Nosferatu: Resurrecting F.W. Murnau's Masterpiece 2007
Distributed by Kino Lorber Edu, 333 West 39 St, Suite 503, New York, NY 10018; 212-629-6880
Produced by Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden, Germany
Directed by F.W. Murnau
DVD, color and b&w; 94 min.
High School - General Adult
Film Studies, Media Studies, Popular Culture
Date Entered: 06/27/2011
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication, University of California, Santa BarbaraThe film Nosferatu produced in Germany in 1922 was one of the first major horror films, as well as one of the earliest film presentations of the vampire legend. This newly restored version of the film by the F.W. Murnau Foundation provides a wonderful renewal of this film in today's popular culture. There are many features packed into this 2-DVD edition: the film itself, newly restored with newly-translated English intertitles or the original German intertitles (with optional English subtitles); Hans Erdmann's original 1922 musical score recorded in 5.1 stereo surround; a 52-minutes documentary titled The Language of Shadows: The Early Years and Nosferatu; a 3-minute documentary titled Nosferatu: An Historic Film Meets Digital Restoration; a photo gallery; scene comparison; and lengthy excerpts from other films by F.W. Murnau, including Journey Into The Night (1920), The Haunted Castle (1921), Phantom (1922), The Finances of the Grand Duke (1924), The Lost Laugh (1924), Tartuffe (1925), Faust (1926), and Tabu (1931).
This is an excellent compilation and digital restoration of this ground-breaking film that any enthusiast, film collector or library will want to obtain.