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Have I seen NOSFERATU? Let me tell you about it!
I first saw it in 16mm in a junior high school class -- a version edited down so it could be screened in a one-hour class (no Renfield character, for example). The movie was borin and dated, and generated lots of laughter -- but hey, we were just kids, so what did we know?
A few years later, I saw a complete version courtesy of PBS. The movie was longer but no better -- just as stiff and dull as I remembered.
Then the movie showed up on video, with the frame rate corrected so that the film ran at the right speed -- approximately 18 fps instead of the 24 fps second of sound movies. Once again, the film was longer, slower and duller -- and absolutely no better.
But still, I continued to give the movie a chance. In the 1990s it screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences theatre in Beverly Hills, with a restored score performed live. The print was straight from Germany (with German subtitles that were translated on a second, smaller screen off to the side). This print was billed as a complete one, and I do indeed recall being surprised by occasional bits and pieces I had not seen before. Again, the movie was longer but no better (although the live music was a pleasant diversion).
Of course, the film came out on laserdisc and DVD, and there was much brouhaha about restoring the image so that all the detailing of the sets could now be seen. Great, I thought, now I can actually watch the paint dry!
Finally, some low-budget distributor put the thing out on video yet again, this time with a soundtrack comprised of songs by the Goth-rock group Type-O Negative. Once again, I subjected myself to this misbegotten false classic, and once again it bored me to tears. (In this case, the music made it even worse than before.)
So yes, I have sat through the film many times and given it every chance, but the bottom line is it's a tired movie whose reputation is built almost entirely on the details surrounding it.
It's perceived as being part of the German Expressionist movement that gave us CABINET OF DR CALIGARI, and it was directed by a man who went on to make great films later (like FAUST). Because of this, we're supposed to think that some of this greatness rubbed off onto NOSFERATU, but it didn't.
Having said all that, I will admit to liking one brief moment, which I saw in the German print that screened with the live music. Just before an intermission break, after Krolock/Dracula has killed the crew on the ocean voyage, there is a nice shot of the unmanned boat riding the waves, and the subtitle reads, "The ship of death had a new captain." It's a nice touch.
Bottom line: every step of the way, people tell me this movie is a masterpiece. Every time a "new and improved" version is released, I check it out and give it another chance. And every time, my original perception is confirmed.
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