Nosferatu Steindachneri
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''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent
German Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
vampire film Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...
directed by
F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era. An e ...
from a screenplay by
Henrik Galeen Henrik Galeen (7 January 1881 – 30 July 1949) was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. He wrote the screenplay for ''Nosf ...
. It stars
Max Schreck Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...
as
Count Orlok Count Orlok (; ; ) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film ''Nosferatu'' (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive va ...
, a
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
who preys on the wife (
Greta Schröder Greta Schröder (27 June 1892 – 8 June 1980) was a German actress. She is best known for the role of Ellen Hutter, Thomas Hutter's wife and the cause of Count Orlok's destruction in ''Nosferatu'' (1922). In the fictionalized 2000 film ''Sha ...
) of his
estate agent An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of real estate, properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a Letting agent, letting or manag ...
(
Gustav von Wangenheim Gustav von Wangenheim (born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim; 18 February 1895 – 5 August 1975) was a German actor, screenwriter and director. Biography Early life Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr ...
) and brings the plague to their town. ''Nosferatu'' was produced by Prana Film and is an unauthorized adaptation of
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
's 1897 novel ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
''. Various names and other details were changed from the novel, including
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...
being renamed
Count Orlok Count Orlok (; ; ) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film ''Nosferatu'' (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive va ...
. Although those changes are often represented as a defense against
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
accusations, the original German
intertitles In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...
acknowledged ''Dracula'' as the source. Film historian David Kalat states in his commentary track that since the film was "a low-budget film made by Germans for German audiences... setting it in Germany with German-named characters makes the story more tangible and immediate for German-speaking viewers". Even with several details altered, Stoker's widow sued over the adaptation's copyright violation, and a court ruling ordered all copies of the film to be
destroyed Destroyed may refer to: * ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds * ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby See also * Destruction (disambiguation) * Ruined (disambiguation) Ruins are the remains of man-m ...
. However, several prints of ''Nosferatu'' survived, and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema and the horror genre. Critic and historian
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...
declared it as a film that set the template for the genre of horror film.


Plot

In 1838, in the fictional
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
town of Wisburg,
Thomas Hutter Thomas Hutter is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the silent expressionist horror film '' Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922) and other films based on it. He is a young man who works as a real estate agent and lives i ...
is sent to
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
by his employer, the eccentric estate agent Herr Knock, to visit a new client,
Count Orlok Count Orlok (; ; ) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film ''Nosferatu'' (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive va ...
, who is planning on buying a house across from Hutter's own residence. As Hutter studies the route on a map, Knock secretly studies a mysterious correspondence in cabalistic symbols. While embarking on his journey, Hutter stops at an inn in which the locals are terrified by the mere mention of Orlok's name. In his room, he finds a book about
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
s, which he initially scoffs at but puts in his baggage. After his carriage refuses to take him further than the entrance to the mountain pass, Hutter travels on foot until after sunset, when he is met on the road by a coach and rides to Orlok's castle in the
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
, where he is welcomed by Orlok himself. While Hutter is eating supper, he accidentally cuts his thumb; Orlok tries to suck the blood out, but his repulsed guest pulls his hand away. Hutter wakes up the next morning to find fresh punctures on his neck, which he attributes to mosquitoes. That night, Orlok signs the documents to purchase the house and notices on the table a miniature portrait of Hutter's wife, Ellen, an image that the young man carries with him in a small circular frame. Admiring the portrait, the count remarks that she has a "lovely neck." Reading the book that he took from the inn, Hutter begins to suspect that Orlok is indeed a vampire. With no way to bar the door to his bedroom, Hutter desperately tries to hide as midnight approaches. Suddenly, the door begins to slowly open by itself and, as Orlok enters, a terrified Hutter hides under the bedcovers and falls unconscious. Meanwhile, back in Wisburg, Ellen arises from her own bed and sleepwalks to the railing of her bedroom's balcony. She starts walking on top of the railing, which gets the attention of Thomas' friend Harding in the adjacent room. When the doctor arrives, Ellen envisions Orlok in his castle threatening her unconscious husband and shouts Hutter's name, which somehow Orlok is able to hear, causing him to withdraw. On the next day, Hutter explores the castle. In a vault, he finds the coffin in which Orlok is resting dormant in the crypt and flees back to his room. Hours later, as Hutter watches, Orlok piles up coffins on a coach and climbs into the last one before the coach departs. Hutter manages to escape from the castle, injuring himself in the process, and after a period of recovery, he rushes home. Orlok's coffins are taken aboard a
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
, which the sailors open only to discover rats. All of the crewmen later die, and Orlok takes control of the vessel. Not long after Hutter returns home, the ship arrives in Wisburg; Orlok leaves unobserved, carrying one of his coffins, and moves into the house that he purchased. Many deaths in the town follow Orlok's arrival, which the local doctors attribute to an unspecified plague caused by the rats from the ship. Knock, who has gone completely insane, is confined to a mental asylum, but escapes after strangling one of the wardens. Against Hutter's wishes, Ellen reads the book that he found on his journey; it claims that a vampire can be destroyed if a pure-hearted woman distracts the vampire from the approaching dawn with her beauty and by offering him her blood of her own free will; Ellen decides to sacrifice herself to stop Orlok. Knock, who the villagers blame for the plague, is eventually re-captured and returned to the asylum. Ellen opens her window to invite Orlok in and pretends to fall ill so that she can send Hutter to fetch Professor Bulwer, a physician. After he leaves, Orlok enters and drinks her blood, but the sun rises and its rays cause Orlok to vanish in a puff of smoke, which Knock in his asylum cell senses and is shattered by. Ellen lives just long enough to be embraced by her grief-stricken husband. The film's final image is that of Orlok's castle, destroyed.


