Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

17 January 1979 (France)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Jonathan and Lucy live in Wismar and the Count wants a house there. Varna is a port on the Black Sea, close to Dracula's castle.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Castle | Vampire | Cross | Blood

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Count Dracula
Isabelle Adjani	...	Lucy Harker
Bruno Ganz	...	Jonathan Harker
Roland Topor	...	Renfield
Walter Ladengast	...	Dr. Van Helsing
Dan van Husen	...	Warden
Jan Groth	...	Harbormaster
Carsten Bodinus	...	Schrader
Martje Grohmann	...	Mina
Rijk de Gooyer	...	Town official (as Ryk de Gooyer)
Clemens Scheitz	...	Clerk
Lo van Hensbergen
John Leddy	...	Coachman
Margiet van Hartingsveld	...	Vrouw
Tim Beekman	...	Coffinbearer
Jacques Dufilho	...	Captain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Edols	...	Lord of the manor (uncredited)
Stefan Husar	...	(uncredited)
Norbert Losch	...	(uncredited)
Johan te Slaa	...	(uncredited)
Beverly Walker	...	Nun (uncredited)

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Werner Herzog		writer
Bram Stoker		novel "Dracula" (uncredited)

Produced by
Werner Herzog	....	producer
Walter Saxer	....	executive producer
Michael Gruskoff	....	producer (uncredited)
Daniel Toscan du Plantier	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Popol Vuh

Cinematography by
Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein

Film Editing by
Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus

Production Design by
Henning von Gierke

Costume Design by
Gisela Storch

Makeup Department
Dominique Colladant	....	makeup artist
Reiko Kruk	....	makeup artist
Ludovic Paris	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Rudolf Wolf	....	production manager: Czechoslovakia

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Remmelt Remmelts	....	assistant director
Mirko Tichacek	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ulrich Bergfelder	....	property master

Sound Department
Jean Fontaine	....	sound assistant
Harald Maury	....	sound

Special Effects by
Cornelius Siegel	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Claude Chiarini	....	still photographer (as Dr. Claude Chiarini)
Mike Gast	....	second camera (as Michael Gast)
Martin Gerbl	....	gaffer
Anton Urban	....	lighting technician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ann Poppel	....	assistant costume designer

Music Department
Vokal-Ensemble Gordela	....	musician

Other crew
Joschi Arpa	....	location manager
Michael Gruskoff	....	presenter
Anja Schmidt-Zäringer	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion (as Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, München)
• Gaumont (as Gaumont S.A., Paris)
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (German version)

Distributors

• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion (1979) (worldwide) (all media) (rights)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Gaumont (1979) (France) (theatrical) (French version)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (1979) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1985) (Japan) (theatrical) (English short version)
• 518 Media (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (as part of the Werner Herzog filmbox)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (DVD)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD) (includes both German and English language versions)
• Cinema Ten Corporation (1985) (Japan) (theatrical) (English short version)
• City Film (1979) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Crown Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Hemispheric Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Ipma (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Jef Films International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Národní Filmový Archiv (NFA) (2009) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Ripley's Home Video (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Roan Group, The (laserdisc)
• Shochiku CBS/Fox Video (SCF) (????) (Japan) (VHS) (English short version)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2001) (Japan) (DVD) (German version)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (English short version)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Nosferatu - fantôme de la nuit (France)
Nosferatu the Vampyre (USA)
Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

107 min | USA:96 min (English version)

Country:

West Germany | France

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | Italy:VM14 (original rating) | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Production designer Henning von Gierke, also an accomplished chef who enjoyed cooking for the crew, prepared the food for the breakfast shot himself.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Jonathan rides his horse to Dracula's castle, the horse changes between shots. This can be noted by the bandage and leg markings near the horse's ankles.

Quotes:

Count Dracula: [subtitled version] Time is an abyss...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Brothers of Darkness, Sons Of Light

A pretty fine go at "Dracula"

This Herzog adaptation of the Dracula story, filtered through the memory in particular of Murnau's "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors", is largely a successful film. It is great in parts and in aspects, but doesn't quite amount to a whole that approaches superlative status. Klaus Kinski is rather good, but not quite spellbinding, in the much-donned cape of the old Count. He is not quite up to the vastly contrasting interpretations I have seen - Schreck and Lugosi. Isabelle Adjani? Hers is far from a terrible performance, as one commentator has said; she is, indeed, reasonable in a role often lacking embellishment in other adaptations. Of course, her striking good looks are certainly far from unwelcome. The chap playing Renfield (the madman, so amusingly and vividly portrayed by Dwight Frye in the 1931 Universal "Dracula") is effective in portraying an outright giggling madman - his laugh is one of *the* most absurd and insane sounds I have heard in film...! The use of music is wonderful, as is Herzog's visual direction - the plague scenes leave quite an impression on the mind, and most scenes are accorded impressive backdrops and appropriate visual textures. Popol Vuh's musical textures are dreamily beguiling, setting just the right tone for Herzog's imagery. The film's downside has to be in the dramatics really; the dialogue and subsequent delivery of, are far from great, perhaps owing to the fact that most of the performers' native tongues are not English, and here they have to speak just that language. There is never quite enough dramatic tension induced by the script or the acting; at times the Renfield chap and Kinski are compelling, but only fitfully.

Having said all this, it is a fine rendition on film of a rather old and, frankly, enduring story. Herzog must take the credit for its effective atmosphere, but perhaps also the blame for the lacking dramatics. Certainly an enjoyable, generally impressive film.

Rating:- ****/*****