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Nosferatu (1922) Fan Restoration - * cancelled project *

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This is a passion project I have wanted to do for a long time, however I do not believe I have the skill nor the knowledge to attempt this feat on my own. I, like most, am most familiar with the 2005/2006 restoration of Nosferatu. However, while this restoration is impeccable, there is room for improvement. There is at least one editing mistake in this restoration as well as some scenes that are lengthier in other versions of the film (see here: http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=165648 and here: http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4112494 ).

Also of note is the score. The 2005/2006 restoration contains a recreation of the original score. I say recreation as much of the original score is lost, so a lot had to be improvised. However this is not the first time a recreation of the original score had been attempted. In 1995 a CD (http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu-Symphony-Horror-Hans-Erdmann/dp/B0000076II/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1448201295&sr=8-3&keywords=nosferatu+hans+erdmann) was released containing a recreation of the score. Some consider this score to be far suppressor to the score accompanying the 2005/2006 restoration. As such it may be worthwhile to add this score to the film.

What is needed:

  1. Nosferatu 2005/2006 restoration (1080p BD rip, German intertitles) [Obtained]
  2. Nosferatu 1995 restoration (1080p BD rip) [Obtained]
  3. Nosferatu Public domain version (as high quality as possible) [Obtained, low quality]
  4. Nosferatu Original score CD (Optional) [Obtained]

So that is my proposal. I shall attempt to make this a reality. If anyone has any questions, contributions or information, do let me know.

-123jewis

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That’s quite the project, I wish you all the luck. Alas I do not have any of the material, nor have I ever seen the movie in its entirety yet. I’d love to see it.
But I just have to say, that is an excellent avatar.

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This could be a good frame of reference - http://www.brentonfilm.com/articles/nosferatu-the-ultimate-blu-ray-and-dvd-guide

Be careful to avoid using anything from Kino’s blu-ray. Somehow they managed to delete every 8th frame.

I wish you the best of luck. I too once tried to sync up Gillian Anderson’s recreation of the Hans Erdmann score to the latest restoration but found I couldn’t sync it. It could be that her recreation had to be condensed a bit to fit onto one audio CD, or maybe she based her recreation on a shorter, earlier restoration of the movie. What I had considered doing was a hybrid of hers and Berndt Heller’s recreation, but couldn’t make the time for it. However you do it, I would love to see the results! 😉

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RidgeShark said:

Be careful to avoid using anything from Kino’s blu-ray. Somehow they managed to delete every 8th frame.

It does?. I shall have to check my sources.

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Feallan said:

When you say “BD rip”, do you mean untouched blu-ray or a re-encode?

As stated, this is merely a fan restoration. I am in no position to declare this an official restoration. I am merely someone who loves this film and has wanted to see a complete version for years. As such, whether it be a re-encode or untouched it doesn’t matter a huge amount to me. However where possible I intend to use the highest quality material I can find.

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Of course it’s not going to be an official restoration, but even working on untouched Blu-rays is bound to have some quality loss. If you re-encode a re-encode, you won’t be impressed by the result.

Fan restorations can rival official ones, if your sources are decent enough. 😃

Fanrestore - Fan Restoration Forum: https://fanrestore.com

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Feallan said:
…but even working on untouched Blu-rays is bound to have some quality loss. If you re-encode a re-encode, you won’t be impressed by the result.

I will certainly keep that in mind =)

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Haven’t posted anything in a while so I think I owe everyone here an update.

Progress is slow but it is still progress. I’m still struggling with one important aspect. The tinting.

As noted in my original post, the 2005/2006 restoration has many scenes that exist in longer versions. Most of these scenes appear in full on the BFI Blu-ray (which I am using as my source for the missing scenes). However, the BFI Blu-ray sources from a restoration of the film made in 1995. This means two things. One, the materiel is of far lower quality then the 2005/2006 restoration and Two, the tinting is different between the two versions*. The quality of the footage is an issue I can’t solve as the BFI Blu-ray is (as far as I can tell) the highest quality version of this footage available to the public. The tinting however, I can potentially fix.

By “fix” I mean correcting the 1995 tinting to match as close as possible the 2005/2006 restoration.The software I am currently using to try and fix the tinting is call ‘Color Directer 4’. The software, while powerful, does not seem to give me the desired effects*.

And so, I am at something of a crossroads. I am contemplating leaving the tinting as is and simply inserting the missing footage back into the film, but this is not final.

However, if anyone reading this wants a say in this matter or can provide me with any assistance or information as to, for example, better software for the job, then you can reply to this comment or email me at jacktheconqueror@gmail.com. I will be incredibly grateful if anyone gets in touch.

-123Jewis

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I downloaded your image and opened photoshop I changed the frame to B&W. I took the eyedropper and selected the color from the 2006 frame and then with the paintbrush and had it selected on Overlay going over the whole image. Some frames might need more additional adjusting of color tinting to match.

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I’m really looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I know it can be a difficult task. I mentioned before that I had tried syncing up the film to Gillian Anderson’s reconstruction and didn’t get too far before putting in on the backburner. I managed to find my old project files and wanted to share what I came up with - maybe it can help in some way. I got about 23+ minutes in and had a lot of difficulty after. There is a ton of editing work here to adapt Anderson’s reconstruction and a lot of pieces seem to be missing and require a lot of personal choices. I always meant to come back but never did. Anyway, here it is -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68RYyUYxLjs

Hopefully it can be of some use. 😃

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Thanks dude. I’ll certainly look over this as soon as I get some free time.

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I am a huge fan of Nosferatu! (all silent films really) - Hope this works out!

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Obligatory, “I haven’t posted in a while” thread.

When I started this project, I assumed that this would take a few months at most. I’ll be honest, I bit off a little more than I could chew.

The restoration has consisted mostly of trial and, mostly, error. I am evidently not fit for the job. My busy social life and the burden of school has made this restoration more or less an impossibility.

I am afraid I have to call it quits… for the time being. I may return to this project someday. For now, the best I can offer you if you want to see the most complete version possible is to get in contact with the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung and request a new restoration. They own the rights to Nosferatu and are responsible for the (mostly) marvelous 2005/2006 restoration.

And if anyone else should attempt this restoration, feel free to get in touch, and I’ll help however I can.

I apologise greatly to anyone whom this news may be upsetting, but unfortunately, I need to move on. Thanks to everyone for all the support

-123Jewis, signing off.