Sucking Blood and Chewing Scenery
Comments: 3
“Shadow of the Vampire”
2000, USA. Directed by E. Elias Merhige
Willem Dafoe hams it up as a vampire ‘hired’ by the great German director Friedrich Murnau (John Malkovich) to play Count Orlock in his 1922 masterpiece “Nosferatu.” The script by Steven Katz is based on a wonderful conceit wherein Max Schreck, the actor who played Orlock, is actually a real vampire who has agreed to appear in Murnau’s film in return for being allowed to feast upon the leading lady (for real) in the final scene. Schreck’s appetites get the better of him as the filming progresses and he begins polishing off the crew members as Murnau struggles to complete his “symphony of horror.”
“Nosferatu” (1922) was shot mostly on location in eastern Europe (one of the first films to use location shooting so extensively) and the ‘gag’ here is that Murnau has made the vampire’s acquaintance while scouting locations.
The film is beautifully designed and scored and generally well-directed, but I expected a lot more from Malkovich and somewhat less from Dafoe, who by the end of the movie is twitching and jumping about as if St. Vitus’s Dance rather than bloodlust is his big problem (maybe the symptoms are similar; I don’t know). Dafoe’s performance, which begins as a nicely understated homage to the haute-vampirism of Schreck and Kinski, ends with no scenery unchewed. Malkovich can’t seem to carry the weight of the Murnau character, which is astounding because you’d think he’d be perfect for the job. His voice is thin and quavery and unable to hold the accent and he projects none of the sinister, cynical self-confidence that made him the perfect Vicomte de Valmont.
By all means see this film, but if it’s vampires you’re after, go straight to the undead source: Murnau’s “Nosferatu” has probably never been equalled as a depiction of utter, unrelenting malevolence, while the 1979 remake by Werner Herzog (cranky genius) starring Klaus Kinski, Bruno Ganz and Isabelle Adjani is just superb.
The theme of a mad artistic genius selling his soul for art is dealt with altogether more chillingly in István Szabó’s 1981 film “Mephisto” which stars the remarkable Klaus Maria Brandauer (who also gets in a bit of Kinski homage if I remember correctly).
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Posted to Film • 2002.06.11 (Tue) • 23:13
Comments
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2002.06.12, 00:23
Herzog’s remake of Nosferatu remains one of my favorite films. I always wanted to grow up to be Isabelle Adjani, but alas, didn’t. I was very lucky to see Murnau’s original again recently at Austin’s Paramount Theater with live musical accompaniment.
So when I first read about Shadow of the Vampire, I was really looking forward to it. But the reviews, including yours, have kept me from it. The fact that you are also a fan of the two Nosferatu movies, gives me the feeling that my reaction to Shadow of the Vampire would be similar to yours.
Posted by jh 2002.06.13, 23:17
Seeing the original with accompaniment must have been great. I hope I get the chance one day. And the Herzog version is one of my favourite films, too (his collaborations with Kinski are all brilliant - what a combination of talent. Kinski scared the bejeezus out of me no matter what he did!).
I certainly hope I haven’t helped rob you of what, in a more charitable mood, could be a fun evening in front of the screen. The script really is quite good but somehow the production just doesn’t deliver on the promise. If you’re going to set up this theme of artistic ruthlessness, then you really have to go at it 100%.
Think about Herzog and Kinski (again) in “Fitzcarraldo” - hauling that boat over the mountain. A ridiculous situation but shot and acted in such a way that you just can’t help but be utterly captivated (in the sense of captured rather than enchanted). I’m not sure how many of the stories you hear about Herzog threatening the cast and crew with a pistol during filming are true, but he certainly got it right at the end of the day.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2002.06.14, 08:31
Now that Fitzcarraldo is out on DVD with a commentary by Herzog I’m going to have to watch it again. Here’s a review of the DVD that you might find interesting. http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue08/reviews/fitzcarraldo/
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