NOSFERATU:
THE FIRST VAMPIRE
DAVID CARRADINE
| "Nosferatu: The First Vampire" - The legendary vampire movie, over three quarters of a century old and still worth watching. The direct-to-dvd movie is hosted by David Carradine, who provides a short opening piece.
The story - Knock receives a letter from Orlok. The Count wishes to buy a home in Bremen, he quickly dispatches his assistant Hutter with the necessary contracts. Thomas arrives in Transylvannia to find the Count is a frightening visage, though he first chalks up the strange happenings as bad dreams. Too late he realizes that Orlok is a vampire and the monster wants Elle. The vampire's earth filled coffins are loaded on the ship Demeter; en route across the seas crew die one by one as he drains their life. Meanwhile, Thomas struggles to reach Ellen by land, arriving after the Demeter docks without its crew. With Nosferatu's coming a plague falls upon the city, it is only when Ellen sacrifices herself that evil is banished. This version is remastered and includes the most enjoyable soundtrack. Type O Negative's metal/gothic songs rarely seem out of place and then only for moments. The film itself is a masterpiece, with a tidy plot and excellent makeup for Nosferatu.
DAVID CARRADINE From IMDB: David Carradine was born on 8 December 1936 in in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; being the eldest son of character actor John Carradine, and his wife, Ardanelle Abigail (McCool). He was a member of an acting family that included brothers Keith Carradine and Robert Carradine as well as his daughters Calista Carradine and Kansas Carradine, and nieces Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton.
He was educated at San Francisco State College, where he studied music theory and composition. It was while writing music for the drama department's annual revues that he discovered his own passion for the stage, joining a Shakespearean repertory company and learning his craft on his feet. After a two-year stint in the army, he found work in New York as a commercial artist and later found fame on Broadway in "The Deputy" and "The Royal Hunt of the Sun" opposite Christopher Plummer. With that experience he returned to Hollywood, landing the lead in the short lived television series "Shane" (1966), before being tapped to star opposite Barbara Hershey in Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood movie, "Boxcar Bertha" (1972). The iconic "Kung Fu" (1972) followed, catapulting Carradine to super stardom for the next three years, until he left the series to pursue his film career.
That career included more than 100 feature movies, a many television movies, a large number of theater on and off Broadway, and another hit series, "Kung Fu: A Legend Reborn" (1992).
Carradine received the Best Actor Award from the National Board of Film Review as well as a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's "Bound for Glory" (1976), and he won critical acclaim for his work as Cole Younger in "The Long Riders" (1980). "Kung Fu" also received seven Emmy nominations in its first season, including one for Carradine as Best Actor. In addition, he won the People's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival's "Director's Fortnight" for his work on "Americana" (1981), and a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in "North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985). Among his other notable film credits were "Gray Lady Down" (1978), "Mean Streets" (1973), "Bird on a Wire" (1990), "The Long Goodbye" (1973), "The Serpent's Egg" (1977) and "Circle of Iron" (1978). He returned to the screen in what could be his greatest performance, playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" (2003) and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" (2004), for which he received his fourth Golden Globe nomination. He also continued his devotion to music, and recorded some 60 tracks in various musical genres and sang in several movies. He made his home in Los Angeles with his fifth wife Annie, her four children and their two dogs.
Carradine was found dead in Bangkok, Thailand, on 3 June 2009, aged 72.
"Nosferatu" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)"
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