JLyon1515

I'm looking to purchase the films The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) on DVD. I was wondering if anyone would help me figure out the best versions of each of these to purchase.

I saw that Kino has a release of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari that is a restored edition with coverart similar to their Metropolis release, which is by far the best release of it on DVD. This version has a 'Making of' documentary and a condensation of 'Genuine: The Tale of a Vampire.' I noticed that the Image Entertainment release has an audio commentary on it, but no 'making of' documentary. Is the documentary any good? SilentEra.com recommends the Image Entertainment release, but never mentioned anything about there being a Kino version.

For Nosferatu, Kino and Image Entertainment both have releases as well. SilentEra.com again reviews the Image version, but doesn't go into much detail about the Kino version.

Thanks in advance.

T. Bickle

dvdbeaver.com has a Caligari Image/Kino comparison.

JLyon1515

Thanks, T.Bickle. It appears from the DVDbeaver.com report card on the comparison of Caligari that Kino is better in image quality (excluding the first 5 minutes, which are pretty bad) and in extras. So that settles the questions about The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Now I just need to find out about the best version of Nosferatu.

majorjoe23

I think the Image has more extras for Nosferatu, but Kino has a better transfer. I'd just trust Kino with these things.

bboisvert

Exactly, Kino's Nosferatu looks better... but I have both because the Image extras are fantastic.

PatrickMcCart

Kino's Nosferatu looks somewhat "smoother" while the Image SE (red cover) has a very cleaned up look. Kino's has more film-like tints, too.

However, the scores on the Image editions of Caligari and Nosferatu are a LOT better than the Kino editions. The string quartet score for Caligari is likely the best score ever for the film.

Milestone Video will release a Nosferatu DVD in 2004 with a full orchestral score.


Basically, the best Nosferatu would use the image from Kino's, the organ score from Image's, and the extras from both. Caligari's best would use Kino's image and extras, with Image's score.

Heliosphann

I totally DISAGREE with DVDBEAVER's dvd comparison of CALIGARI... The IMAGE disc in my opinion is MUCH better than the KINO disc. Not only does it have a far superior Score (and commentary track), but it's also much cheaper and it has a superior transfer!

The resolution and image is overall a lot more clean and detailed on the IMAGE disc versus the KINO disc. Only one of the numerous color tint sequences looks better on the KINO disc... As for the frame line throught most of the transfer, this came directly from a Russian 35mm nitrate duplicate negative print. Famed silent film restorationist David Shepard supervised the transfer and treatment of the Image DVD, unlike the Kino disc.

I used to own both DVD's (I've since sold my KINO copy) and I personally took about 13 screen comparison shot's I took myself, which clearly back up my claims above.

RKillgore

If you're considering getting both titles from Kino, you may want to consider the Masterworks of German Horror boxset.

CrumpsBrother

I've heard that the transfers on the Masterworks set are horrible! Shame, too, as I really want THE GOLEM on DVD.

Can anyone who has seen the Masterworks DVDs confirm/refute that the transfers are bad?

Walter Neff

Where are the comparison shots posted? I (and I'm sure others) would like to take a look...

Heliosphann

Well, they have some posted on DVDBEAVER.COM, but they're quite inaccurate in MHO. I'll work on getting mine posted and then you can see for yourself.

ernestrp

I think that was the Masterworks of German Horror Cinema that was put out by ELITE as I recall that was real bad from what I have read here. The Kino set is called German Horror Classics. I do not know why DDD has it with Masterworks in the title but the price and what is shown looks like the Kino box set.

bboisvert

Yes, that's the set put out by Elite. And, yes, it is horrible.

But the Kino set is wonderful. Buy Kino's The Golem and you won't be disappointed.

rasalas

Let me just chime in to say that the commentary on the Image SE of Nosferatu is essential listening. After hearing it, you come away from the film actually knowing a lot about not just how Nosferatu was made but how films of that era were made. Let's face it: The movie was made almost 75 years ago, when filmmaking conventions were much different than they are today. For example, acting styles in the Gemarn silent era might seem like histrionics today, but there was a reason behind it all. The Image Nosferatu commentary, by German silent film connoisseur Lokke Heiss, explains it all. It's one of those tracks in which the information triumphs over the somewhat dry delivery. Don't miss it.

RKillgore

Sorry for contributing that bit of misinformation on DDD's part. Found a site that has a better deal on the Kino set here plus they have a new customer discount of $5 off a $50 or more order with code IAMNEW. However, recent customer reviews of Digital Eyes have been shaky, perhaps due to a recent relocation.

Drop

And what a BUMP we have here.

I just saw Caligari, and I really liked it, and definitely wanted to pick it up. So I turned to this thread, hoping for a definitive answer. I didn't get one.

I would really like to see Heliosphann's comparison, if he ever did it.

I'd really like a few more opinions if possible.

Damed

I too am in the market to buy The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

I'm leaning towards the Kino disc at this point. Anyone having screen shots comparing the Kino and Image CE releases?

Cameron

get the kino....buy the box if you have the cash, all four movies are great editions

Alfred Bergman

Hey, look that, a digital HD restoration of Nosferatu:

http://eurekavideo.co.uk/moc/catalog...-nosferatu.mov

http://www.kino.com/video/news.php?news_id=57

But they didn't replaced the missing frames, since most missing frames was available in other footages, prints, but with inferior picture quality.
Lucciano Berriatua was the film restorewr for the reconstruction of the film, and prefered to not use the best footages in somes scenes, since the best footage was shorter for some scenes and he didn't weant a abrupt change in image quality. The restoration of Chaplain Keystone shorts used a similar approuch, and they demonstrated that a long lower quality footage was placed for the entire scene, and a short version of the same scene, with more image quality, was left due be not complete.
I prefer to mix the quaity and lower quality footage in a same scene, even that this create a fall in picture quality allong the scene. Matching the contrast and gometry of the frame, with some sharpness adjust to the lower quality footage, helps to ride the image quality hiccup.

Thos digital restoration of nosferatu was based in the reconstrunction of the film by Lucciano Berriatua, and so follow this same principle. Lucciano foun a print of superior quality in the Cinematheque Francaise, bether than any other print of nosferatu, and he spent years and years trying to find that (I think was shot from original camera negative, so a fisrt generation print).
Some segments was deconposed, and there was some censored cut scenes not available in this quality print. Those segments was replaced with footage from toher prints, and that's why some scenes are really very good, and others just so-so. So the censor cuts, deteriored segments, wa s the reason, together with their decision of not allow image quality changes allong the same scene when possible.

For me they could have replaced the missingf frames at least, since if balanced by digital filters to get more sharpnes (since the frames was available in lower quality footage) and match contrast and geometry, the change in quality would not be much noticeable. The scene when Orlock rises after suck blood from Huter, have some missing frames that should be replaced. See the trailler in the link above.