trailer tuesday

this week's entry is for werner herzog's nosferatu the vampyre (1979).

this trailer is in english, as two versions of the film were made concurrently - one in german and one in english in hopes of finding a bigger audience in the states. i have seen the film in both versions - twice in the theater and countless times at home - and would really encourage you to watch the version in german if you have the choice. there is a quality of unease in the german version not present in the english. if you know me, you know of my fondness for herzog, kinski and german cinema in general. this film has so much of what i love about all of that bound up in it. the stylized work of german pioneers is filtered through the "new german cinema" to astounding effect. instead of danger to life and limb this time, herzog's recklessness manifests itself by putting his artistic reputation in harm's way in taking on one of the definitive films in all of german cinematic history. the ghost of murnau's original shows up periodically in this as some iconic shots are reproduced but herzog and kinski craft a sympathetic villain all their own. the vermin that max schreck orignally essayed evolves into a haunted, tortured abomination feasting on scraps, bitterly lonely. the pace can be glacial at times but this is only a positive for me, as i think it better establishes the otherworldly feeling necessary to immerse yourself in the film. you feel disjointed, stranded in the gloaming. popol vuh's score contributes mightily to that as well. before you know it, you're not sure what lies ahead. are you facing the longest, loneliest and most dangerous part of the night or should you be racing for that ruined abbey, fearful that you won't outrun that cock's crow?

the harmony of overwhelming and collective murder

this is my favorite segment from les blank's burden of dreams (1982), the documentary he made about the production of werner herzog's fitzcarraldo (1982). herzog's earnestness borders on lunacy at times and this was absolutely necessary to complete a project beset with so many perils. lesser men would have given up, saner men would have never even started.

there are any number of things to discuss at length regarding these films but today what i am focused on is the value in following your muse even when your muse threatens you with your ultimate destruction. if you have that sort of fortitude, and you live to tell the tale, you find out things that very few people are privy to.

you can find fitzcarraldo either in a regular, single-disc edition or in werner herzog and klaus kinski: a film legacy, which is worth every damn penny. watch it first, then burden of dreams, which you can get at any online retailer worth their salt or directly from the criterion collection.