|
 SHADOW
OF
THE
VAMPIRE
With
John
Malkovich,
Willem
Dafoe,
Udo
Kier,
Eddie
Izzard
Directed
by
E.
Elias
Merhige
Vampire
genres
have
ventured
in
almost
every
possible
direction:
Classic
(Bela
Lugosi's
Dracula),
Teen
(The
Lost
Boys),
Comedy
(The
Fearless
Vampire
Killers),
Blaxploitation
(Blackula),
Epic
(Bram
Stoker's
Dracula),
Cheezy
(Andy
Warhol's
Dracula),
Realism
(The
Addicion),
Stoopid
(Dracula
-
Dead
And
Loving
It),
Stylish
Comic
Book
Action
(Blade),
Erotic
Exploitation
(The
Bare
Breasted
Countess)…
With
limited
access
to
one
of
the
best
(and
most
overlooked)
vampire
classics,
few
are
aware
of
F.W.
Murnau's
amazing
1922
film,
Nosferatu.
Stoker's
wife
wouldn't
surrender
the
rights
for
the
eccentric
German
director
to
film
her
late
husband's
novel,
Dracula.
So,
Murnau
merely
changed
names
and
minor
details.
Shadow
Of
The
Vampire
is
an
incredibly
rich
film
combining
pseudo-fact,
horror,
comedy
and
art.
We're
taken
on
a
film-maker's
journey
as
the
determined
Murnau
leads
the
participants
through
a
nightmarish
stint
to
commit
this
tale
to
celluloid.
Where
I
am
sure
that
many
of
the
struggles
in
making
this
slice
of
genius
might
well
have
occurred
(albeit
sometimes
presented
in
a
more
comedic
fashion
than
would've
been
reality),
one
serious
bit
of
fact
gets
altered
which
is
the
film's
main
premise
and
focus.
This
is
the
case
of
actor
Max
Schreck
who
played
the
vampire.
Murnau
told
his
cast
and
crew
that
he
is
a
serious
method
actor
who
will
only
appear
in
full
make-up
and
character.
Slowly
everyone
starts
to
wonder
about
this
weird
"actor",
if
he
IS
in
fact
one
and
exactly
how
Murnau
intends
on
remunerating
him
for
his
"performance",
members
of
production
getting
freaked
out
and
also
dying.
Shadow
Of
The
Vampire
defies
a
clean-cut
genre
definition
like
the
above-mentioned
films
and
aside
from
its
great
visualization
and
intelligent
writing
(Steven
Katz),
is
part
of
its
genius.
If
you
hadn't
seen
the
original
Nosferatu,
this
film
will
still
be
a
great
experience,
but
those
viewers
familiar
with
the
masterpiece
(or
even
Werner
Herzog's
outstanding
70's
remake
with
Klaus
Kinski
and
Isabelle
Adjani)
will
get
so
much
more
from
it.
5
/
B
-
PB
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