To Be Read Aloud in His Voice, Obviously

轉(zhuǎn)載自：Lithub

ByWernerHerzog December 16, 2019

A gloomy moon shines on the silhouette of a gloomy castle. The coach drives through an arched doorway into a sort of forecourt. Harker climbs out, and the coachman indicates with an imperious gesture that he should mount the steps before him. Harker remains standing indecisively before a large, closed portal. As he is mustering the courage to knock, the leaves of the door creak, and slowly, very slowly they swing open of their own accord. Inside all is dark.

Out of the darkness emerges an almost rigid figure in a tight-fitting black jacket. Its shoulders hunch forward slightly, and its hands are cramped together. The legs appear to be long and thin, and the fingers seem to be long as well, pale, with elongated claw-like nails. The face is as pale as a corpse, the head completely bald. The ears are crumpled, and pointed like a bat’s.

The eyes that stare at Jonathan cause us, like him, to shudder. Count Dracula? Jonathan asks. Yes, he is Count Dracula, and he welcomes him to his castle. He has been expecting him and invites him to enter. The night is cold, and he must be tired and hungry, the Count says.

Dracula takes a lit candle from a ledge along the wall and lights the way. When he holds the candle in front of himself for a moment, Harker thinks he can see the light shining through his body. But that effect disappears almost at once, for the Count takes pains to keep the candle to one side of his body. The door creaks shut behind them.

*

The dining hall, lit by candles. A fire flickers in the fireplace, casting crazy shadows on the walls and ceiling. The table, chairs, and other furniture very large. A long oak table and chairs with high, uncomfortable backs. We can tell how thick the walls are by the embrasures of the windows, which are barred. Despite its generous proportions, the room feels gloomy and inhospitable.

Two trunks with iron fittings, apparently locked for centuries. On the table stands an iron candelabrum from the late Middle Ages, and indeed everything here seems to originate in that period. The table is set with a sumptuous meal, but for only one person.

Dracula takes the seat at the head of the table and places Harker beside him where the meal prepared for the guest has been laid out. Harker hesitates, not sure at first how to break the silence; out of embarrassment he begins to talk business, producing the papers on the house and a letter from Renfield. He explains that the folded sheet of paper contains the layout of the house, which will certainly be of interest to the Count. Dracula pays it no mind, however; he has his eye fixed on Jonathan. He should help himself, he says softly; unfortunately he will have to dine alone.

The knife slips and slices into his thumb. In a flash Dracula is standing beside him, grasping his wrist.

It is almost midnight, and at this hour he, the Count, does not eat. Unfortunately, too, the servants are not available now, so Jonathan should allow him, the Count, to see to his comfort. Dracula speaks with exceptional courtesy, all in a very soft voice. Something about it conveys menace; his very presence fills us with trepidation.

Jonathan overcomes his nervousness and begins to eat heartily. The long journey has indeed made him hungry, and he applies himself enthusiastically to the wine. After a while he senses he is being watched intently and looks up. We see Dracula from close up. He is hiding his face behind Renfield’s letter, which is encoded in almost illegible hieroglyphs. Slowly he raises his eyes from the page. His gaze meets Harker’s. Both hold their breath for a moment, and then Harker resumes eating. Suddenly a small grandfather clock buzzes and begins to strike.

The clock close up. With every strike a little skeleton hits a small anvil with an ax. At the stroke of 12 a door opens, and the figure of death appears, holding a scythe. It swishes the scythe mechanically through the air, then disappears jerkily behind its door.

Dracula is highly aroused. He pricks up his ears. Suddenly the grisly howling of wolves can be heard from outside. Listen, Dracula says, those are the children of night. What music they make! He notices Harker’s terror, but then Harker catches himself and assumes a sheep-like expression. Ah, young man, Dracula sighs, as a city dweller he, Jonathan, cannot place himself in the soul of a huntsman.

Harker has become shaky and does not pay proper attention as he cuts himself a piece of bread. The knife slips and slices into his thumb. In a flash Dracula is standing beside him, grasping his wrist. He is about to apply his mouth to the blood, but Harker’s alarmed reaction causes him to pause. A terrible conflict takes place inside the Count. Then he releases Harker’s hand, excusing himself with the argument that the knife might be contaminated and Harker could end up with blood poisoning.

He should let him suck the wound—the oldest cure in the world. But Jonathan declines politely, saying it is nothing, a tiny cut like that is not worth mentioning. But to Dracula the wound proves irresistible; he can no longer control himself—or can he? No, he refuses to allow himself to show his true face so soon. He turns away, starting to return to his seat. But as he turns, his hand, as if no longer in his power, darts toward Harker’s, and faster than the speed of light seizes it like a steel claw.