Cast

*
Max Schreck Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...
as
Count Orlok Count Orlok (; ; ) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film ''Nosferatu'' (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive va ...
, a Transylvanian noble and vampire. In the public domain version, he is referred to as
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...
. *
Gustav von Wangenheim Gustav von Wangenheim (born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim; 18 February 1895 – 5 August 1975) was a German actor, screenwriter and director. Biography Early life Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr ...
as
Thomas Hutter Thomas Hutter is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the silent expressionist horror film '' Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922) and other films based on it. He is a young man who works as a real estate agent and lives i ...
, a young estate agent. In the public domain version, he is referred to as Jonathon Harker. *
Greta Schröder Greta Schröder (27 June 1892 – 8 June 1980) was a German actress. She is best known for the role of Ellen Hutter, Thomas Hutter's wife and the cause of Count Orlok's destruction in ''Nosferatu'' (1922). In the fictionalized 2000 film ''Sha ...
as Ellen, Hutter's wife. In the public domain version, she is referred to as
Nina Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq *Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...
. *
Georg H. Schnell Georg Heinrich Schnell (11 April 1878 – 31 March 1951) was a German actor who remains perhaps best-known for his role as shipowner Harding in ''Nosferatu, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922). Georg appeared in over one hundred fi ...
as Harding, a wealthy shipowner and Hutter's friend. In the public domain version, he is referred to as Westenra. *
Ruth Landshoff Ruth Landshoff-Yorck (born Ruth Levy, 7 January 1904 – 19 January 1966) was a German-American actress and writer. Life and career She was born in 1904 in Berlin as Ruth Levy to engineer Edward Levy and opera singer Else Landshoff. She came f ...
as Ruth, Harding's sister. In the public domain version, she is referred to as
Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...
and said to be his wife. *
Gustav Botz Gustav Botz (4 August 1883 – 29 September 1932) was a German actor. Early life and career Botz was born on 4 August 1883 at Bremen, German Empire. Botz began his career in film business ''The Foreign Prince'' (1918), ''The Devil'' (1918), ' ...
as Professor Sievers, Wisburg's doctor. In the public domain version, he is referred to as the town doctor. *
Alexander Granach Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a German-Austrian actor in the 1920s and 1930s who emigrated to the United States in 1938. Life and career Granach was born Schaje Granoch in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) ( Austr ...
as Knock, an estate broker and Hutter's employer. In the public domain version, he is referred to as
Renfield R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''.
. *
John Gottowt John Gottowt (born Isidor Gesang; 15 June 1881 – 29 August 1942) was an Austrian actor, stage director and film director for theatres and silent movies. Gottowt was born in Lemberg, Austria-Hungary (present-day Lviv, Ukraine) into a Jewish fami ...
as Professor Bulwer, a physician. In the public domain version, he is referred to as Dr. Van Helsing. *
Max Nemetz Max Nemetz (7 September 1886 – 2 July 1971) was a German film and stage actor. He is best known for the role of the Captain in the 1922 silent film ''Nosferatu''. Filmography as actor: *1921: '' The Graveyard of the Living'' *1921: '' Ma ...
as the ''Empusa'' captain. In the public domain version, he is referred to as the captain of the ''Demeter''. * Wolfgang Heinz as the ''Empusa'' first mate * as the ''Empusa'' sailor Making uncredited appearances are
Karl Etlinger Karl Franz Etlinger (16 October 1879 – 8 May 1946) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1946. Selected filmography * '' The Eternal Curse'' (1921) * '' The Poisoned Stream'' (1921) * '' The Films o ...
as one of Bulwer's students, as a doctor at a mental hospital,
Guido Herzfeld Guido Herzfeld (born Guido Kornfeld; 14 August 1851 – 16 November 1923) was a German stage and film actor. Herzfeld established himself in the theatre in the nineteenth century. In 1914 he made his film debut and went on to appear in over sixty ...
as an innkeeper, and
Fanny Schreck Fanny Schreck (born Franziska Ott; 11 June 1877 – 11 December 1951), also known as Fanny Schreck-Normann, was a German actress. She was married to actor Max Schreck. Both husband and wife acted in their most well-known film, ''Nosferatu'', with ...
as a hospital nurse.


