Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Academy Awards, USA 2001

Nominated Oscar	Best Actor in a Supporting Role Willem Dafoe
	Best Makeup Ann Buchanan Amber Sibley

Lions Gate Films
Directed by E. Elias Merhige
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Universal)

John Malkovich plays F.W. Murnau, the German director, on the set of his famous silent film Nosferatu. The production team travels to a remote crumbling castle in Czechoslovakia where they meet the man playing the star of the film for the first time. He stays in character at all times: sleeping in the castle, drinking blood and stalking the crew. Murnau struggles to retain control over his film, threatened both by his eccentric star, who may or may not actually be a vampire, and rampant drug use, including his own addiction. It is an homage to the art of film making in general and Murnau's original film in particular. Dafoe is brilliant as the vampire, practically unrecognizable in heavy makeup, but Malkovich tends to go overboard in his depiction of the director. Exquisitely filmed on locations in Luxembourg in natural lighting.