Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror (The Super Castlevania IV Score) - COMPLETED/UPLOADED!

Author: andy_k_250
Date: 18-Aug-2006, 4:30 PM

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 18-Aug-2006 4:30 PM
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Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror (The Super Castlevania IV Score)

Sources :
- Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror (English "Dracula" translation from archive.org)
- extracted video game soundtrack from Super Castlevania IV (U) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Film Synopsis (excerpted from Wikipedia) :
Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens ("Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror" in German) is a German Expressionist film shot in 1922 by F.W. Murnau. Murnau had wanted to film a version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but his studio was unable to obtain the rights to the story. Murnau decided to film his own version and made only slight changes to the story. The resultant movie has many similarities to Stoker's original tale. "Dracula" became "Nosferatu" and the names of the characters changed, with Count Dracula changed to Graf Orlok. The role of the vampire was played by Max Schreck. Other major actors in the film were Gustav von Wangenheim (as Thomas Hutter/Jonathan Harker), Greta Schröder (as Ellen Hutter/Mina Harker), and Alexander Granach (as Knock/R.M. Renfield).

Graf Orlok's move to Bremen brings the plague traceable to his dealings with the realtor Thomas Hutter. While hope in the city sinks, Hutter's wife Ellen, with whom Graf is obsessed, turns out to be the only one with the power to end the evil.

This was the first film of the production company Prana-Film GmbH; it was also the last as they declared bankruptcy after Bram Stoker's estate - acting for his widow, Florence Stoker - sued for copyright infringement (plagiarism) and won. The court ordered all existing prints of Nosferatu destroyed, but a number of copies of the film had already been distributed around the world. These prints were then copied over the years, resulting in Nosferatu gaining a reputation as one of the greatest movie adaptations of the vampire legend.

Murnau's Nosferatu is in the public domain, and copies of the movie are widely available on video - usually as poorly transferred, faded, scratched video copies that are often scorned by enthusiasts. However, pristine restored editions of the film have also been made available, and are also readily accessible to the public.

Project Synopsis :
Nosferatu, A Symphony Of Horror (The Super Castlevania Score) is an attempt to marry the musical score from the classic SNES video game Super Castlevania IV to the 1922 classic German silent film, Nosferatu. While the music from a video game made in 1991 might not seem like the most likely of sources for an alternate instrumental score for Nosferatu, the music actually fits the feel of the film amazingly well. Something about the jangly, synthesized nature of the music of Masanori Oodachi and Sotaro Tojima (Souji Taro) blends with the surreal and manic images within Murnau's film.

Working as the musical arranger, I have placed the 30+ original songs and musical cues from Super Castlevania IV into Nosferatu. The music suits the film very well and certainly highlights several key scenes and transitions within the film.

Software Used :
- ZSNES (to extract SPC video game sound files from Super Castlevania IV)
- WinAmp (to convert SPC > WAV)
- dBpowerAMP (to convert WAV > mp3, for a bonus DVD-ROM soundtrack)
- Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD (video/audio editing and encoding)
- DVD-Lab Pro (DVD building)

Download :
Part 1 *
Part 2 *
Part 3 *
Part 4 *

* Note - All four volumes of this zip file must be downloaded before the files will be properly viewable.

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Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: TheCassidy
Time: 18-Aug-2006 4:39 PM
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Interesting idea. Nosferatu? Check. Castlevania? Check...but I'm wondering, why not use the 'Symphony Of The Night' score, which is generally regarded as one of the best game soundtracks ever?

Incidentally, this film has been re-scored 12 times since Hans Erdmann's original score - so I think your idea fits within this tradition.

At the Toronto Internation Film Festival in 2000, I saw a pristine print of Nosferatu with a live symphony orchestra playing Erdmann's score. You haven't seen the film until you've seen it this way - it was incredible.

Good luck with your project, I shall be eagerly following.

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 18-Aug-2006 5:06 PM
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Oh, I love the SOTN score, too; don't get me wrong - it's great. However, in a way, it is almost TOO good. The music in SOTN is a lot more grand, epic, sweeping and stylized than the Super Castlevania IV soundtrack. I guess it comes down to a personal choice, but for this particular project, I really prefer the more rinky-dink sounds of the SNES. Plus, there is (what I see as) a wider variety of music/cues from the SNES game. I would definitely be interested in seeing a SOTN version, too, though - I've not played the game/listened to the soundtrack enough times yet to do one justice, though.

"At the Toronto Internation Film Festival in 2000, I saw a pristine print of Nosferatu with a live symphony orchestra playing Erdmann's score. You haven't seen the film until you've seen it this way - it was incredible."

That sounds awesome. That is definitely the treatment the film deserves.

"Incidentally, this film has been re-scored 12 times since Hans Erdmann's original score - so I think your idea fits within this tradition."

