Two ‘holiday’ movies: Skip the Dracula one and go see the Bob Dylan one

Properly Subvesive/Sherman R. Frederick

I caught the two big holiday season movies of 2024 — “Nosferatu” and “A Complete Unknown.”

Nosferatu, an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” novel, gets an 86/76 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which I found too high for my taste. (86 is the critics score, 76 is the audience score.)

When I was a kid, vampires scared the bejeebers out of me. My grandparents had a home on 3rd Street in downtown Phoenix (long since paved over with offices and high rises). That old house had an office/basement. I didn’t like to go down there because, you know, in my boy life form I thought if there were vampires, and some would have been crazy enough to migrate to sunny Phoenix, this would be a likely place to store their coffins. 

I had a re-occurring nightmare for years that involved my Uncle Joe (I begged him not to go into the basement) and my utter inability to convince anyone else that he may have become one of “them.” 

Anyway, pre-release hype called this flick “the scariest movie since The Shining.” The estate of Stanley Kubrick should sue immediately. 

“Nosferatu” is average Dracula fare. 

At best. 

Wait for it to come to your favorite streamer. 

“A Complete Unknown,” however, is a theater treat. This is movie storytelling at its best. Whether you experienced the early 60s or are now just discovering the genius of Bob Dylan, this is well worth full price at the theaters. 

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 79/96 and in this case I’m on the side of the audience. Hollywood’s abuzz over Timothee Chalamet’s portrayal of Bob Dylan. Edward Norton’s work as Pete Seeger was equally good.

The actors did their own singing, which added to my ability to stay in the experience.

If you can, see this flick on the big screen. 

The 1965 Newport Folk Festival is the closing scene in the movie. It features Bob Dylan going electric, a thing for which some folk purists in the crowd booed him. This verse from his iconic folk song “Maggie’s Farm” seems right for the moment:

Here’s a clip showing what Bob Dylan did to his much loved acoustic song. Enjoy. 

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QPfsUlFxhrI?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

BTW: The Newport Folk Festival still goes on. You can find tickets here.

You can read the full column here.