F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) was the original vampire film. It hails from the era of silent films but is nevertheless eminently enjoyable for modern audiences. In fact, it presently ranks as the 191st most popular film of all-time according to the Internet Database popularity poll, which makes it 22nd among non-English language films. Not bad for a 1922 silent film from Germany! It is a film classic by any standard. It originated the vampire subgenre (within the horror film genre). According to many reviewers, it has never been surpassed by any of the dozens of vampire films made since, though I can’t personally vouch for the validity of that assertion, not having paid much attention to the competition. The performance by Max Schreck as Nosferatu is the highlight of the film and is often held up as the greatest vampire portrayal ever. He plays the part more like a creepy rodent than a human, in contrast to the suave and seductive renditions made popular since.

Historical Context: When the film rights to the novel Dracula by British author Bram Stoker became available in the early 1920’s, Murnau bid to acquire those rights, but the negotiations bogged down and Murnau had already committed to making the film. There wasn’t a lot of love lost in post-war Germany for the British anyway, so Murnau decided to simply change a few names of characters and places and to proceed without legal authorization from Stoker’s estate. Dracula became Nosferatu, Jonathan Harker was changed to Thomas Hutter, and so forth and London became Wisborg, Germany. The ending of the story was modified as well. Stoker’s widow, Florence Stoker, was infuriated and undertook relentless legal action over several years, finally winning a court order calling for destruction of every copy of Murnau’s film. Fortunately for today’s viewing public, some copies survived in private collections.

Murnau (1888-1931) made 22 films in his brief career, the best known of which besides Nosferatu (1922) were The Last Laugh (1924), and Sunrise (1927). He was successful enough to earn a ticket to Hollywood in 1926 and a contract with Fox, but died far too early in a car accident in California in 1931.

The Story: In Bremen, Germany, a creepy little real estate agent, Knock (Alexander Granach), has received a letter (written in occult symbols) from a Count Orlok indicating interest in purchasing an empty house in Bremen. Knock assigns one of his assistants, Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to pay a visit to Count Orlok at his remote castle and offer him the vacant house across the street from Hutter’s own home. Hutter bids an emotional farewell to his loving and sensitive wife Ellen, leaving her in the care of a couple of friends, and begins his trip.

On his trip to the Count’s castle through the Carpathian Mountains, Hutter soon discovers that the locals are terrified of the Count. The very mention of his name causes grown men to shudder and horses to bolt in fright. Hutter spends a night at a local inn where there is a book about vampires and other kinds of magic, but Hutter laughs off all of this superstition. When his hired coach reaches the bridge leading to the Count’s castle, the driver will take him no further. Hutter crosses the bridge on foot and is soon met by a carriage from the Count’s castle, which travels at double-speed.

In the castle, doors open mysteriously under their own power. Hutter meets the Count, who has a kind of ghastly rat like appearance – pointy nose, pointy bald head, and eyes set in deep shadowy rings. Nevertheless, the real estate transaction proceeds harmlessly enough. When Hutter drops a locket with a picture of his wife, the Count droolingly admires the beauty of her neck. At dinner, Hutter cuts himself and is startled when the Count takes exceptional interest in his “beautiful blood.”

Hutter sleeps through the night and discovers a couple of bites on his neck in the morning, which he innocently assumes to be mosquito bites. Later, wandering through the castle, Hutter encounters the Count deeply asleep in a coffin. Now finally recognizing the danger, Hutter escapes from the castle and begins a hurried journey back to Bremen.

The Count, meanwhile, heads to the same destination by sea, traveling with five coffins filled with dirt of the Black Death (i.e., from a graveyard where plague victims have been buried). The ship carrying the Count soon becomes a death ship. One by one the crew members perish from the plague until only the Captain and first-mate remain. The first-mate heads down into the hold with a hatchet to confront whatever evil lurks there. When he chops a hole in one of the caskets, numerous rats emerge. From another casket, Count Orlok himself rises stiffly into a upright position. The first-mate races in a fright onto the upper deck and falls overboard. By the time the ship reaches the port at Bremen, none of the crew remain alive though the dead body of the Captain remains tied to the ships wheel. The plague begins to spread through the city.