That is part of the reason I thought this project would be okay. It won't be the purists' version by any means, but it should be a fun new look at an old movie.

"Good luck with your project, I shall be eagerly following."

Thanks! You're my first comment, and it only took 10 minutes.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 18-Aug-2006 6:08 PM
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One question I have in regard to this project is whether or not I can legally distribute it.

Nosferatu is public domain, so it is free to anyone who wants it.

A soundtrack for Super Castlevania IV has never been released officially. The game has been out-of-print for 15 years now. The score is only one element of the game, so I personally think it could be utilized under fair use laws.

If Jay or a moderator can give me a ruling on this, I would really like to post direct links here to the finished product, if possible, to make it more readily available to anyone who wants it.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: BrikHaus81
Time: 18-Aug-2006 9:03 PM
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Could you have two audio tracks? One for SOTN and one for Super Castlevania IV?

Mahoromatic Revival Project – http://mahoromaticrevival.com/index2.html
Follow the Evangelion Instrumental Project! – http://sandcamel.blogspot.com
Cowboy Bebop Returns! – http://bebopreturns.blogspot.com

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 19-Aug-2006 10:22 AM
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Originally posted by: BrikHaus81
Could you have two audio tracks? One for SOTN and one for Super Castlevania IV?

When I get done with the one, I could try the other.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: Mavimao
Time: 19-Aug-2006 12:01 PM
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I saw this film in Madison WI last winter and they had a 35mm print and a live pianist playing the score. It definitely was a great experience.

I am totally in support of your project! It has to be better than that awful score the Kino VHS release has. (I put the tv on mute after 5 minutes and watched it in slience).

Hmm...I need to put in my C4 game and see how the music is.

What’s the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke warm.

Author: Mavimao
Time: 19-Aug-2006 12:02 PM
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Are you using an emulator or are you recording the audio straight from the console? I know that emulators have issues with the SNES's sound chip, and they're not really faithful.

If you are using an emulator, I think BSNES has the best audio compatibility.

Oh and just so everyone knows, you can listen to the music in the options menu.

What’s the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke warm.

Author: Mavimao
Time: 19-Aug-2006 12:18 PM
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Ah I should have read the initial post more carefully. Answered my own question.

How does WINAMP handle the SPC files? Do they sound good?

What’s the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke warm.

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 20-Aug-2006 3:53 PM
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So, for the record, I am using an emulated copy of the game for the source of the sound. In theory, though, it really is tearing out the actual sound file embedded in the game, so it shouldn't make that much of a difference - as far as I know, the end file is not being emulated, but has been actually extracted.

The SNES sound files are SPC files. You can get the entire soundtrack from Super Castlevania IV and pretty much any other SNES game from Zophar. The soundtracks come in a zip package of SPC files and run around 100 KB, so easily downloadable. The Zophar site also has a wide range of SPC players and plug-ins, so you can pretty much choose your favorite way to do things there.

Anyway, as someone who played the heck out of this game, I noticed no difference between playing the original game and what came out of my computer's speakers.

I have 95% of the sound editing done. I think I might try out the SOTN score - it's been a while since I've listened to it, though. Some of the music I think would fit very well, but some I think just won't, but since people are interested, I am willing to try it out. I'll keep you posted.

As a side note, I have been working with a 800 MB mpeg file from archive.org. Personally, I think the quality is perfectly fine for this project - the intention here isn't necessarily to have the end-all, be-all version of Nosferatu, but rather a nice side interest. I think 800 MB makes it easier for people to check out, as opposed to a 4 GB standard-DVD-sized project, but that's just me. Also, I really wish that I had the German version to be working with, but I just don't. Anyway, I don't know where I'm going with all this, but I figured it would be good to mention the quality issue at least somewhere.

The Kino DVD version is supposed to be the best from what I've read, but I've never seen it, so I can't personally vouch for it. I'm sure it would be great to see this (these) soundtrack(s) hooked up to that, but again, I'm not intending this to be the ultimate version, but just an optional version.

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for the interest! I was worried no one would care.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 20-Aug-2006 3:58 PM
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Also, I finally got to put in the classic tune "Vampire Killer" - the reaction of a pair of old women characters as the music comes blasting out is great. It almost looks like they can hear it start blaring out of someplace, and it frightens them. Then, the townspeople begin chasing the Renfield character around, and it's just great - perfect village mob music.