Themes


The Other

''Nosferatu'' has been noted for its themes regarding fear of the Other, as well as for possible
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
undertones, both of which may have been partially derived from the
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
novel ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'', upon which the film was based. Giesen 2019 page 109 The physical appearance of Count Orlok, with his
hooked nose An aquiline nose is a human nose with a prominent bridge, giving it the appearance of being curved or slightly bent. The word ''aquiline'' comes from the Latin word ' ("eagle-like"), an allusion to the curved beak of an eagle. While some have ...
, long claw-like fingernails, and large bald head, has been compared to stereotypical caricatures of Jewish people from the time in which ''Nosferatu'' was produced. Giesen 2019 page 108 His features have also been compared to those of a rat or a mouse, the former of which Jews were often equated with. Giesen 2019 pages 108–109 Magistrale 2005 page 25–26 Orlok's interest in acquiring property in the German town of Wisburg, a shift in locale from the Stoker novel's
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, has also been analyzed as preying on the fears and anxieties of the German public at the time. Magistrale 2005 page 25 Professor
Tony Magistrale Anthony Samuel Magistrale is a professor in English at the University of Vermont since 1983. He received a B.A. in 1974 from Allegheny College, and from the University of Pittsburgh an M.A. in 1976 and a PhD in 1981.
wrote that the film's depiction of an "invasion of the German homeland by an outside force ..poses disquieting parallels to the anti-Semitic atmosphere festering in
Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
in 1922." When the foreign Orlok arrives in Wisburg by ship, he brings with him a swarm of rats which, in a deviation from the source novel, spread the plague throughout the town. Joslin 2017 page 15 This plot element further associates Orlok with rodents and the idea of the "Jew as disease-causing agent". It is also notable that Orlok's accomplice in conspiracy Knock is a Jewish realtor, who acts as the vampire's
fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...
in the
Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...
town of Wisburg. There were other views – writer
Kevin Jackson Kevin Andre Jackson (born November 25, 1964) is an American retired freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, and mixed martial artist. Following his competitive career, Jackson would become a wrestling coach. During his international career, Jackso ...
has noted that director
F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era. An e ...
"was friendly with and protective of a number of Jewish men and women" throughout his life, including Jewish actor
Alexander Granach Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a German-Austrian actor in the 1920s and 1930s who emigrated to the United States in 1938. Life and career Granach was born Schaje Granoch in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) ( Austr ...
, who plays Knock in ''Nosferatu''. Jackson 2013 page 20 Additionally, Magistrale wrote that Murnau, being a
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
, would have been "presumably more sensitive to the persecution of a subgroup inside the larger German society". As such, it has been said that perceived associations between Orlok and antisemitic stereotypes are unlikely to have been conscious decisions on the part of Murnau.


