Author:
Simulacrum
<
nub
>
99.47.225.102
Use
this link
if you want to link to this message and its entire thread of discussion.
Date:
12/26/2024 9:20:56 PM
Subject:
RE: Nosferatu
I like Eggers' movies for their atmosphere and relative historical accuracy. The Witch was almost another Rob Zombie nut fest, but it was elevated by its interesting focus on isolation and accurate use of seventeenth-century speech. Nosferatu did an impressive job of recreating 1830s urban Germany. The street scenes, interiors, and costuming were perfect.
Mostly, Eggers is a master of lighting and shot composition. Every frame is thoughtful and crafted, like Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête or John Ford's stuff before he started making crap like The Wings of Eagles and Donovan's Reef. Apart from the unaccountably dumb Vlad mustache, the thing that distinguishes Eggers' Orlock is sound -- specifically the voice and the audio effects supporting it.
I had a problem or two with the plot -- like why Willam Defoe's von Franz was even necessary as a character, and why anyone bothered to do anything about defeating Count Orlock since the outcome hinged entirely on a decision Ellen had to make. Some other things bothered me, but they were negligible.
It's not perfect, but it's a good contribution to vampire movies, especially because the vampire is a proper monster and not Kristen Stewart's boyfriend.
