Nosferatu (Robert Eggers, 2024)

[midnitedave]

I enjoyed Nosferatu, though I'll admit it's not Eggers' best film and that I prefer his original work. Still, I've seen it twice now, and it definitely rewards multiple viewings (that is, if you're so inclined to do so). While my first viewing was focused mostly on the camerawork and performances, the second time I noticed the relation between lilac and Ellen. Her locket smells of lilac, she wears lilac-colored clothing, Thomas brings her lilac flowers, etc. The use of lilac in folklore to ward off evil spirits, as well as its historical use in funerals to cover up the smell of decay, is an eloquent symbol of Ellen's own repression. Desperately, she tries to conceal her relationship with Orlok while being told to forget her visions—burying her "true nature" out of shame.

Regarding Eggers generally, I tend to file him alongside Lars von Trier or Gaspar Noé in that you either enjoy their work or you don't (often, with very little in-between). For myself, I enjoy Eggers in a similar way to The Adventures of Pete & Pete (a '90s Nickelodeon TV show), as both give credence to their characters' fantastical beliefs and focus the narrative around those ideas. I'm hard-pressed to think of another modern director that's doing something similar so consistently and, as such, find Eggers to be a breath of fresh air.

Addition: Yorgos Lanthimos or Ari Aster are the most comparable contemporaries, though both tend to have more emotionally charged subject matter whereas Eggers is more heady.

[The Curious Sofa]

As good as Bill Skarsgaard might be in this, I really really wish we would have gotten Robert Pattinson.

It turns out that nobody would have known that's Bill Skarsgaard under the make-up if it hadn't been for the credits. And considering he refused to have his voice digitally altered and trained it to sound like that with the help of an opera singer, it's a pretty impressive performance.

On a rewatch last evening, I suddenly remembered where I'd seen the 2024 Nosferatu before. He looks like

Spoiler

The Judge from Peter Jackson's The Frighteners, played by John Astin: https://www.instagram.com/universalpict ... mg_index=2

[Finch]

What I liked: Bill Skarsgaard's voice and overall appearance (he might actually be my favorite Orlok/Dracula) as well as Ineson and Dafoe. Some images are wonderful: I especially liked the shot of the coach beckoning to Harker and a wider shot of the alleyways and steps of the German town coming after the tracking shot of the ocean. The film's closing image was also stunning. Was struck by this film's Renfield's resemblance to the actor from the Murnau version (who single-handedly takes me out of the film every single time with his mugging!).

What didn't work for me: the younger cast. Rose-Depp tries too hard and no one else left an impression. Too many jump scares and a too busy soundscape breaking what little immersion I felt. I really like The Witch a lot but Eggers gets less interesting and appealing to me with every new film he makes.

I'm not a huge fan of any of the Nosferatus and Draculas (still need to see the Badham film) but if I had to choose, I'd still go with the Herzog version as the best adaptation and Fisher's Hammer film as a backup. Coppola's has the best score and Renfield in Tom Waits.

[denti alligator]

Well, I guess it’s inevitable this would not be able to rival the original. There was not much I thought was better than in Murnau’s version. Some of the iconic shots were simply not provided, which I guess is smart, but then they are replaced by horror clichés. Honestly it was hard for me to get over the look of Nosferatu, who only reminded me of

Spoiler

the footage of Nietzsche from his final year: without a mind and close to death.

That’s all I saw, so it was a bit distracting. I did like his death and the final shot, for some reason. It seemed to bring home more fully the way in which this is precisely what Nosferatu most desired: a perverse Liebestod that puts an end to his own suffering. But I still find Schreck’s Nosferatu more pitiful—in a good way.

[Matt]

I was surprised by how much I liked this. I found it unexpectedly touching once I began to see Ellen's and Orlok's relationship as a metaphor for depression. Ellen initially summons him through a desperate plea to be delivered of some unidentified anguish, but of course her anguish only deepens as Orlok approaches. He portrays himself as a comfort to her, her one and only true love, which is not only her undoing but the undoing of everyone else around her. And in the end,

Spoiler

death is her only relief. Bleak!

I thought it was a little too long (but there is almost no movie I don't feel that way about anymore). The miserably miscast Aaron Taylor-Johnson should have been almost entirely excised—the Hardings end up being an almost entirely dispensable subplot, but the resolution of it is quite satisfying. Skarsgard is very good, giving mostly a vocal performance. I don't think Pattinson could have done better, actually. Orlok's coat with the huge Astrakhan collar and 4-foot-long sleeves is, in this film, even more key to defining his character than the iconic claw-like hands and pointed ears. Linda Muir absolutely deserves her Costume Designers Guild award and Oscar nomination.

Contrary to most opinions here it seems, I was really impressed by Lily-Rose Depp. She's already got such a delicate, haunted face (inheriting the best traits of her parents) that's perfect for the role, reminiscent, yes, of Adjani in both the Herzog Nosferatu. But she also gives an intensely physical performance, recalling again Adjani in Possession and also Keira Knightley in Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method.

[Mr Sausage]

I already liked the movie, but your reading has really opened it up for me. Makes it a kind of counterpart to Hereditary. I need to watch it again!

(I agree with you about Depp)

[Constable]

Haven't seen this yet and now I have to decide between the theatrical and the extended cut, has anyone seen both? Any takes on which is better?

[Matt]

Haven't seen this yet and now I have to decide between the theatrical and the extended cut, has anyone seen both? Any takes on which is better?

I think only two scenes are added for a total of about 4 minutes. Both give you more Orlok, so I think it's worth watching the extended cut.

[Noiretirc]

So, what happened to the 3hr ish version that Eggers mentioned?