It is recurrent to mention that some classics should never be played as a remake by other hands, especially modern hands. The expressionist classic ‘Nosferatu’, one of the first examples of vampirism in cinema, falls easily into that category of works untouchable for manyespecially now that a possible reinterpretation by Robert Eggers is being discussed so much, that he has been trying to move it for years.
Some skepticism with these kinds of remakes is understandable. Although it shouldn’t be forgotten that ‘Nosferatu’ has already been played in the past, and it was done brilliantly. Did Werner Herzogin 1979, with ‘Nosferatu, vampire of the night’full of desire to show that the classics can live in the voices of others if you have a proper approach. He showed it, of course, and got his own classic that we can find in the Filmin catalogue.
connecting the story
There was an intention to reinterpret, but the director did not want to betray the wonder of his compatriot. F. W. Murnaureleased in 1922 as an unofficial adaptation of the seminal Dracula book by bram stoker.
Herzog wanted to build a bridge that had been erased, between the expressionist and transgressive German directors prior to the dictatorship of the Third Reich -after which they no longer found the same fertile ground to create- and the new generation of directors of the country of the late sixties, who tried to stick their heads out without many immediate references to pass the baton to them.
The choice of the vampire film as a candidate to be reinterpreted is not by chance, since Herzog he considered it the best film ever made in his country. ‘Nosferatu, vampire of the night’ was born not only to bring a classic to new generations, but also to try reconnect the history of german cinema. So he did not seek to surpass her predecessor at any time, but to dialogue with her, allowing himself to find spaces in her story where he could leave her particular mark.
‘Nosferatu, vampire of the night’: a classic in its own right
Herzog’s characteristic naturalistic, almost documentary touch lends a particular atmosphere to this film, which runs through many of the same locations as its predecessor, expanding them at various points without feeling unnecessarily elongated. His best find is in Klaus Kinski as the solemn vampire. It only appears in twenty minutes of footage, but each one feels essential, with that intense interpretation that highlights the vampire condition to the point of bringing it closer to the disease.
There are not many occasions in which Herzog has approached the purest terror. But the time he has done it, he has left his mark, doing a classic that stands on its own and that can be a gateway for many people. Both for the Murnau classic and the general work of Herzog, as well as the suggestive worlds of German cinema. Of that kind of remakes that are worth it and it’s good that someone decided that they were needed.