First, the quibbles: Since this is about a German movie and everyone in the movie is understood to be speaking German, the erratic accents would have been well dispensed with. John Malkovich's wig has his hairline receding more in some scenes than others. The title sequence -- easily 10 full minutes of zooming in and out on vaguely creepy artwork while all the people who ever adjusted a light or passed the director a pencil are credited, two at a time -- is a serious test of patience. And there's perhaps a bit too much silliness here and there -- there is the odd cheap laugh.
Now the praise: Though it would still work if one had not seen "Nosferatu," that definitely adds to the experience. "Shadow of the Vampire" easily matches "Nosferatu" in giving a sense of Count Orlock (or Orlok; it appears both ways in the title cards) as something completely other. This count is not a courtly, distorted human. He's utterly, unpredictably alien, and his priorities and needs are entirely his own. It makes him fascinating, and raises all kinds of questions about his real moral culpability. Dafoe is superb.
There's no question about the culpability of Murnau in the story; he's rather more dangerous than the vampire. Malkovich, who, with his bored bureaucrat's voice, has a particular genius for making lunacy sound perfectly reasonable, is terrific. And when he and Dafoe are together -- well, there hasn't been so much ham on a single screen since the scene between Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov in "Spartacus." They're a joy to watch.
I should also mention to those who haven't seen "Nosferatu" that, not only is Eddie Izzard a ringer for the pudgy young hero in the original, his portrayal of that actor's approach is not the least bit exaggerated.
Now the praise: Though it would still work if one had not seen "Nosferatu," that definitely adds to the experience. "Shadow of the Vampire" easily matches "Nosferatu" in giving a sense of Count Orlock (or Orlok; it appears both ways in the title cards) as something completely other. This count is not a courtly, distorted human. He's utterly, unpredictably alien, and his priorities and needs are entirely his own. It makes him fascinating, and raises all kinds of questions about his real moral culpability. Dafoe is superb.
There's no question about the culpability of Murnau in the story; he's rather more dangerous than the vampire. Malkovich, who, with his bored bureaucrat's voice, has a particular genius for making lunacy sound perfectly reasonable, is terrific. And when he and Dafoe are together -- well, there hasn't been so much ham on a single screen since the scene between Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov in "Spartacus." They're a joy to watch.
I should also mention to those who haven't seen "Nosferatu" that, not only is Eddie Izzard a ringer for the pudgy young hero in the original, his portrayal of that actor's approach is not the least bit exaggerated.