Nosferatu the Vampyre

Original title: Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht

1979
PG
1h 47m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

42K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

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Supernatural Horror Vampire Horror Drama Horror

Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

42K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,229

198

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 8 nominations

Trivia
Klaus Kinski had to spend approximately four hours per day in make-up. Fresh latex ear pieces had to be poured for each day of shooting because they were destroyed at removal. Kinski, notorious for his violent daily temper-tantrums, had a very good relationship with Japanese make-up artist Reiko Kruk and was exceedingly patient and well-behaved during make-up. Kinski himself said of the make-up that he hated being excessively made up for a role, but for the role of Dracula it was important so he took it in stride. Kinski was so disturbed by his appearance in the make-up that he avoided looking in any mirrors during filming.

Goofs
(at around 58 mins) When the captain of the ship is writing in his log he says they left the Caspian Sea, which is landlocked and nearly 1000 miles away from the port in Bulgaria where the voyage started. Bulgaria is on the Black Sea.

Quotes
Count Dracula: [subtitled version] Time is an abyss... profound as a thousand nights... Centuries come and go... To be unable to grow old is terrible... Death is not the worst... Can you imagine enduring centuries, experiencing each day the same futilities...

Alternate versions
The English-language version was only available in a shorter cut until 2000, which was about 10 minutes shorter.

Connections
Edited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)

Soundtracks
Rheingold
Written by Richard Wagner
Performed by Wiener Philharmoniker
Conducted by Georg Solti (as Sir Georg Solti)
Decca LC 0171

User reviews248

Review

Featured review

8/10

Kinski Rules

I saw this as part of a double feature with Aguirre: The Wrath of God. Needless to say, it wasn't an evening of giggles. This is a film from beginning to end about pestilence. There is the actual plague. There are characters who are walking demonstrations of pestilence. There is the sad, defeated, Count who, as we all know, is not happy with his condition, but is programmed to steep himself in blood. The characters of Kinski and Adjani are on a collision course. Only through human sacrifice and lust can this demon be destroyed. It's a gray, striking film, full of sadness and despair. Kinski is visually stunning as the vampire. He is remindful of count Orlock in the Murnau film. There is more sensuality in this film (there are less limitations). Still, like its predecessor, the star of the show is death and the scenes with the rats and the people dancing away their last days, the coffins carried through the streets, are as striking as any performance. Herzog brings out the weight of human despair.