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Shadow Of The Vampire
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A lot of things could have gone wrong with "Shadow Of The Vampire"; a different filmmaker could have understood how to play the material less than relative newcomer E. Elias Merhige; a different studio could have been confused at how to market an offbeat picture such as this one. Everything fell into place though, and "Shadow" became one of last Winter's sleeper hits.
And, it did so with good reason. "Shadow"'s surreal, darkly comedic look at the making of horror classic "Nosferatu" stands as one of the more original and entertaining releases of 2000. John Malkovich stars as F.W. Murnau, director - he is shooting a new vampire movie in Europe and, instead of finding an actor to portray the vampire, he finds...an actual vampire named Max Schreck(Willem Dafoe). Although it may have seemed like a good idea at the time, the vampire starts taking out the cast and crew, forcing the frustrated director to go to new lengths to complete the film.
The picture is an actor's showcase, and both Malkovich and especially Dafoe(in an Oscar-nominated performance) dig into their roles and fuel them with a remarkable intensity. Malkovich, as Murnau, takes the more traditional route, becoming furious at the interruptions in the production - thankfully, the actor stops himself just short of overplaying. Dafoe, on the other hand, under layers of make-up, undergoes a complete transformation to become Schreck, who has slow-burning intensity to spare.
Although the acting is terrific, the screenplay intelligent and enjoyable, the production design amazing, there are still some problems with "Vampire" that keep it from being a movie that comes closer to perfection. The pacing is noticably slow at times, but gets along quick enough at a short 93 minutes. On the other hand, at such a short length, the picture never really develops the characters as far as it possibly could.
Still, for it's slight faults, "Shadow" still remains an original, superbly performed feature that I found quite entertaining.
The DVD
VIDEO: Universal gives "Shadow of the Vampire" one of its best efforts in recent memory, providing a terrific 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that met with few, minimal concerns from myself. Sharpness and detail were never less than terrific; even the film's many shadowy and dimly lit sequences appeared well-defined and clear. Even the film's black and white sequences were clean and clear.
Problems were minor at most. Print flaws were essentially not to be found; there was a speckle or two during the film, but nothing that was even that noticable. Slight edge enhancement is apparent once or twice, but is hardly bothersome. Pixelation is pleasantly absent, as well.
Colors are, of course, rather cool and subdued. Still, they remained accurate looking and problem-free. Flesh tones also were accurate and natural, and black level remained strong. Although Universal has shown the capability of doing excellent work in this regard, they don't always show it. Thankfully, "Shadow of the Vampire" looks fantastic with the studio's wonderful work here.
SOUND: "Shadow of the Vampire" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. Although the film's audio is not terribly active in any way, it's a nice feature to have the choice of either audio format. Differences between the two remained very slight and often, nonexistent.
Although the film does not provide many scenes that would call for agressive audio, there are some creepy surround effects and ambient sounds that occasionally add to the experience. The haunting score by Dan Jones sounds superb throughout the film, coming through with fine clarity and warmth. Sound details are also reproduced strongly. Dialogue remains clear and easily understood throughout. Not a stunning audio presentation, but contains enough nice touches to provide an engaging experience.
MENUS:: Although menus are not animated, the score does play behind the main menu.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary by director E. Elias Merhige. Although the director is not the most energetic speaker, he is able to provide enough discussion and enough interest in the discussion that I found the track both interesting and insightful. The director brings a very intelligent analysis of the story and characters to the table, offering his thoughts on the layers behind the surface of the characters. He also provides some good tidbits on not only what it was like to work with the actors, but the film's period look and design. It's a very good track, very much worth listening to for those who are interested in the production of the film.
Interviews: There are three different interviews included; actor Willem Dafoe, director Elias Merhige and producer Nicholas Cage. All three provide a brief discussion of their involvement with the picture; Dafoe discusses the acting, producer Cage discusses the history of the film and Merhige goes over his general thoughts that were already said in the commentary.
Also: Make-up application and production photo montages; trailers for "Shadow" and Merhige's first feature "Begotten"; production notes/cast crew bios and recommendations. Also included is a brief promotional featurette that doesn't go into a much detail.
Final Thoughts: "Shadow of the Vampire" is a very well-acted and original feature - it doesn't quite always work, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Universal's DVD is very good across the board, with excellent audio/video and strong supplements. Recommended.
