Nosferatu Rises: Reincarnated in Sound
- Count Orlok speaks! After a century of silent scares, the brooding vampire finally finds his voice
- Among Nosferatu‘s many homages and reinterpretations are several transforming it into a talkie
- Most are deadly serious, while some shorter versions play it for laughs, but all are fatally fascinating
- Nosferatu as a sound film is nothing new, but modern technology makes it easier than ever before
- Whatever your opinion, the results are always notable for the huge amount of skill and work involved
Purists (and those with no sense of fun) look away now. Over the years, Count Orlok has been reimagined more times than he’s had hot necks, and one perennially popular way is to give him and his co-stars a voice – literally. Digital technology makes this easier than ever before and I’ve dug up a clawful of noteworthy examples. To those who cry “Sacrilege!” – and those who don’t – I’ll remind you that the idea of a sound version of Nosferatu is nothing new. Following its original 1922 release, the film was bought by a company who re-edited it, shot new scenes, and released it as a part-talkie retitled Die zwölfte Stunde (The Twelth Hour, 1930). At least in the main examples here, the original film remains respectfully intact – for now…
Poster by Black Madre Atelier, 2017
Contents
- The Nonsilent Film
- Jeff Cooper Full Sound version
- Strephon Taylor Full Sound version
- Silentless Movie
- One Minute Claymation
- Nosferatu Remix
- Related articles
The Nonsilent Film
Poster by Black Madre Atelier, 2017
To showcase their vast audio archive of music and sound effects, Getty Images Brasil created a completely new soundtrack for their 2017 “nonsilent” version. But they’ve gone way beyond their remit and created a real treat for film fans. Over the space of three months, they worked with Punch Audio to synchronise thousands of different audio samples alongside Orlok’s misdeeds. The dedicated website hosting the results of their efforts is ingenious. It allows the option of watching Nosferatu with waveforms of every sample overlaid, including full details for each one and the ability to play (or buy) them individually.
Now, I’ve no time for Getty per se: time and time again they’ve used bully boy tactics to try and coerce website owners into handing over money for using images whose copyright Getty allegedy owns. It’s often a complete lie: they’ve even been caught out demanding money from the actual copyright holders! And they’re not the only ones: Alamay and various others are culprits too. Luckily, they’ve been called on it repeatedly in the press, but it’s too lucrative a revenue stream, so they show no sign of stopping. Ironic then that Getty should yet again resort to stealing themselves, as for their Nonsilent Nosferatu they’ve appropriated Kino’s problematic transfer of its 2006 restoration. In the spirit of all good pirates they’ve chopped off the idents and restoration credits from the top and tail of the film. They’ve also removed the original tinting and deliberately degraded the video quality of the English intertitle version. Though the film itself is under copyright, the first unrestored B&W version to become widely available (most commonly but erroneously referred to as the “public domain version”) is plundered unopposed for retooled versions such as these. However, even if we allow for that version to be fair game, this restoration, along with its newly designed and created intertitles, definitely is not. At the very least, Getty should have used Nosferatu‘s unrestored B&W version for this project.
Yes, Getty Images are copyright thieves and hypocrites to boot, but that stands apart from this remarkable achievement in creativity and audio engineering. Like the other examples here, it’s a fine testament to the technical skill and hard work of all involved.
Nosferatu: The Nonsilent Film website
Trailer
Trailer #2
Jeff Cooper Full Sound version
Executed in like fashion though with much less finesse, Jeff Cooper’s 2008 Full Sound version is still mightily impressive for the sheer amount of work that went into it.
He also created a new, non-talking sound design for the original screen version of Frankenstein and even produced a couple of original horror films.
Strephon Taylor Full Sound version
This similarly titled 2010 redux is the brainchild of Strephon Taylor of November Fire Recordings. In addition to dialogue and effects, it includes a new score by his rock band Hobgoblin. Taylor and his cohorts also supplied aural excitement for versions of Caligari (1920) in 2011 and The Golem (1920) in 2013.
- Nosferatu Full Sound DVD – Amazon
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Full Sound DVD – Amazon
- The Golem Full Sound DVD – Amazon
Silentless Movie
This abbreviated version, played strictly for laughs, is courtesy of Mario Wienerroither, best known for his incredibly popular “Musicless Music Videos”, such as:
Now if only he could kick his annoying habit of cropping and stretching most of his 1.33:1 aspect ratio content to fill a 1.78:1 frame…
One Minute Claymation
Not a talkie, but I’m sneaking it because I like it – so there. This cute claymation version is from Onion Productions, who have a nice collection of funny and inventive horror film spoofs on their YouTube channel.
Nosferatu Remix
Hopefully there’s more to come, as back in 2014 director David Lee Fisher announced he’d be helming a partial remake titled Nosferatu Remix, somewhat akin to a modern version of Die zwölfte Stunde. Alongside other actors, Hollywood A-lister Doug Jones is to play Count Orlok in new footage and scenes to be integrated with the old. Jones is well known for being a regular featured player in Guillermo del Toro’s films, such as Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy I and II (2004, 2008), and The Shape of Water (2017). He also played the Surfer himself in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and Cesare in similarly-conceived 2005 remake of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Amid a welter of publicity and interviews, $67,500 was successfully raised via crowdfunding to finance Fisher’s latest project. However, since 2016 things have gone very quiet, with even the dedicated website and Facebook page being shut down. Jones’ career continues to scale new heights, and that can’t help much when it comes to arranging a shooting schedule. Let’s hope something of that ilk is the only reason for the delay, and that we haven’t heard the last of this particular incarnation of Nosferatu.
November 2018 update: Jones tweeted it’s “coming in the new year!”
Related articles
If you like this, you’ll love:
- Nosferatu: History and Home Video Guide: Genesis of a Vampire
- Part 2: 1920s Screenings and Die zwölfte Stunde (1930)
- Part 3: Surviving Prints and “Public Domain Version”
- Part 4: 1981–1987 Restorations
- Part 5: David Shepard and Eureka Versions
- Part 6: 1995 and 2006 Restorations
- Part 7: Serenading the Undead: So Many Scores
- Part 8: The Many Faces of Orlok: Restored Versions on Blu-ray and DVD
- Nosferatu Unleashed in HD: Every Blu-ray Reviewed
- Nosferatu: Chronicles from the Vaults – reprints of rare articles
- Nosferatu Rises: Reincarnated in Sound
Facebook: The Nosferatu Society | in-depth BD/DVD details: DVDCompare
I started Brenton Film because I love film – quelle surprise! The silent era, 1930s and 1940s especially get my literary juices flowing though. So you’ll see a lot about those. For more, see this site’s About page.
2 Comments
Frederik Olsen
Nov 01, 12:06Brent Reid
Nov 01, 12:46