which version of nosferatu is the best (1920s version)?
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which version of nosferatu is the best (1920s version)?
There are several versions out there, which one should I get? I'm looking for the best total package.
#4
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For a direct comparison of the Image and Kino discs, including screen shots, check out DVD Beaver:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...vs%20Kino.html
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...vs%20Kino.html
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You know, I actually saw this on VHS once in a class and it had this psychedelic '70s-era rock soundtrack. Anyone recall a DVD version having a soundtrack like that? It really sounded great and worked well with the imagery.
#8
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Originally Posted by Al_Tahoe
Kino has the best film presentation.
Image has the best extras.
The 'German Masterworks' box Cameron mentioned is a great deal and was < $40 during the last DDD sale.
Image has the best extras.
The 'German Masterworks' box Cameron mentioned is a great deal and was < $40 during the last DDD sale.
#9
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Originally Posted by slowcloud
You know, I actually saw this on VHS once in a class and it had this psychedelic '70s-era rock soundtrack. Anyone recall a DVD version having a soundtrack like that? It really sounded great and worked well with the imagery.
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Originally Posted by slowcloud
You know, I actually saw this on VHS once in a class and it had this psychedelic '70s-era rock soundtrack. Anyone recall a DVD version having a soundtrack like that? It really sounded great and worked well with the imagery.
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Originally Posted by Josh Z
You sure you're not thinking of Metropolis with a 1980s rock soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder?
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Originally Posted by slowcloud
No, I'm aware of that one. This seemed really obscure and has a '70s feel, not '80s.
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Originally Posted by ViewAskewbian
I believe there was some kind of GOTHIC ELECTRONICA mix of sorts at one point lingering around out there.
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I've still not purchased this on DVD because the Kino seems to have the better picture (and a longer version of it) but I've heard some pretty bad things about the soundtracks for that version.
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Other reviews comparing the Kino & Image editions are available at the Silent Era website.
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Originally Posted by kingtopher
I've still not purchased this on DVD because the Kino seems to have the better picture (and a longer version of it) but I've heard some pretty bad things about the soundtracks for that version.
Basically, just don't feel tied down to a bad soundtrack for a good transfer of a silent film.
#17
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None of the Region 1 editions come with the original (reconstructed by Gillian Anderson) Hans Erdmann film score, which is really better than everything produced ever since and is offered on some European editions. This score is also available on a Surround Sound CD from BMG from Germany (part of the "100 years of film music" series), which it took me many years to hunt down:
There is also a 1998 James Bernard version available on CD, which I haven't heard but is not as rare. [James Bernard was the composer of the Hammer horrors of the sixties and seventies.]
All the other scores I've heard are weird-for-weird's-sake unadulterated crappola. At least, this film has so far been saved from the indignity of yet another mind-numbing specially-commissioned "original" Philip Glass score... (Ugh!)
I spent hours trying to make the 60 minute Erdmann CD fit to the 80 minute film (with certain repetitions and jumps). Just when I found an acceptable way to do this convincingly with the Image laserdisc, Kino came out with a longer, differently cut DVD version of the film and I have yet to attempt to fit the music to this version. Making the synchronisation difficult is the fact that the Erdmann score is very precise in commenting musically on every key scene, such as the ringing of the hours in the castle, the movement of horses, the movements of the vampire, etc.
Needless to say that if Criterion came out with a DVD that had a perfectly synchronised Hans Erdmann film score, I'd buy it!
Besides, all available versions are badly cropped one way or another and I believe only a pillar-boxed or window-boxed edition would compensate somewhat for the natural overscanning of most TV sets which keeps the viewer from seeing the top of the monster's head in the famous standing-erect-from-the-coffin scene in the ship - even in the Kino edition.
There is also a 1998 James Bernard version available on CD, which I haven't heard but is not as rare. [James Bernard was the composer of the Hammer horrors of the sixties and seventies.]
All the other scores I've heard are weird-for-weird's-sake unadulterated crappola. At least, this film has so far been saved from the indignity of yet another mind-numbing specially-commissioned "original" Philip Glass score... (Ugh!)
I spent hours trying to make the 60 minute Erdmann CD fit to the 80 minute film (with certain repetitions and jumps). Just when I found an acceptable way to do this convincingly with the Image laserdisc, Kino came out with a longer, differently cut DVD version of the film and I have yet to attempt to fit the music to this version. Making the synchronisation difficult is the fact that the Erdmann score is very precise in commenting musically on every key scene, such as the ringing of the hours in the castle, the movement of horses, the movements of the vampire, etc.
Needless to say that if Criterion came out with a DVD that had a perfectly synchronised Hans Erdmann film score, I'd buy it!
Besides, all available versions are badly cropped one way or another and I believe only a pillar-boxed or window-boxed edition would compensate somewhat for the natural overscanning of most TV sets which keeps the viewer from seeing the top of the monster's head in the famous standing-erect-from-the-coffin scene in the ship - even in the Kino edition.
Last edited by baracine; 09-19-05 at 04:05 PM.
#19
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Originally Posted by Cameron
I'll have to hunt down that soundtrack
Another problem with synchronising the Gillian Anderson-reconstructed Hans Erdmann score is the fact that Ms. Anderson obviously worked from a European video source (possibly the Image DVD or video) with its 1/25th speed-up, which makes the synchronisation of the CD with the new Kino DVD (not speeded up) a bit of a challenge.
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Originally Posted by slowcloud
You know, I actually saw this on VHS once in a class and it had this psychedelic '70s-era rock soundtrack. Anyone recall a DVD version having a soundtrack like that? It really sounded great and worked well with the imagery.
And it had an introduction by David Carradine...
Last edited by naitram; 09-20-05 at 11:09 PM.
#22
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Originally Posted by naitram
That's funny, because today in film history class we watched a version of Nosferatu that had a soundtrack by the band "Type O Negative". I thought it would be just some cool orchestral type music, but it was just actual songs by them set to the film. I like their music normally fine, but it just didn't work here I thought.