NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR 1922

Directed by F.W. Murnau Written by Henrik Galeen Based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker

“Nosferatu” is derived from the Old Slavonic word “nosufuratu”, meaning “plague-carrier”. The movie begins and ends in Bremen, where an outbreak of bubonic plague occurred in the 1840s.

Cast (in alphabetical order) * Gustav Botz.... Dr. Sievers, Town Doctor * John Gottowt.... Professor Bulwer * Alexander Granach.... Knock * Wolfgang Heinz.... First mate * Guido Herzfeld.... Innkeeper * Ruth Landshoff.... Lucy Westrenka * Max Nemetz.... Captain * G.H. Schell.... Westrenka * Max Schreck.... Graf Orlok/Nosferatu * Greta Schröder.... Ellen Hutter * Hardy von Francois.... Doctor in Hospital * Gustav von Wangenheim.... Hutter

F.W. MURNAU His first few films included Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920, based on the Robert Lewis Stevenson book) and The Haunted Castle (1921). Although he was starting to explore Expressionism in these early films it was not until the 1922 Nosferatu that he made his artistic breakthrough. Nosferatu was not an immediate success due in part to copyright issues and the already difficult financial times facing Prana-films. Despite all this, Nosferatu was a masterpiece of Expressionist artwork. His use of super- imposed images, negative images, and the oddly angled castle architecture in Nosferatu set the stage for the more dreamlike images in the Last Laugh (1924).

Orlock’s shadow represents the deep and lasting impression that German Expressionism of the '20s and '30s had on the visual style and thematic undercurrents of what eventually became known as film noir. A prominent artistic movement in post-WWI Germany that influenced many disciplines (among them theater, painting, and sculpture, as well as film), Expressionism sought to give shape to psychological states through stylized visuals -- particularly (in the movies) using sharply exaggerated shadows and high-contrast lighting, disorientingly skewed set design and off-kilter camera angles.

Murnau's Contribution To Filmmaking It might seem a paradox that an Expressionist like Murnau was so adamantly opposed to the overuse of special effects. But his creative use of negatives in Nosferatu and blurry dreamlike images in The Last Laugh were appropriate to the feeling he wanted to convey. He was not strictly an Expressionist. His background in art gave him a stylistic pallet which included influences from the Romantic and Impressionist movements. He used stylistic effects only where necessary to blur the line between reality and imagination. This was a fine line for him which he could easily cross at any moment. He was quoted as saying:

"I like the reality of things, but not without the fantasy - they must dovetail. Is that not so with life, with human reactions and emotions? We have our thoughts and also our deeds."

As Murnau's skill with the camera improved, his reliance on intertitles diminished. He felt that a good story could be told without titles. This is easy to see in comparing the title heavy Nosferatu with The Last Laugh which told it's story through images and acting. It's ironic that his last film Tabu, which was technically a talkie relied very little on sound and had almost no dialogue.

So if necessity is the mother of invention then Murnau's contributions to film making were borne out of the limitations of the silent era. While D.W. Griffith was writing the "rules" of film making, Murnau was already showing us how to break them. His contributions to the grammar of film are still evident in today's films. But there are many filmmakers who have not learned. This is the difference between commercial filmmaking and artistic contribution. Sadly many of his films have not surrvived. But fortunately through the work of Film Preservation Associates and others his work will remain with us for many years. And even though the original negatives and many prints were destroyed Nosferatu survives as the greatest expression of a truly original artist. So if necessity is the mother of invention then Murnau's contributions to film making were borne out of the limitations of the silent era. While D.W. Griffith was writing the "rules" of film making, Murnau was already showing us how to break them. His contributions to the grammar of film are still evident in today's films. But there are many filmmakers who have not learned. This is the difference between commercial filmmaking and artistic contribution. Sadly many of his films have not surrvived. But fortunately through the work of Film Preservation Associates and others his work will remain with us for many years. And even though the original negatives and many prints were destroyed Nosferatu survives as the greatest expression of a truly original artist. So if necessity is the mother of invention then Murnau's contributions to film making were borne out of the limitations of the silent era. While D.W. Griffith was writing the "rules" of film making, Murnau was already showing us how to break them. His contributions to the grammar of film are still evident in today's films. Sadly many of his films have not survived. But fortunately through the work of Film Pre- servation Associates and others, his work will remain with us for many years. And even though the original negatives and many prints were destroyed, Nosferatu survives as the greatest expression of a truly original artist.

Murnau's Magic You have to admit there is something special about a film that remains as terrifyingly effective today as it was 85 years ago. Murnau, a pioneering member of the German Expressionist movement creates a dreamlike world that draws its strength from the real world. Unlike his contemporaries, Murnau took his camera to locations depicted in the story. He then transforms those locations into expressions of his characters.

The story begins in the garden of a real estate agent, Thomas Hutter and his wife Ellen. Their happy marriage is about to be transformed by Hutter's journey through the Land of Phantoms to the castle of the mysterious Count Orlock. Hutter is directed to sell the Count an abandoned building across from his own home. This direction comes from his boss; an odd fellow named Knock. We learn that Knock can read the strange hieroglyphic writing of Orlock. And as the story unfolds Knock betrays a remote psychic connection with the Count.

