Nosferatu 1979

[KryLon]

Lately I have read scads of "best" horror film lists on the net. Hundreds even.
I have only seen this film on one or two lists. WHY? Where do people go wrong:)

This has been in my top 10 since it was 1st released and deservedly so.
It has it all: grotesque vampire (Klaus Kinski) beautiful woman in distress (Isabelle Adjani), World Class cinematography and direction (Werner Herzog) and even a pig taking a shit:eek: on a dreadful courtyard filled with the dying remains of people afflicted with Bubonic Plague.
This is so atmospheric and beautifully done in every conceivable way; a real tour de force, and it follows the storyline fairly faithfully. It is creepy and a masterpiece of modern cinema. The ONLY objection is that the Renfield is a bit much, but I can overlook this small blunder because everything else is so magnifico. Besides, there will never be another Dwight Frye; not even Tom Waits could pull that one off.
Any complaints???
~M~

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by KryLon

Any complaints???
~M~

Nope. It's a wonderful film that accomplishes the challenging task of reinventing the original to be a masterpiece on its own. Love it.
Plus, Isabelle Adjani is in it.

[KryLon]

Agreed. So I wonder why Nosferatu [79] does not show up with regularity on all these so-called Best lists?
Isabelle was fantastic in Diabolique too; but in this she is so perfect, and captures a silent film star quality that is eerie to say the least.

~M~

[ManchestrMorgue]

I think there are a few reasons that it doesn't appear on "best of" lists all that regularly.

Firstly, it is a foreign film. I'm not saying that foreign films never make it to "best of" lists, but these lists do tend to be American film dominated.

Also, it is a highly atmospheric film, arty in its construction. This limits its audience somewhat.

And, it is at its core a Dracula film. It certainly brings something new to this sub-genre, however when compiling "best of" lists, the "Dracula" category is usually dominated by those films that broke ground - the original Nosferatu, Lugosi's Dracula, and Horror of Dracula.

I do think that Nosferatu (1979) is a great film, and it is a very classy reconstruction of Dracula (and the original Nosferatu), however I can see why it would be overlooked in a lot of "best of" lists.

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by KryLon

Agreed. So I wonder why Nosferatu [79] does not show up with regularity on all these so-called Best lists?

I think Manchestr is right. It's just easily overlooked in that instance. But oh well; the only list that really matters anyway is your own.

Originally Posted by KryLon

Isabelle was fantastic in Diabolique too; but in this she is so perfect, and captures a silent film star quality that is eerie to say the least.

She was beyond good in Possession. Have you seen it? It's a film by Andrzej Żuławski (who does incredible work), and I highly recommend it. She seems literally possessed; her performance comes from someplace deep and frightening. Beyond that, there's not much that can be said about it; you really have to see it.

Warning: This trailer's not very good. It kind of makes it look like some low-budget horror movie, so keep that in mind.

[Ferox13]

Kinski's VAmpire in Venice is great too but i've never heard it mentioned.

[Elvis_Christ]

I don't particulary like this film tbh

I guess these "list" people feel the same.

I thought Possession was solid however.

[KryLon]

I think "foreign film" aspect may not hurt it so much as the "art house" quality, however that is particularly what makes it so wonderful imho.
I will have to check out "Possession" [ I just Love Adjani ].
Thanks,
~M~

[KryLon]

Never heard of Vampire in Venice; I'll add that one too!

~M~

[TheWickerFan]

You might be happy to know that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both had Nosferatu in their lists of the Top Ten films of 1979.