Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) goes to Transylvania to negotiate a house deal with the mysterious Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski); the anemic gentleman wishes to buy a house close to Harker and his wife (Isabelle Adjani). Director Werner Herzog found a perfect project for himself and his favorite actor/foe, Kinski – a remake of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) that provided an opportunity for Kinski to become Max Schreck and add a few of his own touches. An interesting experiment. Herzog remains faithful to the story and creates a sense of dread with help from locations in Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands, not least in the scene where Harker is walking up to Dracula’s castle.

The YouTube clip shows the trailer.

1979-West Germany. 105 min. Color. Produced, written and directed by Werner Herzog. Novel: Bram Stoker (“Dracula”). Cinematography: Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein. Cast: Klaus Kinski (Dracula), Isabelle Adjani (Lucy Harker), Bruno Ganz (Jonathan Harker), Roland Topor, Walter Ladengast.

Trivia: Original title: Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht. The copyright to Stoker’s novel had expired when Mr. Herzog did the remake, which is why the original character names were used. Followed by Vampire in Venice (1988).

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Published 2008-10-22 06:52