Occultism

Murnau and Grau gave Orlok in the film a demonic lineage and an occult origin: Orlok is the creation of
Belial Belial (; , ''Bəlīyyaʿal'') is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament which later became personified as the devilSee the reference to "Beliar" in ''The Ascension of Isaiah'', at EarlyChristianWritings.com', specifically at 1:8†...
, one of the Satanic
archdemon In some occult and similar writings, an archdemon (also spelled archdaemon), archdevil, or archfiend is a spiritual entity prominent in the Hell, infernal hierarchy as a leader of demons. Essentially, the archdemons are the evil opponents of the ...
s. Belial in
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...
41:8–10 is also associated with pestilence, with Orlok in film being a manifestation of contagion, rats pouring out of his coffins onto the streets of Wisburg, spreading
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
. Orlok's link to Belial is also significant because Belial is "one of the demons traditionally summoned by
Goetic (, ) is a type of European sorcery, often referred to as witchcraft, that has been transmitted through grimoires—books containing instructions for performing magical practices. The term "goetia" finds its origins in the Greek word "goes", ...
magicians" – making Orlok someone who practiced dark sorcery before becoming a vampire.Annwn Jones, David (2023), ''Vampires on the Silent Screen: Cinema’s First Age of Vampires 1897–1922'', pp. 169, 184 Orlok and his servant Knock are communicating in occult language – the documents between Orlok and Knock are written in
Enochian Enochian is an occult constructed language—said by its originators to have been received from angels—recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who worked ...
, a constructed language said to be that of the angels, which was recorded in the private journals of English occultist
John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...
and his colleague English
alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
Edward Kelley Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (; 1 August 1555 – 1597/8), was an English Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to se ...
in late 16th-century
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
England.''Movie Magick: The Occult in Film'' (2018) by David Huckvale, p. 52 The character of Professor Bulwer in the film is named in reference to English occult novelist
Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...
. The idea of astral entities, arising from the dark thoughts of human beings, responsible for epidemics that call for blood sacrifices in order to prevent them, is also closely linked to that of the alchemist
Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...
, whose figure is partly embodied in the film in the character of Professor Bulwer (who is mentioned in the film to be
Paracelsian Paracelsianism (also Paracelsism; German: ') was an early modern History of medicine, medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It developed in the second half of the 16th century, during the decades following Paracel ...
himself). This is made concrete in the film in the plague epidemic that spreads through the town of Wisburg, which cannot be remedied by scientific methods, but by the blood sacrifice of a woman, thus destroying forever the dark being responsible for this catastrophic situation.


World War I

The idea for making this vampire film saw its genesis in the war-time experience of producer Albin Grau. Grau served in the German army during World War I on the Serbian campaign, Serbian front. While in Serbia, Grau encountered a local farmer who told him of his father, who the farmer believed had become an undead vampire. F. W. Murnau, director of the film, also saw considerable action in World War I – not only as a company commander in the trenches of the Eastern Front (World War I), Eastern Front, but also later in the air after he transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte, German air service. He survived at least eight crashes.
Max Schreck Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...
who portrayed Count Orlok also served in the trenches with the German army. Little is known of his war-time experience, but there are some signs he may have dealt with some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. Colleagues commented that he preferred to keep to himself. He was known to take long walks in the forest alone, oftentimes disappearing for hours at a time. He once stated that he lived in "a remote and incorporeal world". Thus it is considered that the turmoil of 1920s Germany and the war-time experiences of those who produced the film left their marks on the production of the film. As Lotte H. Eisner, Lotte Eisner, a dedicated occultist, wrote: "Mysticism and magic, the dark forces to which Germans have always been more than willing to commit themselves, had flourished in the face of death on the battlefields" – these forces were intrinsic to the shaping of cinema's first vampires. Albin Grau himself also linked the war and vampires: "this monstrous World War I, event that is unleashed across the earth like a cosmic vampire to drink the blood of millions and millions of men". Belial as well is the link between war and contagion, as Orlok is linked directly to the Black Death and many critics have linked ''Nosferatu''s disease-bearing rodents to the transmissible sickness associated with trench warfare in which rats flourished. As noted by Ernest Jones in his psychoanalytic study of nightmares, vampire legends proliferate in periods of mass contagion.