The rest of Dracula’s body spins as if electrified, and at that same moment his mouth attaches itselfto Harker’s thumb like a leech. For several seconds the two of them remain motionless, until the vampire lets go, as if struck by a blow. He recoils at his own loss of self-control. Jonathan should understand, he says, he wants only the best for him.

Harker, by now on his feet, backs away and falls into a large leather chair near the fire. The flitting shadows of the flames are joined by two large fluttering, flitting bats. Slowly, very slowly the vampire approaches. They should stay up together, he says softly; sunrise is still a long way off, and during the day he is always out and about. Overcome with nightmarish fear, Harker shrinks deep into the armchair.

*

Lucy’s room. She is tossing and turning, tormented by dark dreams, when a slight sound makes her sit up suddenly, her hair wild. She looks like someone who is not yet awake. The window is open, and the curtains stir slightly in the nocturnal breeze. A large black bat has become tangled in a curtain, where it is jerking its wings and clinging to the fabric with its hook-like claws. Its mouth gapes wide as it squeaks venomously. At the sound an abrupt, inexplicable shock courses through Lucy’s body.

*

Harker, still in the heavy leather armchair, opens his eyes and looks around, drunk with sleep. Only with difficulty can he shake off the oppressive dreams he had during the night. What happened? Where is he? He looks around and recognizes the room, which only now, in the daylight, reveals its shabbiness. The heavy draperies are moth-eaten; there are spider webs in the corners, and dust is everywhere, as if the place has been unoccupied for decades. A ray of light enters through one of the windows, shining directly on Jonathan. Strange, hollow notes of a fiddle can be heard from outside, like someone practicing runs.

Harker yawns. His eye is drawn to his thumb, and he remembers cutting himself. He touches his neck. What is this? A mosquito bite? He gets up and goes over to a mirror on the wall. Hesees two puncture wounds side by side, not large, not conspicuous, but certainly odd. For a moment Harker is taken aback, but then we can see that he rejects the thought that has occurred to him. He inspects his surroundings more thoroughly. He sees that the table has been set, quite obviously for him. It veritably groans with dishes.

Before he sits down to eat, however, Harker takes a closer look around. The main entrance is securely locked, but a door to one side of the dining hall is open. He wonders where his luggage might be; it is missing. The side door takes Jonathan into a strange, gloomy corridor, almost like a dark tunnel. From there a small door opens into a room with a bay window. Ah, there are Harker’s travel bag and the saddlebags, neatly placed on a chair, along with his coat and hat. A bed, a candelabrum, a few pieces of furniture, all in manorial style.

The castle here is so unreal that sometimes I am tempted to believe it is just a figment of my dreams.

The bay window juts out like the prow of a ship, offering a view of a bright day and wooded mountains. Not a house, not a village in sight. A strange, unreal wind seems to blow through the castle, which seems like something in a dream. Harker pokes his head out the window, high above the ground. Far below yawns part of the inner courtyard. Down there in a niche he spies a ragged gypsy boy, practicing his fiddle with utmost concentration. Harker calls to him, but the boy is so engrossed that he does not hear him. An air of mystery surrounds the lad.

Next we see Harker stepping through a door into the courtyard, but now no one is there, although the fiddling can still be heard, clearly and unmistakably.

Harker continues exploring the castle. The gloomy corridor up above extends all around the castle, with other smallish rooms with bay windows opening off it. He comes upon an old kitchen, equipped with a stove but no other appurtenances. All the exits are locked up tight. Before Harker wends his way back to the dining hall, he opens a door into what turns out to be the library.

A strange, gloomy, dusty space with barred windows. Bookshelves up to the ceiling, with thousands of volumes, left unread for decades. In a gallery reached by a short staircase a collection of stuffed birds and other animals. All these rigid objects placed without rhyme or reason. The passage of time has faded the collection to the point that none of the natural colors remain.

Harker returns to the dining hall and sits down calmly to eat. The fact that he cannot get out of the castle seems not to preoccupy him. For now his bodily needs are well met. From outside the fiddling can be heard, disconcertingly hollow.

*

Jonathan is sitting at the window and staring out, deep in reverie. In his hand he holds the medallion with Lucy’s portrait. He pauses and looks at it attentively. Then he extracts a notebook and writing instrument from of his saddlebag, reflects for a bit, and begins to write. His handwriting is fluid but full of character, and we can read along.

Lucy, my dearest, he writes. There is no postal service here through which I might send word to you, so I shall keep a journal, in which I can record all my thoughts and feelings for you at home. So last night, after a toilsome journey, I reached my destination in Transylvania, the castle of Count Dracula.

