Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

E. Elias Merhige

Writer:

Steven Katz (written by)

Release Date:

26 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

An Unspeakable Horror. A Creative Genius. Captured For Eternity.

Plot:

The filming of Nosferatu is hampered by the fact that the star is taking his role far more seriously than what seems humanly possible.

Plot Keywords:

Nosferatu | Vampire | Director | Actor | Filmmaking

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

John Malkovich	...	Murnau
Willem Dafoe	...	Schreck
Udo Kier	...	Grau
Cary Elwes	...	Wagner
Catherine McCormack	...	Greta
Eddie Izzard	...	Gustav
Aden Gillett	...	Galeen
Nicholas Elliott	...	Paul (as Nicholas Elliot)
Ronan Vibert	...	Muller
Sophie Langevin	...	Elke
Myriam Muller	...	Maria
Milos Hlavac	...	Innkeeper (as Milos Hlavak)
Marja-Leena Junker	...	Innkeeper's Wife
Derek Kueter	...	Reporter 1
Norman Golightly	...	Reporter 2

Also Known As:

Burned to Light (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality, drug content, violence and language.

Runtime:

92 min | Spain:87 min (DVD edition)

Country:

UK | USA | Luxembourg

Language:

English | German | Letzebuergesh

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-3 (re-rating) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:(Banned) | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Delux Productions, Contern, Luxembourg

Company:

Saturn Films

Trivia:

Udo Kier, who appears as Albin Grau, played the Count himself in Dracula cerca sangue di vergine... e morì di sete!!! (1974) (a.k.a. Blood for Dracula) and Vampire Elder Dragonetti in Blade (1998)

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the beginning of the movie one of Murnau's assistants calls him one of the greatest moviemakers ever, with D.W. Griffith and Sergei M. Eisenstein. In 1921 Eisenstein had not yet directed any movie (his first movie is from 1923).

Quotes:

[last lines]
F.W. Murnau: I think we have it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Flying Dutchman Overture

Who Is The Real Monster?

F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" has always been one of my favorite horror movies, mainly because it's one of the few that really seems to take itself seriously. Often, even the best horror films, classics like "Psycho" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", include moments of leavening humor. Even "The Exorcist" had Father Karras' film discussions with Detective Kinderman. Not "Nosferatu". This is a film that spends every moment of its running time shuddering along with the audience in fright and disgust at its beastly vampire and the plague he visits upon the innocent people of Bremen. E. Elias Merhige's intensely imaginative "Shadow of the Vampire" offers an intriguing explanation of the film's creepy hold.

It's 1921, and Murnau (John Malkovich), a kinky martinet obsessed with creating films as authentic as breathing, drags his crew to a moldering castle in Czechoslovakia for the filming of his vampire epic. There, the surprised crew meets Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), the actor playing the vampire, who, to say the least, has taken method to a new height. He is, in fact, a real vampire, who has made a bargain with Murnau. He will appear in the film, giving the director the realistic horror experience he so desires, if he is permitted to drink the blood of the leading lady in the final scene. Murnau grows increasingly obsessed with feeding his muse while Schreck settles for feeding himself, the body count mounting inexorably as Murnau struggles to finish his masterpiece while his leading man is finishing off the crew.

Steven Katz' script could likely have gotten by on its strikingly original premise alone, but fortunately, he turned what could have just been a corking black comedy into a surprisingly deep meditation on the dark power of the movies and the sacrifices one is willing to make, of oneself and others, in order to create art. Schreck is seen as a dessicated shambles, the ultimate embodiment of an actor past his sell-by date still clinging to his past glory, who, in a remarkable scene, talks about the sadness of reading "Dracula" and seeing how thoroughly his special hell has been misinterpreted and popularized. Of Of course, all the crew can say to this is, "What an actor." To them, Schreck is just another old hambone who can no longer distinguish fantasy from reality.

In one of the film's most poignant sequences, Schreck, who earlier expressed his yearning to once again see the light of the sun, watches film footage of a sunrise through a projector, staring right into the lens so the celluloid sunlight can wash over his face. It's a beautiful visualization of the powerful hold movies exert; everyone can remember memorable experiences that we've had through the motion picture camera, things we've done and places we've been to that we could not have gotten to any other way. Just because these experiences were only on film does not make them any less real to us.

Murnau, meanwhile, begins to emerge as the film's true monster, willing to do whatever it takes to see his vision fulfilled, sacrificing his crew, his cast, and his own humanity in the name of achieving immortality through art. Directors are often compared to God, and "Shadow of the Vampire" is one of the most effective variations on that theme that I have come across. Murnau, you see, is one of the old gods, and like those archaic deities, he demands blood.

Merhige helms this material marvelously, conveying a sense of menace and impending doom that make this a genuine horror film in addition to a clever meditation on the form. The film, for its low budget, has the feel of a true epic, with its castle looming up over the black hills, mossy brown-and-green cinematography, and heavy, ominous music. The supporting cast does a uniformly fine job, particularly Udo Kier, who invests "Nosferatu"'s producer, Albin Grau, with unspoken secrets that exist only behind his haunting eyes.

This film, however, is really a showcase for Malkovich and Dafoe, who deliver two knockout performances. Malkovich is the perfect control-freak director, calm and cajoling one moment, barking angry orders the next. He's even willing to shout down a bloodsucking beast if it will get him what he wants for his film. Dafoe, buried under a ton of makeup, projects a real character through his fangs and hissing, making Schreck pitiable, powerful, and frightening all at once. Dafoe received a much deserved Oscar nomination for his work here, and if Malkovich had been nominated as well, you would have heard no complaints from me.

"Shadow of the Vampire" gets a bit muddled in its final act, when Murnau finally confronts the vampire with his most powerful weapon. However, the final moments are so powerful, the last shot so chilling when you consider its implications, that the script's imperfections are subordinated by the power of the film's message. "Shadow of the Vampire" is a provocative picture that explores the depths to which creative people will sink, the cost in lives and their own soul they are willing to pay, just for a taste of immortality. One must beware. The taste is a lasting one. And sometimes bitter.