Shadow of the Vampire (2000) DVD Color Shown in original aspect ratio Approx. 91 min. Playable in North America (the US, Canada, Mexico, etc.) Optional English subtitles/close captions.
Starring: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard and Aden Gillett. Written by Steven Katz. Directed by E. Elias Merhige.
In 1921, German director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is shooting “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror”, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel “Dracula”. Murnau keeps his team in the dark about their schedule and the actor playing the vampire Count Orlok (Willem Dafoe). It is left to the film's other main actor, Gustav von Wangenheim (Eddie Izzard), to explain that the lead is an obscure German theater performer named Max Schreck, who is a character actor. To involve himself fully in his role, Schreck will only appear amongst the cast and crew in makeup, will only be filmed at night, and will never break character. The filming is hampered by the fact that its star Schreck is taking the role of a vampire far more seriously than seems humanly possible.
Roger Ebert awarded “Shadow of the Vampire” his Special Jury Prize on his list of "The Best 10 Movies of 2000", writing of Dafoe's "astonishing performance" and of the film, "Avoiding the pitfall of irony; it plays the material straight, which is truly scary."