While at Suncoast Video yesterday, I spied the double feature of Nosferatu and Phantom of the Opera..both silent classics. They had been released by Diamond Entertainment and were in the $9.99 rack. For that price I thought I would take a chance as the case proclaimed they both were "FULLY RESTORED AND FROM DIGITALLY EHHANCED MASTERS."
Well, the bad news on Phantom is that it does not seem to be enhanced in any way to remove scratches etc. The good news is that it is that the price is right, and fairly watchable, I have seen worse copies.....faint praise. The color masquerade sequence in Phantom is advertised as being there, but this print seems to be totally black and white. The picture is very bright and clear in places and at other times very muiddy. It does have an accompanying orchestral music soundtrack, but nothing just PD music that is just punched in, and at times certainly does not match the mood of what is going on.
It times out at 79 minutes according to the box.
Next: Nosferatu listed as being 63 minutes long. This film almost completely duplicates Bram Stoker's Dracula and the credits on this print give credit to Stoker. Just enough of Stoker's work was changed so that the film was unauthorized by him. This silent film is regarded as one of the earliest classic horror films. The box gives the film's date as 1926, but the credits on the film oddly say 1922. Again rhe print's quality is mixed , but it does appear much better than the Phantom.. An organ musical background is provided. The dialogue cards seem to be newly inserted.
There are many "extras" listed on this DVD.......They are as follows...
Bios: very sketchy background on Chaney and the Director of Nosfeatu.
About the Films:More meager information that does not reveal much.
Facts and Trivia: More of the same
Photo Gallery: Nothing more than frame grabs from the two films.
So the verdict on this disc is that it is cheap and affordable, but nothing outstanding. Somewhere out there has to be a better copy on DVD of the Phantom.
So you pays your money and takes your choice...
In researching Nosferatu I found the following info:
Originally released in 1922 as Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens, director F. W. Murnau's chilling and eerie unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula is a silent masterpiece of terror which to this day is the most striking and frightening portrayal of the Bram Stoker legend. After it's premiere in 1922, Nosferatu was the subject of a lawsuit brought by Stoker's widow who saw to it that any mention of "Dracula" was removed from the movie and that all "known" prints and negatives were destroyed. (Evidently they missed a few somewhere)
There are varying stories on the trouble between Nosferatu and Stoker's widow and the possible resolution involving changes made in the film that allowed it to stay in release.