Werner Herzog
Nosferatu, il principe della notte

In 1979, Werner Herzog directed the remake of the famous Nosferatu the vampire by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau.

Approaching such a masterpiece, an authentic cornerstone of the genre and cinema at 360° is a gamble. Herzog, another great German director, succeeds in the endeavor.

His Nosferatu (prince of the night) is quite faithful to the original, which in turn, is quite faithful to the novel from which it is drawn: “Dracula” by Bram Stoker.

Perhaps not everyone knows that the common figure of the vampire, that is, the Dracula that more or less everyone knows, meaning refined, elegant, charming, etc., is not a faithful portrait of the novel but arises more than anything else from the famous English theatrical representation from 1925 that achieved considerable success and chose to depict the undead in the guise of a charming count... (in this sense, in Coppola's kitschy melange “Dracula,” the count himself doesn't quite know what he resembles... what a terrible movie!)

Having said that, let's instead recognize that the original Nosferatu is a repulsive monster... absolutely unhappy, tremendously bored from centuries of monotonous and solitary life...

what is worse than death?

...Not being able to die

...says our protagonist to Lucy Harker (the very talented and beautiful Isabelle Adjani)

Although Max Schreck, the actor who portrayed Murnau's Nosferatu, remains virtually unattainable, the legend has it that he was a real vampire himself, so terrifying was he; Herzog's Nosferatu, played by a formidable Klaus Kinski, succeeds in a very clear way to convey all the anguish and unhappiness of the vampire, as well as the irrepressible thirst for blood (blood is life!)

Kinski even goes as far as impressively imitating Schreck's vampire, not only in look but also in posture, movements, and "poses," for instance, the way he stretches his arms along his sides with his hands outward.

However, his performance is certainly not mere mimicry; Kinski is too talented to settle for this. Kinski, of his own accord, heightens, if possible, the tragic aspect of Nosferatu, his total unhappiness and melancholy, for example. I imagine that Herzog thought of choosing him and no one else (his best enemy) for his extraordinary talent, despite Kinski being decidedly short in stature to portray the count. This is my very personal consideration, however, really, a nearly dwarf Dracula has never been seen and will never be seen again. I believe Herzog adopted directorial solutions, that is, particular types of shots to conceal, as much as possible, the "shortness" of his Dracula... Anyway, the thing does not disturb too much...

The film maintains a decidedly dark and distressing tone throughout its duration, perfectly in line with the personality of the count... Even the beginning, the opening titles, do not bode well. We see what could be an underground crypt, the camera moves in a skewed, almost trembling way, while we see (mummified dead?) or maybe they're just mannequins... they are certainly humanoid but monstrous, horrifying... This initial scene, which definitely impressed me, is accompanied by somber music (which will recur often during the film)... I don't know how to define it; it is without a doubt perfect music for a horror film but don't think of the Goblin, think rather of a Gregorian chant... in any case, the soundtrack is by Popol Vuh. And so, we have Herzog, Kinski, and the Popol Vuh. Artists who share a certain visionary quality and certain style, if we want a certain "culture" typical of that period (the legacy of the 70s) and in the film, this is rather predominantly present.

Despite, as previously mentioned, the film being rather rigorous in showing the story of Nosferatu, here and there, some licenses appear, some note I wouldn't say "off-key" wouldn't do justice to the director but, indeed, I repeat, license. Here and there, in fact, even if briefly, a few grams of humor appear! Or think of what is perhaps the most alienating scene of the entire film. Nosferatu has arrived in town and has brought the plague that has exterminated the population. The few survivors are in the square singing and dancing and drinking while Lucy wanders astonished among them... an almost Fellini-like scene... a hallucinatory, drugged Fellini...

And so, today, Herzog's Nosferatu can also be considered a small classic and, with the exception of the interesting and recent "Shadow of the Vampire," practically no one has ever "dared" to attempt the enterprise that was the highest Murnau's... and Max Schreck's...