Search - Hunchback of Notre Dame: Nosfaratu on DVD

Not Worth It

dreambattery | USA | 12/26/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"To find 2 classic silent features on 1 DVD for a great price sounds like a dream, right? Unfortunately, the films are not in very good condition at all. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, featuring the amazing talents of the late Lon Chaney, is quite grainy so it's hard to see. Nosferatu never fails to give me chills but the music is all wrong! My guess is that someone just found a 10 minute score and just replayed it over and over again throughout the entire film without even giving thought to organizing it to play along with the scary scenes. Nosferatu's scary factor decreases when the intensity of the organ sounds when one of the characters opens the door and goes outside. And when Nosferatu does come into view, the music has somehow softened.

I give a star for both of these films since they are wonderful pieces from the silent era. However, I am a believer that music is important in films, so if you purchase this DVD, you may want to press the mute button on your remote control. In fact, for a couple more bucks, you can get restored versions of these classics. Do yourself a favor- don't buy this."