Shadow of the Vampire (Widescreen): Amazon.ca: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard, Aden Gillett, Nicholas Elliott, Ronan Vibert, Sophie Langevin, Myriam Muller, Milos Hlavac, E. Elias Merhige, Alan Howden, Jean-Claude Schlim, Jeff Levine, Jimmy de Brabant, Nicolas Cage, Norman Golightly, Steven Katz: DVD

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Customer Reviews

139 Reviews

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(13)

Average Customer Review

3.6 out of 5 stars (139 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars fictionalized and embellished account of the filming of Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, Oct 5 2010

By

falcon "disdressed12" (canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Shadow of the Vampire (Widescreen) (DVD)

this fictionalized and embellished account of the filming of the 1922 classic vampire tale Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens,directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was certainly eerie and atmospheric.Willem Dafoe is unrecognizable as Max Schrek/Count Orlock underneath all the prosthetics and makeup,and pretty much inhabits the character.John Malkovich portrays Murnau as possibly insane.the scenes of interaction between Murnau and Orlock crackle with intensity.i also liked the opening sequence.i thought it really set the mood,although i could see how some people might think differently.it is a bit long,and at first glance doesn't appear to be relevant to the rest of the film.anyway,i liked it.for me,Shadow of the Vampire is a 4/5

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4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying, but not a good stand-in for the original, April 3 2010

By

Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shadow of the Vampire (Widescreen) (DVD)

This film is candy for film lovers, especially for those like myself who can't get enough of the early silent cinema. An imaginative and creative reconstruction of the filming of the film classic "Nosferatu," the film is very entertaining and inventive, and shouldn't disappoint any viewer. But I don't think it would hold the same level of fascination for someone who hadn't already been captivated by the original.

My only complaint, made with the understanding that not every film can satisfy every expectation, and that the film works well enough within its own plan, is that by portraying Max Schreck as a "real" vampire, we don't get to see anything about the "real" Max Schreck who I imagine to be fascinating in his own right. The film also does not shed much light on the question why this film is horrifying on its own, at least for the time in which it was made, because it feels the need to set up the scariness of the film for a contemporary audience by portraying Mr. Schreck as if he really were a strange and scary character in "real" life, i.e. as if he weren't a good actor, who happened to have found a role for which he was ideal. Now to say he is a good actor may surprise some who find his performance over the top -- but his performance really was a powerful one for the day in which it was made. It is the slow deliberateness, and singularity of purpose, that is frightening; today as film goers we tend to lack the imagination required to find this performance powerful, and want instead violence and sudden movements.

What I find most interesting about older films like Nosferatu one is that they achieve their effects using very different techniques than are used in contemporary horror films -- but that if you put yourself in the right frame of mind you can discover yourself feeling something like what one might expect a contemporary of the film to have felt. While "Shadow" succeeds on one level, as a contemporary film that replaces horror with gleeful campiness, it manages to keep the viewer at a distance from the horror of the original.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Why?, May 6 2004

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"piranhablues1" (Hemet, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow of the Vampire (DVD)

Willem Dafoe was great in this film, but that's as far as this good review goes. Maybe, I just didn't "get" what they were trying to do with this film. The story seemed extremely underdeveloped and was very rushed toward the end. Like the entire film crew suddenly realized that they had drug their feet during filming and had 10 minutes to tie it all up. Nosferatu was brilliant, and this almost downplays it's brilliance.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A film you can't miss.
Before we start, let's talk about the film's plot. This film takes place in 1929, were there filming the classic film, Notferatu(I think that's spelled wrong). Read more

Published on May 22 2004 by Lauren B. Floss

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely my Favorite vampire movie!
First of all I must admit I don't much care for most vampire movies -- different reasons for different ones. But this one I just loved! Read more

Published on April 1 2004