A lot of things could have gone wrong with "Shadow Of The Vampire"; a different filmmaker could have understood how to play the material less than relative newcomer E. Elias Merhige; a different studio could have been confused at how to market an offbeat picture such as this one. Everything fell into place though, and "Shadow" became one of last Winter's sleeper hits.
And, it did so with good reason. "Shadow"'s surreal, darkly comedic look at the making of horror classic "Nosferatu" stands as one of the more original and entertaining releases of 2000. John Malkovich stars as F.W. Murnau, director - he is shooting a new vampire movie in Europe and, instead of finding an actor to portray the vampire, he finds...an actual vampire named Max Schreck(Willem Dafoe). Although it may have seemed like a good idea at the time, the vampire starts taking out the cast and crew, forcing the frustrated director to go to new lengths to complete the film.
The picture is an actor's showcase, and both Malkovich and especially Dafoe(in an Oscar-nominated performance) dig into their roles and fuel them with a remarkable intensity. Malkovich, as Murnau, takes the more traditional route, becoming furious at the interruptions in the production - thankfully, the actor stops himself just short of overplaying. Dafoe, on the other hand, under layers of make-up, undergoes a complete transformation to become Schreck, who has slow-burning intensity to spare.
Although the acting is terrific, the screenplay intelligent and enjoyable, the production design amazing, there are still some problems with "Vampire" that keep it from being a movie that comes closer to perfection. The pacing is noticably slow at times, but gets along quick enough at a short 93 minutes. On the other hand, at such a short length, the picture never really develops the characters as far as it possibly could.
Still, for it's slight faults, "Shadow" still remains an original, superbly performed feature that I found quite entertaining.
The DVD
VIDEO: Universal gives "Shadow of the Vampire" one of its best efforts in recent memory, providing a terrific 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that met with few, minimal concerns from myself. Sharpness and detail were never less than terrific; even the film's many shadowy and dimly lit sequences appeared well-defined and clear. Even the film's black and white sequences were clean and clear.
Problems were minor at most. Print flaws were essentially not to be found; there was a speckle or two during the film, but nothing that was even that noticable. Slight edge enhancement is apparent once or twice, but is hardly bothersome. Pixelation is pleasantly absent, as well.
Colors are, of course, rather cool and subdued. Still, they remained accurate looking and problem-free. Flesh tones also were accurate and natural, and black level remained strong. Although Universal has shown the capability of doing excellent work in this regard, they don't always show it. Thankfully, "Shadow of the Vampire" looks fantastic with the studio's wonderful work here.
SOUND: "Shadow of the Vampire" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. Although the film's audio is not terribly active in any way, it's a nice feature to have the choice of either audio format. Differences between the two remained very slight and often, nonexistent.
Although the film does not provide many scenes that would call for agressive audio, there are some creepy surround effects and ambient sounds that occasionally add to the experience. The haunting score by Dan Jones sounds superb throughout the film, coming through with fine clarity and warmth. Sound details are also reproduced strongly. Dialogue remains clear and easily understood throughout. Not a stunning audio presentation, but contains enough nice touches to provide an engaging experience.
MENUS:: Although menus are not animated, the score does play behind the main menu.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary by director E. Elias Merhige. Although the director is not the most energetic speaker, he is able to provide enough discussion and enough interest in the discussion that I found the track both interesting and insightful. The director brings a very intelligent analysis of the story and characters to the table, offering his thoughts on the layers behind the surface of the characters. He also provides some good tidbits on not only what it was like to work with the actors, but the film's period look and design. It's a very good track, very much worth listening to for those who are interested in the production of the film.
Interviews: There are three different interviews included; actor Willem Dafoe, director Elias Merhige and producer Nicholas Cage. All three provide a brief discussion of their involvement with the picture; Dafoe discusses the acting, producer Cage discusses the history of the film and Merhige goes over his general thoughts that were already said in the commentary.
Also: Make-up application and production photo montages; trailers for "Shadow" and Merhige's first feature "Begotten"; production notes/cast crew bios and recommendations. Also included is a brief promotional featurette that doesn't go into a much detail.
Final Thoughts: "Shadow of the Vampire" is a very well-acted and original feature - it doesn't quite always work, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Universal's DVD is very good across the board, with excellent audio/video and strong supplements. Recommended.
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