Shadow of the Vampire

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                            <IMG SRC="7d721d90.jpg" border=0 width="289" height="217" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Willem Dafoe                    Director: E. Elias Merhige</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Shadow of the Vampire </B>**** (R)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 ><NOBR><div> A Vampire Classic pays homage to <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U>Nosferatu</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> F.W. Murnau: John Malkovich</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Max Schreck: Willem Dafoe</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Gustav von Wangerheim: Eddie Izzard</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Fritz Wagner: Cary Elwes</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Greta: Catherine McCormack</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: E. Elias Merhige</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Albin: Udo Kier</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Producer: Nicolas Cage</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I> is a movie about the making of <B>THE</B> classic vampire movie, <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu,</B></I></U></A><I><B> </B></I>made in 1922 by the legendary German director F.W. Murnau. The film alleges that the actor in the movie who plays the vampire is a <B>real</B> vampire, who is attacking the cast. The deal he has made with the director is that he is to wait until the end of the film to feast on the leading lady. What the director gets is a realistic vampire film.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Understanding the movie is much easier if you know that there are two layers of actor's names to deal with. For example, Willem Dafoe is Max Schreck, who is the actor in <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U> </U></A>who played the vampire Count Orlock. Both play the role of Orlock; Dafoe in this film and Schreck in <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu.</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><B> </B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> In addition to the actors, there are three aspects of <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I>, which also serve as <I>characters</I> as delivered by the director E. Elias Merhige. They are music, film technique and the feeling of being in the German expressionist cinema of the 1920's.  The film opens quietly with classical music and art frescos reminiscent of the silent film era. While the film has plenty of drama and action, it's talky to a degree to engage us in how people communicated in silent films. For example, the director of <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu,</B></I></U></A> F.W. Murnau, talks to his actors and literally directs them as he operates the camera. He can do this because he is making a <I>silent</I> film. The seamless interlacing of grainy black and white footage and the stilted movement of a silent film (<I>Nosferatu</I>, the film within this film), along with the color and fluidity of <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I>, and you have the sense of stepping back and forth between genres as the story progresses.  </div> <bR> <div> F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is on location in Eastern Europe to film <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu,</B></I></U></A><I> </I>with the fanatical goal to make the most authentic vampire movie ever. Toward that end, he searches out and finds a <I><B>real</B></I> vampire, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) to play the role of Count Orlock. </div> <bR> <div> Like Renee Zellweger was "in character" 24/7 in <A HREF="id555.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nurse Betty"><U><I><B>Nurse Betty,</B></I></U></A> where she thought the characters on a TV soap opera were real, Max Schreck <I>is</I> real. He needs no make up because he's already in costume with his pointed bat like ears, ratty, ashen white face, long fingernail claws and sunken eyes. He is most normal when he is in search of his prey for blood. We must remember that a vampire is not out to kill people because of a mental defect or character flaw, but because they can only sustain themselves with human blood. It's the equivalent of bread and water to humans. </div> <bR> <div> Count Orlock looks like he has been in a casket for hundreds of years, coming out only at night to get his quota of blood when he must. The deal he makes with Murnau is that he is allowed to feast on the movie's attractive female star Greta (Catherine McCormack) at the conclusion of the film. Conflict arises when the Count is unable to delay his attraction for the blood of production assistants on the set. Murnau is infuriated with the Count because making the movie, a complex task in itself, is complicated by him now having to replace members of the film crew that have been killed by the vampire. </div> <bR> <div> Greta is a stage actress who wants to make it big in films. Because of this she reluctantly goes along with her odd costar, Max Schreck. During a break in the filming, after Schreck eats a bat (worth the price of admission all by itself), a few of the crew members start to realize the movie is more real than they imagined. They would like to run away, but by this time, they are on location on an island, without ready transportation. Soon the film will be finished, and since it's not them the vampire wants at the end of the movie, they reluctantly go along to complete it. </div> <bR> <div> Greta becomes very sexy and provocative when she takes her drug of choice, morphine. During the filming of the final scene when Murnau injects her with drugs, she is use to the experience. She is ready for the Count's approach to her as she lies in bed, she allows him to kiss her on the neck. When he begins to draw blood, he soon is high on the drugs as well. What Count Orlock does then affects the entire cast and the passionate Murnau takes the opportunity of a lifetime to complete the film he wants, as he cranks the projector.