Production

The studio behind ''Nosferatu'', Prana Film, was a short-lived Silent film, silent-era German film studio founded in 1921 by Enrico Dieckmann and occultist artist Albin Grau, named after a Theosophy, Theosophical journal which was itself named for the Hindu concept of (life force). Although the studio's intent was to produce occult- and supernatural-themed films, ''Nosferatu'' was its only production, as it declared bankruptcy shortly after the film's release. Grau claimed he was inspired to shoot a vampire film by a war experience: in Grau's apocryphal tale, during the winter of 1916, a Kingdom of Serbia, Serbian farmer told him that his father was a vampire and one of the Undeath, undead. As a lifelong student of the occult and member of , under the magical name of Master Pacitius, Grau was able to imbue Nosferatu with Hermeticism, hermetic and mystical undertones. One example in particular was the cryptic contract that Count Orlok and Knock exchanged, which was filled in
Enochian Enochian is an occult constructed language—said by its originators to have been received from angels—recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who worked ...
, hermetic and Alchemy, alchemical symbols. Grau was also a strong influence on Orlok's verminous and emaciated look and he also designed the film's sets, costumes, make-up and the letter with the Enochian symbols. He also was responsible for film's advertising campaign, creating movie posters and advertisements. Grau's visual style was also deeply influenced by work of the artist Hugo Steiner-Prag who had illustrated other texts with esoteric subjects, such as Gustav Meyrink’s ''The Golem (Meyrink novel), Golem'' and E. T. A. Hoffmann’s (1907).''Vampires on the Silent Screen: Cinema’s First Age of Vampires 1897–1922'' (2023) by David Annwn Jones, p. 184 Diekmann and Grau gave
Henrik Galeen Henrik Galeen (7 January 1881 – 30 July 1949) was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. He wrote the screenplay for ''Nosf ...
, a disciple of Hanns Heinz Ewers, the task to write a screenplay inspired by the ''Dracula'' novel, although Prana Film had not obtained the film rights. Galeen was an experienced specialist in dark romanticism; he had already worked on ''The Student of Prague (1913 film), The Student of Prague'' (1913), and the screenplay for ''The Golem: How He Came into the World'' (1920). Galeen set the story in the fictional north German harbour town of Wisburg. He changed the characters' names and added the idea of the vampire bringing the plague to Wisburg via rats on the ship. Galeen's German Expressionism (cinema), Expressionist style screenplay was poetically rhythmic, without being so dismembered as other books influenced by expressionism in literature, literary Expressionism, such as those by Carl Mayer. Lotte Eisner described Galeen's screenplay as "" ("full of poetry, full of rhythm").#Eisner67, Eisner 1967 page 27 Actor Conrad Veidt was offered the role of Count Orlok, having previously worked with Murnau, but had to decline for scheduling reasons. In the search for an alternative the choice finally fell on the then-still-unknown actor
Max Schreck Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...
. Filming began in July 1921, with exterior shot (filmmaking), shots in Wismar. A take from 's tower over Wismar marketplace with the served as the establishing shot for the Wisburg scene. Other locations were the , the yard and the harbour. In Lübeck, the abandoned served as Nosferatu's new Wisburg manor, the churchyard of the served as Hutter's, and down the a procession of coffin bearers bore coffins of supposed plague victims. Many scenes of Lübeck appear in the hunt for Knock, who ordered Hutter in the ''Yard of '' to meet Count Orlok. Further exterior shots followed in Lauenburg/Elbe, Lauenburg, Rostock and on Sylt. The exteriors of the film set in
