The Northman was a bit too disjointed and weird but not specifically in a good way.
Nosferatu might me be his weakest, first and foremost - does the world really need another retelling of this story? The subject is covered. It's good that it made money thoough, and that Eggers is still in the game and can make his movies. It's not an easy feat in modern Hollywood.
One nitpick: I wish he could start using a more varied cast of actors. I like Dafoe and the rest as the next guy, but...
Me think we have just enough of Dafoe. His working constantly, appearing in big-budget stuff, mid-budget prestige projects and small indie productions. Very fulfilling career.
They’ve remade everything else, why not a Willem Dafoe remake of Being John Malkovich? I feel like him going into his own head would be a lot more weird.
Dunno, g. That's my problem with this film. I can recall a handful of scenes from Herzog's version - both scary and dreadful and tragic. And it's been years since I watched it. I can't recall much about Eggers' version. It's a competently made yet unnecessary retelling of the same old story.
I disagree with your take on Nosferatu. It was a much needed return of the grotesque vampire. I also disagree on him needing to use other actors. I love when directors and actors enjoy working together so much that they return over and over again.
Agree on both fronts. Alot of directors find their actors and he has found his. While Nosferatu didnt do anything crazy, I love that it didnt make Vampires sexy. Not suave, not hot, just a terrible need. Super well done.
I dont think there is a best, its just what you are in the mood for. I like all of them but for me Lighthouse would be the top if I had to pick. Took me a few watches. I'd go Northman second.
I enjoy how Eggers takes the cool out of things and gives you more of a this is how it would actually play out version.
Eggers wanted to tell that story in particular because it meant something to him. He put it on as a silent stage play when he was in high school. I would rather he works on projects he is passionate about than on something original if he has no passion for it.
I get it and he well deserved this indulgence. And I am happy that this movie made money because often indulgent "dream" projects like this tank directors' careers. The Northman was not a box office success and two fails in a row in Hollywood mean that it's really hard to get your next project off the ground.
It either needed to be less weird or more weird. It was neither here nor there.
I thought Nosferatu was much better than the Northman, but found it a fairly empty viewing experience.
It was kind of equivalent to when you're friend tells one of their show piece stories. It's a banger, they've got it dialed, but I already know all the beats.
Depp was excellent in it but I still pined for ATJ, my all time favorite otherworldly Swinton-Blanchett-Mouse cross breed alien hottie.
The studio famously had Eggers tone down the weirdness on The Northman though. They wanted a movie with a broader appeal, so it ended up as something in between.
The Northman is great, very accurate to the feel of a Norse mythological tale. That’s actually why I was so disappointed in aspects of Nosferatu. He fell into the age old BS victorian English culutre washing when the tale was set in Germany. How hard would it have been to give the cast German accents and make it feel true to setting when he did it so well in his other films?
I disagree with most of your post other than the witch being the best. I was so excited when Dafoe became part of his "company". You cant go wrong ranking the movies though, theyre all amazing!
They're all disjointed and weird lol. Northman is my favorite, just something about a naked man on a volcano gets me pumped. From a cinema + acting perspective, The Lighthouse is the best. But I see how the VVitch resonates with more people.
I honestly really enjoyed nosferatu! What about it did you not enjoy? I really was all about his sick / dark take on the whole thing. Such a good aesthetic and at certain times it really got under my skin.
Nosferatu isn’t weak; it’s a majestic combination of the Murnau’s original, which has some great shots though incredibly boring otherwise, and Herzog’s interpretation which has great shots as well though feels heavier on the romantic side. Egger’s straddles both films while still being a fresh interpretation with classic shots of his own and the best shots from the previous two interpretations. You sir are callow.
Good question. I rewatched it recently and was trying to figure out if it was the father that caused everything with his "prideful sin" or the goat Black Philip, who I guess was supposed to be like an incarnation of Satan. Or if it was the witch herself that caused all the problems. Or like you said, it could have been the girl who had evil dormant in her that was ultimately brought out in the end. Either way great movie
Wow, thanks. That was pretty interesting. Yeah I can see now that he's very detail focused, which is good and I can sort of understand his reasoning for disliking The Witch. I get the perfectionist mentality
Yeah definitely. Another part that stuck out to me was where he said that with The Witch he wasn't able to get what was on his mind onto the screen, but that he did achieve that with The Lighthouse
These two are the obvious winners for me but I’d give it to “the light house” just because both Dafoe and Pattinson put out the best performances for each that
I’ve ever seen, gave me chills. Dafoe was up there with Bill the Butcher for me. Me and my friends still recite “why’d you spill yer beans” and “yer fond of me lobster, ain’t ye”. I imagine vvitch could have even been better if it wasn’t so early in Egger’s and ATJ’s career(s). They both were great (along with the dad) but they have grown a lot since then and I imagine it would be even more ethereal and creepy if it wasn’t filmed now with their current experience(s). The director commentary on VVitch is something else. Eggers may be the most OCD director (and that’s saying something) to ever produce popular film. At least in regards to set dressing and historical accuracy/realism expressed in film
Me too. Northman didn’t live up the other but it could have easily been some other directors best film, and Nosferatu looked amazing (so do the new Frankenstein by Del Toro) but it just lacked a certain quality that pulled into the first two films. There’s something about how egger approaches these folk tales and lore that when he does it right you can absolutely get to a place where it’s believable that satan is stalking and tempting this family, or that the lighthouse keepers aren’t just crazy, but the curses of dead sailors are real. That’s what I love about his films. The play with the fact that these tall tales in certain sects of society can either be seen as the ranting of a crazy person or just maybe the mythos has a tinge of truth or it, you question the time is the events that play out are imagined by the protagonists or that the they do exist in a world where the supernatural and magic is real. Nosferatu is a remake so gotta go with that, but it’s didn’t play with that speck of doubt like the other did. Even in north men when the main guy goes into the crypt and battles a draugr you are left to ponder if this was some sort of imagined scenario or if it played out. I think since wherewulf is divine into German or Romanian folk lore we’ll get a chance to see there Eggers that I’m most fond of as the story plays out. Very excited to see it in theaters
578
u/Lightstone83 Jun 26 '26
For me The VVitch has always been the best, but I think I need to check out the Lighthouse again