La planète sauvage (1973)

 

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land, and only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.

From memory: Typical for Werner Herzog, this adaptation of the vampire tale is visually more than stunning and is darkly atmospheric, but slow-paced and a bit boring; Kinski, Adjani and Ganz are perfectly cast in their respective roles.

Halliwell*: "Despite the star's splendidly loathsome appearance, the overall is no improvement, and the colour in the English prints is quite dreadful."

Maltin***1/2: "Spooky, funny, reverent remake of F. W. Murnau's vampire masterpiece should please Dracula fans of all persuasions. Kinski is magnificent as the good Count, and Adjani's classic beauty is utilized to the hilt."

Die Hamburger Krankheit (1979)

West Germany is haunted by a mysterious, deadly plague. In Hamburg, a group of people head for an odyssey through the country to search for survivors and a rescue.

From memory: Surreal, eccentric doomsday drama is a bit wobbly staged, but consistently fascinating. 

Un Amour de Swann (1984)

When the elegant and educated bachelor Charles Swann falls in love with a courtesan, his friends in the most powerful and fashionable circles of Paris in the 1890's warn him against marriage.

Well produced with top credentials in all departments, the result is a unloving, coldly calculated adaptation of Proust's story; alone Hans Werner Henze's excellent score gives an impression of what this movie could have been.

Halliwell**: "Reasonably successful attempt to film part of an unfilmable book. Comparisons with Letter From an Unknown Woman are inevitable."

Maltin**1/2: "Lavish but lifeless telescoping of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past with Irons surprisingly stiff...Redeemed somewhat by the latter [Ornella Muti] and Delon (as a homosexual baron), a sexy under-the-covers scene, and Sven Nykvist photography. "