Shadow of the Vampire

10/9/20001h 35m

Premiere Release (US)

~ An unspeakable horror. A creative genius. Captured for eternity. ~

Overview:

Director F.W. Murnau makes a Faustian pact with a vampire to get him to star in his 1922 film "Nosferatu."

Director:

E. Elias Merhige

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$8,000,000.00

Revenue:

$8,279,017.00

Key words:

vampire
movie business
nosferatu

Cast

John Malkovich

~ as ~

F. W. Murnau

Willem Dafoe

~ as ~

Max Schreck

Udo Kier

~ as ~

Albin Grau

Cary Elwes

~ as ~

Fritz Arno Wagner

Catherine McCormack

~ as ~

Greta Schröder

Eddie Izzard

~ as ~

Gustav von Wangenhein

Aden Gillett

~ as ~

Henrik Galeen

Nicholas Elliott

~ as ~

Paul

Ronan Vibert

~ as ~

Wolfgang Müller

Sophie Langevin

~ as ~

Elke

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 9 year(s) ago
6
Did I kill one of your people, Murnau? I can't remember.

F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is filming Nosferatu (1922), but isn't reclusive star Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) taking his role of the vampire way too seriously?

In some ways it's a curate's egg of a film. It certainly helps if you are a lover of old classic film and have some knowledge of the source material at the film's core. It's a fabulous concept that the screenplay is based around, that the star of the film may actually be a real vampire, and the whole production is executed with consummate skill (Dafoe was deservedly Oscar nominated as were make-up artists Ann Buchanan & Amber Sibley). But come the end it fizzles out and proves to not have delivered on its devilishly intriguing premise. Fun, though, and tech credits all round keep one well involved. 6/10