Last week we talked about the German court ordered to destroy the film materials of NOSFERATU (1922). There was a myth that only one illicit copy survived, yet there are at least six identified copies preserved by film archives in Suisse, Germany, France and Spain respectively.
In the process of restoration, film comparison is an essential procedure to select the suitable film elements to work on. Since 1981, different organisations released restored versions of NOSFERATU. The version widely circulated nowadays was digitally restored in 2006.
Supervised by film historian and preservationist Luciano Berriatúa for the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung (FWMS) and in conjunction with various archives, this restoration was based on the 1922 tinted French print at the Cinémathèque Française. Missing scenes were taken from the other two prints. Intertitles were from those in a 1962 safety copy of the original 1922 German version. The film is now returned to première length and the original tinting scheme was reinstated.
The original 1922 première score by Hans Erdmann was lost. Only an adapted 40-minute suite published by Erdmann in 1926 survived. German composer Berndt Heller’s reconstruction based on Erdmann’s works is the only score now sanctioned by the FWMS and has exclusively accompanied their 2006 restoration.
Recommended readings: A comprehensive account of Nosferatu’s release history, home video versions and restorations
https://www.brentonfilm.com/nosferatu-history-and-home-video-guide
Watch Now! 2006 Digital Restoration Sample: Before & After (B&W before colour correction)
https://vimeo.com/watchmakerfilms/nosferatu-restoration-sample
