyone remotely interested, I’ve done some investigating into Art Zoyd, composer of the Nosferatu score on the Eureka DVD, that I was raving about the other day.
Art Zoyd is actually the name of a band, a French experimental group (rock/jazz/classical apparently) who’ve been on the go since 1968! The Nosferatu score was composed and released in 1989.
I’ve watched the film again since the above posts. The score wont be to everyone’s tastes, but any major fan should definitely pick up the Eureka disc as well as any others they choose to get. Aside from the score, which appears to be unique to this disc, and the tinted version of the film, the extras are also excellent – including some great shots of the locations as they are today.
I’ll probably get the BFI disc too, but the 2 disc Eureka remains highly recommended.
jonathan.e
24-01-2002, 18:14
Originally posted by Garry Cowell
Now if only some one would release F W Murnau's <I>Sunrise</I>.
Thank god I got it taped off FilmFour during the holidays! :D
Be afraid, be very afraid - Tartan have the rights to this.
Ghost Dog
24-01-2002, 18:16
The Eureka disc is very good and you get two versions of the film, ome tinted, one black and white.
Picture quality is reasonable although quite alot of print damage. I rather like the Art Zoyd score too. The extras are worthwhile also.
I am dubious about the BFI disc although it has the James Bernard score, I have not been very impressed with the quality of most of their previous releases. So I'll wait and see first.
I don't think you've too much to worry about with the BFI version - even if they use the same broadcast master as the Channel Four screening, it'll be a stunner.
I've never seen the film look cleaner - there was still a decent amount of minor scrapes and scars, but the lack of huge splices and blotches was wonderful.
Kevin Harper
26-01-2002, 17:40
Originally posted by Ghost Dog
I am dubious about the BFI disc although it has the James Bernard score, I have not been very impressed with the quality of most of their previous releases. So I'll wait and see first.
Nothing to worry about - the quality is excellent - I have just bought the DVD and can report it as as good as you could possibly want from a film made in 1921. Nice and sharp and as Christopher Frayling points out in the 24 minute documentary also on the disc - it is the first print to have the original tints put back on and with the superb James Bernard score is the definitive version of the film. The print also has the graphically drawn intertitles and a nice menu based on the original poster artwork. A classic film give a superb treatment.
How many other films over 80 years old still stand up well today ?
Where'd you pick it up, Kevin?
Everywhere, including online merchants, is out of stock (not even the Oxford Circus megabranch of HMV had a copy, or the Tottenham Court Road of Virgin Megastore).
I just presumed it was the BFI being very slow in getting the stock out (as per usual).
Anyway, good to hear a mighty thumbs up from someone real (as opposed to the bloke on Amazon).
Kevin Harper
27-01-2002, 10:05
I got mine at BORDERS, after trying the usual high street outlets (HMV, VIRGIN, WH Smith etc) for £19.99 - a bit pricey but it was an impulse buy. I realise it is cheaper online but no-one seems to have it in stock.
I'm awaiting mine from Play for £14.99.
I'm not the wealthiest of playboys, so even with a birthday coming up, every penny counts! :)
feverpitch96
28-01-2002, 01:39
Originally posted by Kevin Harper
I realise it is cheaper online but no-one seems to have it in stock.
Erm, Blackstar appear to have it...?
Kevin Harper
28-01-2002, 10:49
Originally posted by feverpitch96
Erm, Blackstar appear to have it...?
That makes two of us then !!:)
How does the BFI compare to other available versions (Image SE and Kino on R1, French R2)?
I'm not impressed with the BFI picture in this comparison:
http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/nosferatu-3.htm
The BFI picture is steadier, and cleaner. But it isn't as sharp as the others, probably as a result of extensive cleaning - some background information that can be seen in the other versions is lost in the BFI. Of the three versions I have - Eureka R2, BFI R2, and Image R1... I'd rate the BFI picture as the least satisfactory. The Eureka doesn't 'tint' the image into day and night scenes - but you can work these out for yourself, and for some reason the BFI disc has at least one night scene tinted as day. Over 2 discs, the Eureka offers the film in a sepia tint or plain old B & W. The Image and Eureka disc are both different remasterings from the same print - the Image is the better one. And the Image and Eureka discs have the best (and very similar) extras - the Image presentation wins on a photo finish. However - you have to take into account the scores given to these films, and even with two scores available, the Image disc falls short. The disc is given great scores on the BFI and Eureka discs (the latter in Dolby 5.0). The BFI disc has a traditional, but not overbearing, great horror score. And Eureka features an anachronistic Avant Garde noise-fest - which shouldn't work, but works exeptionally well over every scene. Overall, I'd probably rate the Eureka disc as the best, but there isn't a definitive 'Best Buy' and not likely to be either. If I was to part with one of the three versions I own, it'd be the 'best picture & best extras' Image version without a doubt!
Januaryman
27-02-2004, 15:18
Kino's edition of Nosferatu is also mastered from a color-tinted 35mm negative restored by the Cineteca del Comune die Bologna at the laboratories of L'Immagine Ritrovata. It is licensed by Transit Films on behalf of the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden, Germany.
It also includes"
- Lengthy excerpts from other films by F. W. Murnau: Journey Into the Night (1920), The Haunted Castle (1921), Phantom (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), Faust (1926), Tabu (1931)
- Two musical scores in digital stereo (neither very good, tho)
- Photo gallery
- Scene comparison: novel, screenplay and film
New and improved English intertitle translation
Just got this and am pleased but not overwhelmed. I also have the very first Image disc that is clearer but more cropped at the top and bottom. I'll just wait and see if a better disc crops up before spending more gelt on the BFI. (though it sounds tempting!)
ice-angel
27-02-2004, 20:50
Originally posted by McD
The Eureka doesn't 'tint' the image into day and night scenes (...) Over 2 discs, the Eureka offers the film in a sepia tint or plain old B & W.
Ahem... there was a re-issue of Eureka's 2-disc edition after the initial batch. In the re-issue, the B&W version in the second disc IS tinted as seen in other editions, although with somewhat innacurate and sparse color flags.
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