Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

I watched the Kartes Video Communications 1984 video cassette version on a 15 inch screen. Titles were in English. Film quality was good. Sound was matched to action. Cropping appeared good, and titles were completely visible. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.

Nosferatu is one of the few silent movies with a significant following today. It deserves a following. The film is a suspense piece. Still it is paced nicely so that it feels tense in the right places but never goes long enough without something happening so as to be boring.

Visually Nosferatu forms the precedent for the vampire in movies. The main difference is that Count Nosferatu has more affinity with rat than bat. Aside from this the main stream image of the vampire is based heavily on Nosferatu. This film has been as influential on modern vampire mythology as the novel Dracula. It is based on the novel Dracula. Especially disturbing to me personally are NosferatuÕs twisted hands.

In terms of the filmÕs being silent, this should not put anyone off. The suspense/ horror genre fits well into this medium. I was lucky enough to see a version with music matched to the scenes, but if the copy you are watching has a bad sound track just play some music you like.

I recommend this film to anyone interested in the horror or suspense films. It is a bit of a cult film, but this does not keep it from being actually good.

F.W. Murnau directs this unauthorized version of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. NOSFERATU is arguably the earliest surviving screen version depicting the 'Prince of Darkness'. This German production deviates slightly from the original, but the now familiar story we all know by heart is intact. Count Dracula becomes Count Orlok and journeys to Bremen, Germany instead of London. His physical appearance is not dashing, mesmerizing or even mystical; but much resembles the rats that frequently accompany him. I find this the most eerie of all that would follow. The accompanying organ music background makes this scratchy black and white silent film an essential masterpiece. Max Schreck is immortal as Nosferatu/Count Orlok.

As I'm sure it is the case for many cinema fans, my respect and admiration towards this production widely excels the enjoyment I had while watching it. "Nosferatu" is a milestone from every possible viewpoint and it's one of those very few movies I think everybody should view at least once (although it actually requires repeated viewings…) It is the very first version of Bram Stoker's legendary vampire tale and easily the most copied film in the history of cinema. I'm sure everyone is familiar with the story of young estate agent Jonathan Harker traveling to Transylvania where he acquaintances the eccentric count who feeds on blood and controls the ones he has bitten, but THIS is the original version. Shot by F.W. Murnau (who also made the equally essential titles "Faust" and "Der Januskopf") and made unforgettable by Max Schreck in his performance as the Count. And, even though this film is over 80 years old, Schreck's image is still as nightmarish as it can be. No visual or make-up effect could ever surpass the simple appearance of Max Schreck! The fact that this film is still very powerful therefore almost entirely depends on his unworldly character. "Nosferatu" is beautiful poetry, difficult to watch at times, but very rewarding. The sexual undertones as well as the shock-aspects have surely dated by now, but they're still present, and – as I mentioned before – they only increase my respect for Murnau and his crew. A definite must see, just make sure you're in the right mood.

Nosferatu is a great horror movie (possibly the first ever according to some accounts), and one of the pinnacles of the German silent era of film-making. Made in the silent age by the German expressionist/auteur FW Murnau, the film has the genuine power to act creepy, odd, alluring, mythic, and beautiful by way of images and music that don't leave your mind once the film is over. It's like someone collected a stash of nightmares and pulled them together with the original Bram Stoker story of Dracula. Max Shreck, in his most notorious role (and apparently the only one really anyone's bothered to see) plays the monstrous Count Orlock, a vampire who comes out at night to tempt the living and, of course, to suck blood. Though this story of Dracula has been numerously repeated (even by the Hollywood version in the early 30s), this film is one of the prime examples of how horror SHOULD be done- dispense with cheap thrills or overloading with exposition.

A director like Murnau here, who had total artistic control (abeit the film not in circulation for many years), could transform Orlock's world into one of acute, deliberate angles, long deep shadows, and painting with light like some mad artist from the dark ages. One could almost claim that this, alongside Night of the Living Dead, changed the way audiences looked at horror films, that a style and presence could be wrung from characters that bring out the worst fears and dread in common people. Years from now, long into the digital age, there may still be room for of all things a silent, non-talking effort like Nosferatu, where the terror can still be felt through the black and white (sometimes tinted) photography and stark physical performances by Schrek and the others. In short, a film like this is one of the reasons I love to watch horror movies.

For copyright reasons, Bram Stoker's novel was filmed with the names of the characters changed (Orlok for Dracula, for example) but otherwise the story remains the same: a young man goes on a trip to see a mysterious count in order to sell a house, leaving his bride behind, and finds that the creature he meets is not of this world.

As the extremely creepy Orlok, Max Schreck is brilliant, with his long fingernails and gaunt appearance. A triumph in early cinematic make-up. Gustav von Wangenheim portrays the confusion of the victim well, as does Greta Schroder as his wife. FW Murnau directed the film with flair, showing us not only shadowed vistas and abandoned castles, but the nature outside (foxes) and miniature worlds evolving under a microscope. This film sits well with his later 'Sunrise' in showing the effect of outside forces on a young couple, as well as being one of the key early horrors in its portrayal of Stoker's anti-hero.

This version of the Dracula tale remains one of the best, although all have some different perspective on the novel. On the strength of 'Nosferatu' alone, Murnau deserves his place as a true innovator of silent cinema.