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German Expressionist films are not exactly popular fodder for the contemporary remake machine.
So credit where it is due to Robert Eggers for having a go atNosferatu, F.W.
Murnaus 1922 vampire classic.
The cinematic language Expressionist filmmakers invented was esoteric, literally and figuratively shadowy, cerebral, and heavily symbolic.
Visual distortion was a common feature in and out of frequent dream sequences.
Remaking a German Expressionist film presents a formidable task.
Then again, fidelity is no guarantee of quality.
(Herzog, once again, excluded.)
8.The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(2005)
- that its basically unwatchable.
7.M: A City Hunts A Murderer(2019)
7.
Stomach-turning violence later played for laughs!)
6.The Last Man(1955)
6.
Its a little odd considering how F.W.
Murnaus 1930 original is genuinely, staggeringly ambitious.
Murnaus titular character is a hotel doorman whose entire sense of self collapses upon his demotion to washroom attendant.
Absent the originals extraordinary pathos, only Richard Angsts cinematography and Romy Schneiders costuming are worth mentioning here.
5.The Cabinet of Caligari(1962)
5.
Name notwithstanding,The Cabinet of Caligariis more freewheeling stylistic homage than remake.
4.Shadow of the Vampire(2000)
4.
3.M(1951)
3.
The differences between the 1930 GermanMand the 1951 AmericanMfeel borderline anthropological.
2.Nosferatu(2024)
2.
Of the three, thisNosferatuis the goriest, the most violent, and the most focused on Orloks Satanism.
(It is, however, still only tied with the 1979 version for the most rats.)
A surplus of long shadows and shaky boundaries between states of consciousness check off the Expressionist boxes.
Theheadless Murnauneed not roll over in his grave.
1.Nosferatu the Vampyre(1979)
1.
Both approaches work, but which you prefer is likely to reflect your larger feelings about cinematic subtlety.
