Nosferatu: The Original Vampire Movie

Posted by Pemberly Rose in Movies | 0 comments

Nosferatu: The Original Vampire Movie

reviewed by Pemberly Rose

Title: Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens (translated Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror)
Year Made: 1921
Directed by: F. W. Murnau
Starring: Max Schreck (Count Orlov), Alexander Granach (Knock), Gustav von Wangenheim (Thomas Hutter), Gretta Schroeder (Ellen Hutter), and John Gottowt (Prof. Bulwer)
Studio: Prana Film
For more information please visit the film’s Wikipedia Page

Back when I was a little kid; no more than say four or five years of age, my Dad introduced me to the world of vampires. Whether he did so intentionally or not is irrelevant. Ever since I’ve been hooked like a fangbanger addicted to V. The genre is la mia cantante in every sense of the term. So what got me started down this dark path to one of the most popular modern horror genres? That would be the movie Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens, more simply known as Nosferatu.

Now what is Nosferatu? It’s a classic (and I mean classic) silent horror movie. It’s a German film shot in 1921 and released in 1922 (the year my grandparents were born!). The amazing part is that this masterpiece was filmed before the advent of talkies (see: 1927’s The Jazz Singer), color film, of computer-generated effects, and before Bella Lugosi ever got his turn as the most infamous Transylvanian bloodsucker of all time. You may be asking yourself what’s so great about some grainy black and white film from 80-odd years ago? Empire Magazine listed it as #21 in the “The 100 Best Films of World Cinema” in 2010. Furthermore it has a Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating of 98%. Few films ever get a rating that good on RT, just sayin’.

So what’s it about? If you’ve read the book Bram Stoker’s Dracula you’ll have some idea of what the basic plot entails. The filmmakers had originally wanted to make the film version of Stoker’s timeless masterpiece but were unable to buy the rights to the book. Thus they took the main characters such as Renfield (Knock), Count Dracula (Count Orlov), The Harkers (The Hutters), and Van Helsing (Prof Bulwer) changed their names so they wouldn’t get sued for copyright infringement. Unfortunately the widow of Stoker sued anyways and won, bankrupting the small German film studio Prana Film. They also included some of the basic plot of Dracula, but strayed just far enough away to make it uniquely theirs. This movie, as I’ve realized re-watching it as I do every October in preparation for all hallow’s eve is probably one of the best tributes to Stoker’s genius while still maintaining it’s own individuality. As a fanfic writer I liken this to a visual fanfic that was turned into something bigger and better than even the original source material. More recent US rereleases of the movie have even included the original Stoker names to the subtitled dialogue.

There are a few changes to the plot that the filmmakers had to include as well. If you’re familiar with Stoker’s version you know all about how Prof Van Helsing and the Harkers toiled with the immortal Count as he was able to create more vampires like him. Count Orlov is a much different vampire. He has rodent-like features and cannot create another immortal, instead just kills his prey. The only way to kill him is that a woman pure in heart must let him drink her blood by doing so the Count is distracted by the lure of innocent luscious blood and is able to be killed by sunlight. This was the first death by sunlight documented for the genre.

The influences this movie has had on the vampire genre as a whole are obvious. Would we have had the Bella Lugosi or Gary Oldman versions of Dracula if it were not for Max Schreck’s timeless portrayal of the undead? Furthermore, would we have had any of our modern depictions of vampires in film and television? Where would the vampire genre be without the ingenuity of Murnau and company? Where Stoker’s Dracula laid the foundation, Nosferatu most certainly built the house of vampires upon it. Even in the Twilight movies we can see at least a little reference to the original film vampire.

Hmm that jacket looks oddly familiar… I wonder where else I’ve seen it…

That’s where! Guess Edward raided Orlov’s closet for Halloween. Alice is not amused.

See, even Edward Cullen knows where to pay homage. Though it’s not clear that the costume director was influenced by the 1920s original it’s clear that even by accident that there’s at least some amount of influence.

I personally love this movie to death. It’s innovative, creepy, dark, and enchanting. Even as a small child I was entranced by the subject matter, the role of a man forced by his nature to drink the blood of the innocent.  Even if you’re not a cinephile like me you will truly be creeped out and enthralled by this epic classic film. If you’re looking for a low-fi yet high caliber film to get your spine all tingly this Halloween, start with Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens. You will not be disappointed!