The 1979 remake of Nosferatu featured Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula. Directed by Werner Herzog, the film is usually known in English as Nosferatu the Vampyre and in German as Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht.
The movie is a remake and homage to F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu, which was itself an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The earlier film changed Dracula’s name to Count Orlok, but Herzog’s version restored the character’s Dracula identity while retaining much of the original film’s eerie atmosphere and visual design.
Kinski’s appearance was deliberately gaunt and unsettling, echoing Max Schreck’s famous portrayal of Orlok in the 1922 film. His Dracula is not simply a snarling monster: the performance emphasizes loneliness, exhaustion, and a tragic longing for human connection.
The film also stars Isabelle Adjani as Lucy Harker and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Harker. It was made in both German and English-language versions, a common practice in West German cinema during the period.