Some DVD titles have been issued and re-issued to the point where it's a bit difficult to get excited when a new edition is announced. Such is the case with F.W. Murnau's expressionist horror masterpiece, NOSFERATU. We've seen crappy un-authorized versions, one with a goth-metal score by Type-O Negative, and even a nice authorized version by Kino, put out not too long ago.
Which is another reason I was a bit skeptical when Nosferatu: The Ultimate Edition crossed my desk. New subtitles, whatever. Two new documentaries, who cares. Then I actually popped the thing into my DVD player. Blow me down if the film isn't looking more gorgeous than I could have even imagined!
The film itself needs little if any introduction: a silent German production from 1922, Nosferatu is a thinly veiled adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula novel, with only the character names changed. The plot remained intact, however, allowing Stoker's widow an easy victory in the courts. All prints were ordered destroyed, but a few copies managed to escape the fire, most in shoddy condition from being screened so often.
Restored painstakingly by Luciano Berriatua from a new hi-defintion transfer, it's almost like seeing Nosferatu for the first time, it's timeless imagery finally done justice. Almost as exciting is a new recording of the original complete score, as it was performed live years ago. Kino certainly has outdone itself, rendering any previous version of this fanged beauty obsolete. If you are in any way a fan of this film, don't question it, just pick this up. Shadowy dreams await.
$29.95 srp, out now from Kino International.
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# posted by André Salas @ 12/03/2007 11:30:00 AM
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