mandag den 9. august 2010

1922 - (15) Nosferatu

And here comes the first movie that I was actually a bit afraid to watch.

Title: Nosferatu
Director: F.W. Murnau 
Year: 1922
Runtime (My version): 94 mins. Apparently, there are some different versions out there, I believe mine was a bit shorter, but it nonetheless felt complete.

Seen: 2009

How i got this: Archive.org

Plot Outline: A young man from Bremen is sent to help an obscure count in the Carpathian mountains with some juridical problems. He discovers that his host is a vampire, flees back to Bremen, but is followed by the count, who know sets his sights on the young lawyers wife.

First impression: This is scary, I bet it's scary.... (I saw some vampire-themed episode of a series called troldspejlet as a kid, and never really recovered from the shock.)
But on second thought: This was scary back in the day, must have scared people shitless.

General comments: Oh yeah, this was a nice horror movie, and being as old as it is, it didn't manage to scare me. There aren't that many characters in the movie, but that really helps you to feel the story up close and personal.

The acting is good, especially Max Schreck is doing an awesome job portraying the vampire Nosferatu. Right from the beginning this movie makes you feel that something is wrong, and when Hutter, the protagonist, goes to see count Orlock aka Nosferatu, things take a violent turn for the worse.

To make this movie really work, a lot of special effects are used, and it just kicks ass. I wouldn't like to have been forced to watch this in 1922, and then having to ride my bicycle home through a dark forest.

Music: Mine had a soundtrack that I think is newer than the movie itself, a kind of spooky distorted horror-jazzy theme, but for me it worked excellent.

Pictures: Very very well-shot movie, and on top of that the special effects are clever, and not overdone.

Essentially this is: What made you scream in the 1920's

Why you should see this: Because this does everything right.
Why you shouldn't see this: Although this was made in 1922, it maybe should have been able to scare me a bit. Also, if you are 5 years old, this might cause a heart-attack.

Honorable mention: The scene where Nosferatu stands up stiff in his coffin, like if he was made of wood. Now that must have haunted some peoples dreams the last 90 years.

Final rating: 85/100 A true classic, go see this.

BTW: Nosferatu will return in a newer version. In maybe 10 years or so... I'll probably get the review ready in 2022...

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