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
were actually shot on location in northern Slovakia, including the High Tatras, Vrátna dolina, Orava Castle, the Váh River, and . The team filmed interior shots at the Johannisthal Studios, JOFA studio in Berlin's Johannisthal (Berlin), Johannisthal locality and further exteriors in the Tegel Forest. For cost reasons, cameraman Fritz Arno Wagner only had one camera available, and therefore there was only one original negative. The director followed Galeen's screenplay carefully, following handwritten instructions on camera positioning, lighting, and related matters. Nevertheless, Murnau completely rewrote 12 pages of the script, as Galeen's text was missing from the director's working script. This concerned the last scene of the film, in which Ellen sacrifices herself and the vampire dies in the first rays of the sun. Murnau prepared carefully; there were sketches that were to correspond exactly to each filmed scene, and he used a metronome to control the pace of the acting. The films traveled to English speaking countries and film production companies who received the original German or translations of translations would have to splice in their own English intertitles. Decades later, there were multiple restoration projects to save the degrading footage. An example of the accumulating difficulties is summarized by Brent Reid of silent film website Brenton Film: In the Inn scene, the title of the bedside book that Hutter briefly flips through in the German language film versions is "von Vampyren Erschröfflichten Geistern Zaubereien und Den Sieben Todsünden", which according to Google Translate is "of Vampires, Terrifying Spirits, Sorcery and the Seven Deadly Sins"... except it had trouble recognizing Erschröfflichten, and there appears to be no other online reference to the word. Review of some of the many film copies available online resulted in some of the variations listed below. Of Vampyres Gastlie Spirits, Bewitchments and the Seven Deadlie Sins Of Vampires, Mounstrous Ghosts, Sorcery and the Seven Deadly Sins Of Vampyres, Terrible Phantoms, Magicke and The Seven Deadly Sins Of Vampires, Terrible Ghosts, Magic and The Seven Deadly Sins Of Vampyres Terrible Phantoms and The Seven Deadly Sins Le Livre des Vampires (French for The Book of the Vampires) The Book of the Vampires (for other English versions as well) The opening intertitle provides a brief introduction as an excerpt from a book in the German version titled "Aufzeichnung über das große Sterben in Wisborg anno Domini 1838 von" that Google translates as, "Record of the Great Death in Wisborg anno Domini 1838 by". The title ends with the preposition "by" then the first page or chapter of the book is titled "Nosferatu" as if to also complete the cover title. The intro book English translation titles that were actually used included, A Chronicle of the Great Death in Wisborg anno Domini 1838 by A Chronicle of the Great Plague in Wisborg Anno Domini 1838 An Account of the Great Death in Wisborg anno Domini 1838 The next page, titled Nosferatu, associates the sound of the word with the call of the deathbird, death bird, or Bird of Death and writes of not saying the word aloud or, "haunting dreams will feed on your blood". And then this entirely different version intro book title, From the diary of Johann Cavallius, able historian of his native city of Bremen And addressed here by Brent Reid: The MoMA 1981 restoration used a good condition B&W French print. The French intertitles were the source of the diary author's name Johann Carvallius or Cavallius and also the changing of character names from the original German film to the Bram Stoker Dracula book character names.