Murnau intercuts negatives and uses time warping camera techniques to transfer a simple forest road into a truly bizarre land of phantoms. Hutter's first exposure to Orlock's otherworldly power comes as Hutter arrives at the castle and the doors open by themselves.

The stark interiors of Count Orlock's castle are used to great effect in Murnau's striking image compositions. The Moorish archways frame Orlock and Hutter while the background alternates with bands of light and dark. The morning after the first attack, Hutter stumbles across a jumble of black and white tiles and descends a rickety winding outside staircase to find Count Orlock sleeping in his coffin. Hutter is more than a bit dazed and confused. Murnau's expert use of film technique never seems forced and always adds to the mystic quality of his mysterious Count.

Murnau lets us fill in some of the blanks. The dream- like quality is built on fades and superimposed images. He even uses simple cuts to show the attack on Hutter and Ellen's simultaneous telepathic connection to the event. Murnau's framing and the cinematography of Fritz Wagner give focus to the story. Albin Grau's imaginative art direction gives us scenes like the one where Ellen is waiting on the beach for Hutter's return. She is surrounded by sand dunes covered with iron crucifixes. Is this to say that the sea as giver of life can also give life to the dead?

While Murnau's contemporaries were building lavish sets for their films, Murnau took his camera and crew on location. This was very rare for the time. So the castle, the towns, and the landscapes are real. Murnau also used non-theatrical actors as extras. This gives an air of authenticity as he mixes his actors with real people playing themselves. The subject itself was frightening enough to elicit emotions that were sometimes more genuine than those of his "real" actors. Compare the fear in the older townswomen with the hammy acting of Gustav von Wangenheim if you want an example.

Although not 'horror' by today's bloody, gory standards, Nosferatu is a psychic thriller. The attack sequences have a frenetic quality from the intercutting and a graceful sensuality at the same time. The Silent Orchestra score on the 2001 DVD release from Image Entertainment unifies these qualities.

A classic scene that stands out in everyone's memory is the scene on the ship where Orlock seems to be ejected upright from his coffin. While it appears very obvious to us, this scene was probably very frightening to audiences in the 1920's.

Murnau gives us a world filled with real people in unreal situations. He combines natural surroundings with unnatural lighting. He uses each cinematic effect in appropriate ways to express the mood and tension. This is the blueprint for all Vampire films that have followed. And very few have been as true to their core. While modern Vampire films have a knack for flashy horror, F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu is the most original and the most artistic. He shows us that he is completely taken with his subject and gives us something more than any other Vampire film has done. He scares us.

Vampires, Dracula, and Murnau F.W Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu is perhaps the most frightening portrayal of the Bram Stoker legend. The 1992 remake, Bram Stoker's Dracula has Keanu Reeves,Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman, and Anthony Hopkins. While a great film, it suffers from the over exposure of the stars. Oldman is certainly a fine actor, but he has played so many bad guys that we have to wonder at times which one he's playing. Bela Lugosi certainly made his mark as the distinguished vampire in his 1932 film. But watching it today is an almost comical experience. His handsome, dashing vampire seems at odds with the character's pitiful past.

In the 1922 Murnau film we see a more pathetic vampire. Max Schreck's Count Orlock is a more isolated and drawn figure, not at all sympathetic, but a tragic figure nonetheless, a monster devoid of humanity. Although he "lives" in the "Land of the Phantoms" he is apparently alone in his ramshackle castle. Contrast this to Lugosi's charismatic and charming ("Good evening") party animal. Even the British Hammer films of the 1950's and 1960's starring Christopher Lee showed a well-dressed and classy vampire. This approach gives a nice bit of irony, but does not make for a very frightening character.

The 1932 Lugosi film is the first authorized adaptation of the Stoker novel. Like the novel, Lugosi's vampire has kinship and rapport with wolves and bats. Murnau and his art director, Albin Grau gave us a more rodent-like vampire. This has several effects. This makes him lowlier and at the same time gives his character a historical resonance.

Murnau draws from a history that links Vampires to unexplained deaths. The term, Nosferatu, is of modern origin and derives from the Slavic "nosufur-atu" which is a derivation of the Greek "nosophoros" or "plague carrier.”The understanding that rat-borne illnesses were the cause of many plagues dominated scientific thinking in recent centuries. While in earlier times many unexplained deaths fueled a developing culture of Vampirism and the concept of the "un-dead" in Europe.

While drawing on popular Vampire lore Murnau and Albin Grau also relied heavily and without permission on Stoker's novel. They apparently had no intention of paying any royalties for their use of the novel as the basis for their screenplay. They attempted to disguise the characters by changing their names and geographical setting. The film premiered in 1922 but eventually, Florence Stoker with the aid of the British Incorporated Society of Authors succeeded in destroying the original negatives and most of the prints of Nosferatu.

But Vampires have a knack for coming back to life. Several prints surfaced after Florence Stoker's death. Some were turned over to Universal, which by 1928 had acquired film rights to the Dracula novel. Later a French version appeared as well as an English print. Both of these had the character names changed back to Stoker's. But Vampires have a knack for coming back to life. Several prints surfaced after Florence Stoker's death. Some were turned over to Universal, which by 1928 had acquired film rights to the Dracula novel. Later a French version appeared as well as an English print.

NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR