Nosferatu the Vampyre

1979

1h 47m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

999

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Drama

Horror

A real estate agent leaves behind his beautiful wife to go to Transylvania to visit the mysterious Count Dracula and formalize the purchase of a property in Wismar.

Directors

Werner Herzog

Writers

Bram Stoker(novel by)

Werner Herzog(writer by)

Henrik Galeen(original film writer by)

Stars

Klaus Kinski

Isabelle Adjani

Bruno Ganz

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Top cast

Count Dracula

Lucy Harker

Jonathan Harker

Renfield

Dr. Van Helsing

Mina

Schrader

Abbess

Captain

Clerk

Coachman

Coachman

Coachman

Councilman

Crier

Harbormaster

Inspector

Inspector

Directors

Werner Herzog

Writers

Bram Stoker(novel by)

Werner Herzog(writer by)

Henrik Galeen(original film writer by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

"Harker" (Bruno Ganz) travels to remote Transylvania where he is to help "Count Dracula" (Klaus Kinski) buy a new home in his hometown of Wismar. Why? Well that's because he has fallen in love with a photograph of his beautiful wife "Lucy" (Isabelle Adjani) and has determined to make her his immortal bride. "Harker" had been warned by the locals of the dangers of visiting the "Count" but he pressed on regardless, so ought not to have been surprised when his host absconds from his castle on a schooner laden with coffins, soil and a deadly plague of rats so he can ensnare his innocent young wife. Can he race back home in time to thwart this evil? There's nothing especially new about the chronology of the story here, it's the characterisation of the vampire that helps this stand out. It's obvious from the start that "Dracula" is not of human kind. Contrasting with most interpretations of the title role, Kinski and Warner Herzog attempt to imbue "Dracula" with a degree of humanity. He doles out his lusts left, right and centre upon the innocent, spreading plague and disaster wherever he goes, but he too is cursed. By his own immortality, by his search for some kind of fulfilment or contentedness. This isn't a depiction riddled with sharp teeth and ketchup, it's much more subtle, refined even, telling of a character that it's almost impossible not to feel sorry for. The production itself has dated rather badly, and at times it did remind me of one of these "Sherlock Holmes" remakes, but the thrust of the story is still interestingly different to the normal depiction of this epitome of evil and worth sticking with.

Geronimo196729 Apr, 2024