I really like the way most of the music matches certain scenes perfectly, and with, truth be told, minimal effort on my part. There were certain songs that I had in mind for certain scenes, but the rest of the soundtrack has fallen into place very nicely, too. I really hope other people will enjoy this when it is done.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 21-Aug-2006 2:03 PM
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Good news - I got approval to post a direct link to this project when it is done. Anyone know any free upload sites that go up to 1 GB? Otherwise, I might just use a .rar program to chop this into Rapidshare sized bits. Let me know if there are other alternatives. I might torrent this over at Demonoid, too.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: iRantanplan
Time: 21-Aug-2006 2:36 PM
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I have a rapidshare account, if you ask nicely, I will give you my login information

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 23-Aug-2006 12:02 AM
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Okay - so, I was going over the Symphony Of The Night soundtrack today. I'm not going to add it on. Honestly, it's a great bit of music, but I just personally don't think it fits the movie (or my sense of it, anyway) very well. Like I said, it's great, but I really wanted something dark and moody for Nosferatu. Some of the tracks fit that bill, but others have way too many flourishes and end up sounding Final Fantasy-y. And then there are some with electric guitars. And then there's "I Am The Wind." So, sorry to everyone that was wanting it, but I just don't want to put that effort into it. If someone wants to take my base project and add a SOTN track to it too, though, be my guest.

I am putting the finishing touches on, and with luck this should be up on Rapidshare, too, thanks to a helpful poster here.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: Mavimao
Time: 23-Aug-2006 2:08 AM
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Just a quick question: how does rapidshare work? Is it just a file on a server somewhere?

What’s the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke warm.

Author: iRantanplan
Time: 23-Aug-2006 5:36 AM
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Rapidshare is a filehoster like fileplanet etc. You can download for free (one file at a time) but there is a wait time between files (60 minutes or so).
So if you split the file in five parts, you'll need at least 5 hours to get everything.

Author: marioxb
Time: 24-Aug-2006 11:50 AM
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Did you ever think about using the soundtrack to the SNES game, Nosferatu? It's been a long time since I played that game, though, and I don't remember what it sounds like at all.

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 24-Aug-2006 4:16 PM
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Just in case anyone is wondering, I "officially" changed part of this project title from Eine Symphonie Des Grauens to A Symphony Of Horror. First off, at this point, I'm using the English translated subtitle cards anyway, since that is all I have to work with, and there's no real reason to preserve the German ambience in this release since it is pretty far removed from the original. Second, the movie now does have "a symphony of horror" for its soundtrack.

I really hope that my decision to not include the SOTN soundtrack as well hasn't turned anyone off this project. I really think that when you actually see the movie with this music, and then try to imagine the same scenes with SOTN's soundtrack, most would agree that it's not as good a fit as the one that I chose.

Did you ever think about using the soundtrack to the SNES game, Nosferatu? It's been a long time since I played that game, though, and I don't remember what it sounds like at all.

That soundtrack is not bad, actually, and would have been nice to use, but there are only 12 tracks to it, unfortunately, which won't fill even half the movie, likely. Just so you know, though, that game has found its way into this project in another way, though.

I am including the source soundtrack for this in mp3 format as DVD-ROM material, too, for anyone who would like that. I know I did.

At this point, the project is done - I just need to upload it. I will try to get on that tonight or tomorrow. It will be packaged in a .rar file. Does anyone have a problem with that?

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: Mavimao
Time: 24-Aug-2006 6:11 PM
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No.

can't wait to see it!

What’s the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke warm.

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 24-Aug-2006 6:15 PM
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Originally posted by: Mavimao
No.

can't wait to see it!

Thanks for the encouragement. This is my first project, so I hope it turned out well. There aren't a ton of bells and whistles, but there is a menu and DVD-ROM content.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: dark_jedi
Time: 24-Aug-2006 8:44 PM
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andy_k_250
where will you be upping this at,I am interested in this.
DJ

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 25-Aug-2006 2:33 AM
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Thanks for the interest.

It will actually be uploaded right here, via Rapidshare links. Nosferatu is in the public domain, so I got permission to post here rather than off-site. I am actually uploading the first chunk right now, but it is going slower than I had anticipated. Definitely going to be sometime tomorrow night or Saturday before I get it all up (I have to work sometime).

The benefit, though, is that once it is on Rapidshare, anyone can get it, whenever they want, "forever."

By the way, I ended up doing zip files with 7zip. You'll have to get all 4 chunks before you can unzip the whole package.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 25-Aug-2006 6:27 PM
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Half of this project has been uploaded now, in case anyone wants to get an early start on grabbing it.

Just remember - don't unzip until you get the whole deal - the files will be incomplete until you have downloaded all four parts.

I will get the rest uploaded as soon as possible.

Part 1
Part 2

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: andy_k_250
Time: 26-Aug-2006 12:59 AM
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Part 3
Part 4

And here are parts 3 and 4 - just in time for Halloween.

Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."

Author: dark_jedi
Time: 26-Aug-2006 11:10 AM
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andy_k_250,
thanks,i have 3 of the parts,just have to wait before i get part 4,so do you have to unzip with 7zip? or will regular winzip work?
cant wait to see this,I love Dracula and Super Castlevania is one of the games I play the most on my Xbox.
DJ