Figured out why Eggers's take on NOSFERATU left me wanting: the story was already told so perfectly in Murnau's version – sans dialogue and fleshing out / expansion of the story – that nothing Eggers brought to it wasn't already there, lurking below the surface and captured by Murnau and the original players. Don't get me wrong: still loved Eggers's interpretation – though I was felt that I was watching more an effective homage than a bold new take; had I not seen Murnau's film so many times – indeed, been raised on it –, I might hold a different opinion.
NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT (John Williams, 1948)
Even early, lesser Williams like this Dostoyevsky-style debut is more interesting than most of what's published today. Recommended, but not as a Williams introduction (that honor goes to STONER).