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: The opening of the film, with it's quiet music and artistic sequences, is similar to <A HREF="id595.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dancer In The Dark"><U><I><B>Dancer in the Dark</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id595.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dancer In The Dark"><U> </U></A>and also has the same meditative effect to get you in the mind set for something very different from the normal movie going experience. </div> <bR> <div> As the credits were rolling, I had the sensation of wondering if Max Schreck really was a vampire because it seemed <B>too</B> real. Dafoe gives an Oscar caliber performance that is so over the top he makes actors like Kevin Spacey and Nicolas Cage look mild by comparison. Yet it seems to be totally "in character" for a being that in the past we've only thought of as a figment of our imagination; the stuff of nightmares.     </div> <bR> <div> On the surface the movie may be too intellectual and complex to become an instant mega hit at the box office. However, it will no doubt become a classic just like the film on which it's based, <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><B>.</B></U></A><A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U> </U></A>During my interview with director E. Elias Merhige, shortly before <I>Shadow's</I> closing night showing at the Chicago International Film Festival, his primary intent for the film is to make a movie that has lasting value. His concept is more of the thrill of a lifetime rather than for the moment. Merhige's critically acclaimed debut feature, <I>Begotten,</I> has become a visionary classic, which Time Magazine listed in their top 10 films for the year in 1987. </div> <bR> <div> The craftsmanship and style of <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I> is best described as meticulous and elegant. Add the eccentricity of Malkovich with the surreal performance of Dafoe and we have an appreciation of silent films made possible by those with sound. Hutter, the hapless real estate agent sent to inform Count Orlock of his new digs (pun intended), is portrayed by Eddie Izzard in <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I>. He is so good that at times you can't tell if you are looking at him in <I>Shadow </I>or Gustav von Wangenheim, who played the part in <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu.</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U> </U></A>That is a compliment to both Izzard's acting skills and Merhige's technical and artistic expertise in making this film. </div> <bR> <div> Enjoying, understanding and making sense of this movie is helped considerably if you either read a full review or have seen <A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><I><B>Nosferatu</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id1059.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nosferatu"><U><B> </B></U></A>before going to the theater. It's a wonderful vampire movie, but for many of us who are used to the blood lusting films made on the order of <I>Scream</I> and <A HREF="id944.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dracula 2000"><U><I><B>Dracula 2000</B></I></U></A>, without some preparation, <I>Shadow of the Vampire </I>is so plausible (frighteningly so)<I> </I>that you're not sure what is happening.  </div> <bR> <div> Many movies allow you to relax as if you were home watching television…the message comes to you even if you have one eye on the TV, and one eye on your dinner plate while you are discussing the time and location of the next PTA meeting. Here, you need to give the story your full attention so that you can enter another world.   </div> <bR> <div> Going to see <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I> is like going to a historical museum…at first you might not think you are interested (unless you're really into vampires), but once you get half way through it, you are glad you made the effort. <I>Shadow of the Vampire</I> may not make the splash of<A HREF="id749.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"><U> </U></A><A HREF="id749.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"><U><I><B>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,</B></I></U></A><I> </I>another very different film, but it will likely last as long, if not longer. You know, vampires live for centuries. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> R (sex; drugs; violence; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="610" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> John Malkovich: <I><B>Being John Malkovich</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Willem Dafoe: <A HREF="id111.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="American Psycho"><U><I><B>American Psycho</B></I></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 ><NOBR><div> Cary Elwes: <I>Cradle Will Rock</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="317"><div> Catherine McCormack: <I><B>The Tailor of Panama</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Eddie Izzard: <I>The Avengers</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="317"><div> Udo Kier: <I>Breaking the Waves</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> E. Elias Merhige: <I>Begotten</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Nicolas Cage: <I><B>Bringing out the Dead</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="514" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="508"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="508" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>