He breaks off and looks out through the shattered panes of his window. Outside wind tosses the crowns of the large trees. Ravens screech. Jonathan resumes writing: I had oppressive dreams last night and hope that will pass. They have left me feeling torpid, but perhaps that also comes from the insect bites on my neck. Ah, well, I hope to bring my business with the Count to a happy conclusion this evening. The castle here is so unreal that sometimes I am tempted to believe it is just a figment of my dreams.

「諾斯費(fèi)拉圖，不死的妖魔，他喝人血，并把受害者變成黑夜的幽靈，穿墻如入無人之境，被抓住就完全喪失希望……」晚上在整理網(wǎng)盤，翻到了阿佳妮主演的這部79年翻拍的諾斯費(fèi)拉圖，忍不住下下來再看一遍，感覺赫爾佐格特別好地學(xué)習(xí)了原版的攝影效果，比起電影打光我覺得更像舞臺(tái)劇或者歌劇電影（比如帕瓦羅蒂主演的托斯卡）的拍攝風(fēng)格，有很明顯的學(xué)習(xí)鉛黃片設(shè)置懸念的手法，尤其是德古拉伯爵的蒼白爪子投射在墻上的陰影漸漸放大、逼近阿佳妮的時(shí)候，簡(jiǎn)直就是巴瓦的《血之海灘》的持刀黑影在樓梯上逼近的再演。全片最誘人的一幕毋庸置疑是最后身穿白紗的阿佳妮被德古拉伯爵咬住脖頸的鏡頭，死亡的蒼白新娘，這種吞噬既是進(jìn)食也是對(duì)死亡性力的殘酷玩弄。

德國(guó)某小城，莊森和露西是一對(duì)恩愛情侶，在他們婚事在即之際，莊森接到了一個(gè)送信的任務(wù)。 這封信需要送往遙遠(yuǎn)山區(qū)的城堡，眾人都勸他不要去，因?yàn)橛腥苏f那里根本就沒有什么城堡，而只是一片廢墟而已。凡是去的人要么失蹤，要么陷入瘋狂。 但是考慮到此行報(bào)酬不少，莊森還是堅(jiān)持前往。一路艱難險(xiǎn)阻，跋山涉水，莊森終于來到這個(gè)與世隔絕的破敗城堡。 黑夜之中，開門人正是有著恐怖面容，長(zhǎng)著尖牙和尖爪子的德古拉伯爵！雖然莊森心中極度恐懼，但是他也無處可去。 在交接信件的過程中，莊森隨身攜帶的妻子的照片不慎掉落，這讓伯爵看在了眼里。露西那絕世的容顏如此美麗，就算千年不死的吸血鬼也動(dòng)了心！ 等到第二天，莊森剛醒來，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)自己被緊鎖在城堡里，而伯爵正準(zhǔn)備鉆進(jìn)棺材。同時(shí)攜帶的還有數(shù)具裝滿老鼠的棺材，他要前往露西所在的小城，企圖奪取露西，并把瘟疫帶給人間… 《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖：夜晚的幽靈》（Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht），由德國(guó)電影大師沃納·赫爾佐格執(zhí)導(dǎo)，克勞斯·金斯基、伊莎貝爾·阿佳妮、布魯諾·甘茨等主演的奇幻恐怖片，于1979年在法國(guó)上映。 本片向德國(guó)電影先驅(qū)茂瑙在1922年的吸血鬼電影《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖》致敬，講述了男子莊森跋山涉水給德古拉伯爵送信，卻身陷危險(xiǎn)，同時(shí)德古拉盯上了他美麗的妻子露西。為了得到露西的愛，德古拉偷渡進(jìn)入城市，并給人類帶來了瘟疫和死亡… 這或許就是我最喜歡的吸血鬼電影！電影格局宏大，風(fēng)格復(fù)古，風(fēng)景奇瑰，故事幽深曲折，具有史詩氣質(zhì)！導(dǎo)演以最精簡(jiǎn)的語言，富有哲學(xué)氣質(zhì)的鏡頭，勾勒出黑暗的死亡氣息，以及人類面臨死亡時(shí)的眾生相。 蒼白的臉龐，血紅的雙眼，尖利的牙齒，鋒利的指甲，夜晚慢慢接近的恐怖幽靈，克勞斯·金斯基扮演的吸血鬼造型與原作極其接近，恐怖之感油然而生。 法國(guó)女神級(jí)人物伊莎貝爾?阿佳妮飾演的露西美麗且富有勇氣，當(dāng)眾人面對(duì)死亡皆無奈之時(shí)，唯有她信仰神圣之力量，并以身涉險(xiǎn)，甘愿充當(dāng)吸血鬼情人，為拯救世人而獻(xiàn)身！