Meanwhile, Knock, who had been jailed, attacks the guard and escapes. The city, needing someone to blame for the plague, pursues Knock, traps him on a rooftop, and the crowd hurls stones at him. He refers to Count Orlok as “master” and is clearly in league with him.

Hutter returns home and greets his beloved wife. He has brought along the book about vampires but urges his wife not to examine the horrifying pictures. She, of course, cannot resist and in the process of reading the book learns that the only way to kill a vampire is to trick him into ignoring the cock’s first crow (i.e., the dawn), since vampires are killed by daylight. This can be accomplished by an innocent maiden willingly submitting to the vampire’s blood lust. Across the street, Count Orlok has moved in and in one especially memorable scene, we see him standing in the window of his house looking across at Ellen as she gazes out of the window of her own home. Most likely, the reader can imagine the remainder of the story – more or less – and will be motivated to check out this film for the definitive experience.

Themes: The story of Dracula has been analyzed to death from a variety of perspectives. Certainly one element of the story is the Victorian-era fear of venereal disease and, hence, promiscuous sexuality by which venereal diseases were spread. Vampires can be interpreted as seductive men seeking female conquests, tainting the blood of their victims in the process. More broadly, the notion of vampires can be interpreted as encompassing all of our shadowy subconscious fears. What makes this particular vampire movie so exceptionally effective is that it represents its various fearful images mainly symbolically, which is the mode in which our subconscious minds operate. Compared to modern horror films, this classic one has little capacity to shake the consciousness mind with fear, but speaks hauntingly to the subconscious mind. The literal translation of the full German name of the film is “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors.” Murnau does indeed orchestrate the horror of this story into a symphony of images.

Production Values: This film may actually be better for being a silent one. The imagery produced for this film is utterly masterful. This was one of very few films of the silent era that was shot on location – in the Carpathian Mountains – greatly enhancing the sense of realism. On the other hand, the cinematographer, Fritz Arno Wagner, used a variety of interesting techniques to confer unreality to the story, including interesting fades, tinting, transparent images, disappearing images, and fast motion. There is very little camera movement but every shot is skillfully framed. Wagner makes more use of the corners and edges of his frames than was common for that era. The use of shadows and stark lighting is also exceptional. The overall result is a coldly beautiful film of intense gothic character.

The editing was also advanced for its era. This was one of the first films to use intercutting between scenes (e.g., Hutter at the Count’s castle interspersed with his wife Ellen back home sensing danger).

The greatness of this film rests first and foremost, however, on the unnerving performance by Max Shreck. He is demonic and inhuman to an extent that has never been matched since in any vampire portrayal. Shreck’s make-up (the creation of art director Aubin Grau) was utterly fantastic: long claw-like fingernails and creepy leering eyes. Combined with Shreck innate gaunt and emaciated frame, Nosferatu has all the suitably hungry and predatory appearance that one might expect of a vampire.

Among the other roles, I enjoyed the performance turned in my Greta Schroeder (subtly expressive as Ellen) and Alexander Granach (as the toady Knock). I did not much care for the exaggerated facial expression of Gustav von Wangenheim as Hutter.

Bottom-Line: I’m not much of a fan of the horror film genre, though I have a lot of respect for the classics of the genre such as The Exorcist and Psycho. I prefer arty symbolism to realism that evokes true fright. I will add Nosferatu to my short list of admired horror films. It is an ideal horror film for horror-wimps like myself. It is not really scary but haunting and absorbing in its effects. Nosferatu delivers classic symbolism rendered deliciously in a darkly sinister atmosphere. It is a masterpiece of gentle horror.

Apparently, there are many versions of this film. They vary in length from at least 75 to 93 minutes. There are a wide variety of soundtracks in the various versions and some DVD versions offer a choice of two. The “color” of the film also ranges from black-and-white to sepia to tinted versions. The version I own is 93 minutes and makes almost continuous use of tints – oranges for daytime scenes and a haunting indigo for nighttime for example. Since I have not seen other versions, I can’t claim to know which is best.


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You might want to check out these other excellent films from Germany:

The American Friend
Beyond Silence
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Blue Angel
Das Boot
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler
Fitzcarraldo
Kings of the Road
M
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Metropolis
The Nasty Girl
Pandora's Box
Run Lola Run
Stalingrad
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Threepenny Opera
The Tin Drum
Wings of Desire
Zentropa

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older