Nosferatu The Vampyre

The BFI has brought out Werner Herzog's Nosferatu The Vampyre on 4K Ultra HD. On the disc are both the English and German language cuts of the film. The film is an adaptation of both Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's 1922 silent classic, Nosferatu, and Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. 4K shows off Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein Cinematography to great effect. Interiors with detailed set dressing also benefit from higher resolution. With the exception of a few scenes and some of the interiors of Castle Dracula, Herzog's naturalistic style of film making makes HDR a little superfluous.

There are audio commentaries. Both play over the German language version of the film. They are Werner Herzog in conversation, one in English and one in German. Apart from the language difference they are fairly similar. Notable among the special features here is Contracting Vampirism: A Copyright History Of Nosferatu by filmmaker Nic Wassell, which covers the copyright dispute between Bram Stoker's widow, Florence, and the makers of the first Nosferatu film. It was a blatant rip off of Dracula. In brief, she sued, she won. It wavers off topic towards the end. Making Of Nosferatu The Vampyre, filmed on set in 1979, provides a few insights into Herzog's process. Screen Talk: Werner Herzog is an hour long, fairly wide ranging discussion with Francine Stock from the 2016 BFI London Film Festival.

The rest of the package is fairly standard, nothing to write home about, nothing to criticise; it's pretty much what you would expect.

Reviewed on: 22 Sep 2025