陸續(xù)看了三部吸血鬼相關(guān)的電影《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖》《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖：夜晚的幽靈》《驚情四百年》都是講房地產(chǎn)職員受到吸血鬼伯爵的委托去辦理一樁生意來到伯爵的古堡所產(chǎn)生的故事。里面的情節(jié)非常相似，里面男主角的同事總是被伯爵逼瘋進(jìn)了精神病院，男主角的愛人總是能和伯爵產(chǎn)生情感上的問題。而劇情相似的原因是它們都是以《德古拉》的原著小說為基礎(chǔ)，不過最早的版本也就是茂瑙1922年拍的的版本沒有買原著的版權(quán)，為了沒有版權(quán)的問題，里面的德古拉不叫德古拉，范海辛也不叫范海辛，他們換了名字。不過這三個(gè)版本值得比較一下，當(dāng)然不是比那一版的德古拉演的最好，因?yàn)榈鹿爬@個(gè)角色化妝的加成太大了，把化妝帶來的效果看成是演員的演技本身就是外行的行為，況且三部電影風(fēng)格有很大的不同，對(duì)于演員的要求也不同，所以不討論表演上的優(yōu)劣。

茂瑙在1922年就拍出了《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖》這樣的作品，確實(shí)是讓人贊嘆。里面影響比較深的是在剪輯上通過展示一些類似于捕蠅草這樣奇特的生物來和超自然產(chǎn)生聯(lián)系。在這么早的恐怖片里，已經(jīng)可以看到恐怖片的一些基本特點(diǎn)了，這種特點(diǎn)就是不自然，不自然的東西往往是恐怖的，《閃靈》為什么偉大，因?yàn)椤堕W靈》在用了斯坦尼康的跟隨長(zhǎng)鏡頭這樣的不自然的鏡頭運(yùn)動(dòng)這樣的手法來產(chǎn)生恐怖的感覺。在這部里拍攝吸血鬼趴在窗戶上時(shí)，窗戶是井字形九宮格，這種幾何形狀就是一種不自然感覺。在赫爾佐格翻拍的版本里，古堡里男主角住的房間的窗戶都是碎的，不自然的感覺相當(dāng)強(qiáng)。而比較有名的《驚情四百年》就和恐怖關(guān)系不大了，更多是愛情故事，里面用了很多疊化來產(chǎn)生夢(mèng)幻的感覺，不過我個(gè)人不喜歡《驚情四百年》，盡管里面有加里·奧德曼、薇諾娜·瑞德、安東尼·霍普金斯、基努.里維斯這樣的大牌，科波拉的視聽語言也不可謂不漂亮，但是里面的愛情有些牽強(qiáng)，吸血鬼和女主角的愛情是女主角是吸血鬼前世愛人的轉(zhuǎn)世這樣的硬設(shè)定賦予的，而不是產(chǎn)生于兩個(gè)人自動(dòng)愛上的人物弧光。

而我最喜歡的居然是《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖：夜晚的幽靈》，也就是赫爾佐格對(duì)于茂瑙的《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖》的翻拍，里面還有阿佳妮和年輕的時(shí)候的“元首”布魯諾.甘茨，這個(gè)翻拍才符合我的期待，就是給這個(gè)故事賦予實(shí)感，我印象比較深的是當(dāng)男主角切到手流出血，德古拉要舔男主角的血，而男主角躲開，這里鏡頭隨著男主角的運(yùn)動(dòng)從固定鏡頭變到手持鏡頭，從固定到手持，不僅可以表現(xiàn)角色的心理變得慌亂，手持鏡頭還增強(qiáng)了真實(shí)感，有利于對(duì)于恐怖的表現(xiàn)。而《諾斯費(fèi)拉圖：夜晚的幽靈》的一個(gè)很大的特點(diǎn)就是長(zhǎng)鏡頭的使用，長(zhǎng)鏡頭產(chǎn)生的真實(shí)感和不可逃脫感極大增加了恐怖的氛圍，角色和德古拉處在同一個(gè)鏡頭，而鏡頭始終不切換，這種長(zhǎng)鏡頭帶來的未知對(duì)于恐怖感的幫助非常大。電影里不同于另外兩版的男主角離開古堡后依然是正常人，這部里男主角最后真的變成吸血鬼。而電影里另一個(gè)特點(diǎn)是電影里大多數(shù)人實(shí)際上并不承認(rèn)吸血鬼的存在，而把德古拉帶來的災(zāi)難視作瘟疫，而當(dāng)這場(chǎng)“瘟疫”不可挽回以后，人們索性放棄了希望在街道上狂歡，這種末世感的營(yíng)造還是很有意思的。