Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

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.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (book)

Stars:

Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Klaus Kinski	...	Count Dracula
Isabelle Adjani	...	Lucy Harker
Bruno Ganz	...	Jonathan Harker
Roland Topor	...	Renfield
Walter Ladengast	...	Dr. Van Helsing
Dan van Husen	...	Warden
Jan Groth	...	Harbormaster
Carsten Bodinus	...	Schrader
Martje Grohmann	...	Mina
Rijk de Gooyer	...	Town official (as Ryk de Gooyer)
Clemens Scheitz	...	Clerk
Lo van Hensbergen	...	Harbormaster's Assistent
John Leddy	...	Coachman
Margiet van Hartingsveld	...	Vrouw
Tim Beekman	...	Coffinbearer

Storyline

Jonathan Harker is sent away to Count Dracula's castle to sell him a house in Wismar where Jonathan lives. But Count Dracula is a vampire, an undead ghoul living off of men's blood. Inspired by a photograph of Lucy Harker, Jonathan's wife, Dracula moves to Wismar, bringing with him death and plague... An unusually contemplative version of Dracula, in which the vampire bears the curse of not being able to get old and die.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | plague | transylvania | rat | melancholy | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

West Germany France

Language:

German English Romany

Release Date:

17 January 1979 (France)

Also Known As:

Nosferatu the Vampyre

Filming Locations:

Tatra Mountains, Slovakia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,190,818

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Gaumont, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 96 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As this movie was made long after the copyright to Bram Stoker's Dracula had expired, Werner Herzog decided to restore the original names of the characters, while still following the movie blueprint laid out by F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922).

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Goofs

The rooftops are seen to be covered with TV antennae in the final shot of the town.

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Quotes

Count Dracula: The absence of love is the most abject pain.

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Alternate Versions

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

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Connections

Version of Dracula (1979)

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Soundtracks

Die Nacht der Himmel
(uncredited)
Written by Florian Fricke (as Popol Vuh)
Performed by Popol Vuh

User Reviews

Stunning!!

I just purchased this on DVD and its easily one of my favorite new disks. Included in the DVD masterpiece are: the English Version, the German Version with English subtitles, audio commentary by director Werner Herzog, 2 different US theatrical trailers, 1 Spanish theatrical trailer and even a making of the movie mini-feature!!! Very worth the money!!!

This is not an average movie by any means!!! It also appears to be a salute to the great German Expressionist films of the early 1900's. The story line is very intelligent and compassionate. The dialogue is spoken very soft and slowly. There is not very much action in the film, but the performances and cinematography are nothing short of breathtaking!!

Klaus Kinski plays a very convincing Dracula in this 1979 classic. His slow movements are almost hypnotizing!!! Just watch how he moves his hands!! They move so slow and very mysterious!! The guy who played the "nut case" was great!! The images of coffins, crucifixes, rats, and how rumors of the plague were spreading were brilliantly executed.

If you liked this film, you might want to check out 1992's "The Cronos" for another example of a compassionate and intelligent story about Vampires, but set in Mexico. Both films explore the "humanistic" internal conflict in vampires.