As a historical landmark in film, Nosferatu undoubtedly stands tall: it marks the birth of the horror genre, and the first film to experiment with the art of unsettling the human mind. An entire genre and huge amount of film technique owes itself to this movie and its ilk. Nosferatu is one of the most important pieces in the early days of film.
However, as a movie itself, it is at some intervals funny where it is not meant to be, and at others just irritating and painful.
A lot of the pain for me, I will allow, probably came from the soundtrack. I had to watch this movie for a film class and it was played with the Art Zoyd soundtrack on the Kino version, which I suppose meant to unsettle and frighten the listener, but in fact was sort of like Bjork farting through her mouth mixed with the sound of scissors cutting paper mixed with the sound of car alarms, and once they settled on a particular Bjork-car alarm mix, they would stick with it for a good fifteen minutes or so, even if nothing of particular interest was happening. The sound of car alarms, I find, makes me very angry, and when it goes on for fifteen minutes or so, it makes me want to throw up. After over an hour of this sort of assault on my brains, I was dying inside.
However, I was aware as I was watching that it was not only the soundtrack that I found unappealing. In between the major points of the storyline, there are large tracts of nothing in which there are only alternating shots of scenery, boats, and people milling around or traveling, destroying what little suspense there might have been. The main character somehow manages to be annoyingly idiotic and treacly even though we can't hear what he says; his wife is so melodramatic it is either humorous or tiring. The only good actor in the film is Max Schreck, and, to be honest, I found his appearance more funny than frightening. The movie set me up to ridicule it with its poncy opening and I couldn't get out of the mood.
For its time, the movie is terribly good. For our time, the movie is at best a nostalgic remnant, and on average not horrifying or entertaining. It deserves the cult following it has gathered in regard to the greatness it once had, but as with many things, greatness fades. For the general audience, Nosferatu is a movie landmark to be seen mainly out of interest in film history, not as a method of entertainment.
However, as a movie itself, it is at some intervals funny where it is not meant to be, and at others just irritating and painful.
A lot of the pain for me, I will allow, probably came from the soundtrack. I had to watch this movie for a film class and it was played with the Art Zoyd soundtrack on the Kino version, which I suppose meant to unsettle and frighten the listener, but in fact was sort of like Bjork farting through her mouth mixed with the sound of scissors cutting paper mixed with the sound of car alarms, and once they settled on a particular Bjork-car alarm mix, they would stick with it for a good fifteen minutes or so, even if nothing of particular interest was happening. The sound of car alarms, I find, makes me very angry, and when it goes on for fifteen minutes or so, it makes me want to throw up. After over an hour of this sort of assault on my brains, I was dying inside.
However, I was aware as I was watching that it was not only the soundtrack that I found unappealing. In between the major points of the storyline, there are large tracts of nothing in which there are only alternating shots of scenery, boats, and people milling around or traveling, destroying what little suspense there might have been. The main character somehow manages to be annoyingly idiotic and treacly even though we can't hear what he says; his wife is so melodramatic it is either humorous or tiring. The only good actor in the film is Max Schreck, and, to be honest, I found his appearance more funny than frightening. The movie set me up to ridicule it with its poncy opening and I couldn't get out of the mood.
For its time, the movie is terribly good. For our time, the movie is at best a nostalgic remnant, and on average not horrifying or entertaining. It deserves the cult following it has gathered in regard to the greatness it once had, but as with many things, greatness fades. For the general audience, Nosferatu is a movie landmark to be seen mainly out of interest in film history, not as a method of entertainment.