Music

The original score was composed by Hans Erdmann and performed by an orchestra at the film's Berlin premiere. However, most of the score has been lost, and what remains is only a partial adapted suite. Thus, throughout the history of ''Nosferatu'' screenings, many composers and musicians have written or improvised their own soundtrack to accompany the film. For example, James Bernard (composer), James Bernard, composer of the soundtracks of many Hammer Film Productions, Hammer horror films in the late 1950s and 1960s, wrote a score for a reissue. Bernard's score was released in 1997 by Silva Screen Records. A version of Erdmann's original score reconstructed by musicologists and composers Gillian Anderson and James Kessler was released in 1995 by Bertelsmann Music Group, BMG Classics, with multiple missing sequences composed anew, in an attempt to match Erdmann's style. An earlier reconstruction by German composer Berndt Heller has many additions of unrelated classical works. In 1998, Arrow Films released a version on VHS of the film scored by songs from doom metal band Type O Negative, which also featured an introduction with actor David Carradine. In 2022, the New York Times wrote about Dutch composer Jozef van Wissem's new score and record release for ''Nosferatu''. Beginning with a solo played on the lute, his performance incorporates electric guitar and distorted recordings of extinct birds, graduating from subtlety to gothic horror. "My soundtrack goes from silence to noise over the course of 90 minutes," he said, culminating in "dense, slow death metal." A new score for full orchestra and piano was commissioned by the Louisville Orchestra from its former composer-in-residence Sebastian Chang. It premiered, playing live with the film, in October 2023.


Release

Shortly before the premiere, an advertisement campaign was placed in issue #21 of the magazine ', with a summary, scene and work photographs, production reports, and essays, including a treatment on vampirism by Albin Grau. ''Nosferatu'' opened in the Netherlands on 16 February 1922 at the Hague Flora and Olympia cinemas. ''Nosferatu'' premiered in Germany on 4 March 1922 in the ''Marmorsaal'' of the Berlin Zoological Garden. This was planned as a large society evening entitled ' (Festival of Nosferatu), and guests were asked to arrive dressed in
Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...
costume. The German cinema premiere itself took place on 15 March 1922 at Berlin's . The 1930s sound version ''Die zwölfte Stunde – Eine Nacht des Grauens'' (''The Twelfth Hour: A Night of Horror''), which is less commonly known, was a completely unauthorized and re-edited version of the film. It was released in Vienna, Austria on 16 May 1930 with sound-on-disc accompaniment and a recomposition of Hans Erdmann's original score by Georg Fiebiger, a German production manager and composer of film music. It had an alternative ending lighter than the original and the characters were renamed again; Count Orlok's name was changed to Prince Wolkoff, Knock became Karsten, Hutter and Ellen became Kundberg and Margitta, and Annie was changed to Maria. This version, of which Murnau was unaware, contained many scenes filmed by Murnau but not previously released. It also contained additional footage not filmed by Murnau but by a cameraman, Günther Krampf, under the direction of (also known as Waldemar Ronger). The name of director F. W. Murnau is no longer mentioned in the credits. This version, lasting approximately 80 minutes, was presented on 5 June 1981 at the Cinémathèque Française.


Reception

''Nosferatu'' brought Murnau into the public eye, especially when his film ''Der brennende Acker'' (''The Burning Soil'') was released a few days later. The press reported extensively on ''Nosferatu'' and its premiere. With the laudatory votes, there was also occasional criticism that the technical perfection and clarity of the images did not fit the horror theme. The ''Filmkurier'' of 6 March 1922 said that the vampire appeared too corporeal and brightly lit to appear genuinely scary. Hans Wollenberg described the film in ''photo-Stage'' No. 11 of 11 March 1922 as a "sensation" and praised Murnau's nature shots as "mood-creating elements." In the ''Vossische Zeitung'' of 7 March 1922, ''Nosferatu'' was praised for its visual style. ''Nosferatu'' was also the first film to show a vampire dying from exposure to sunlight. Previous vampire novels such as ''Dracula'' had shown them being uncomfortable with sunlight, but not mortally susceptible. The film has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 9.05/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "One of the silent era's most influential masterpieces, ''Nosferatu''s eerie, gothic feel – and a chilling performance from Max Schreck as the vampire – set the template for the horror films that followed." In 1995, the Holy See, Vatican included ''Nosferatu'' on a Vatican's list of films, list of 45 important films that people should watch. It was ranked twenty-first in ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010. In 1997, critic Roger Ebert added ''Nosferatu'' to his list of ''The Great Movies'', writing:


Home media and copyright status

''Nosferatu'' only entered the public domain worldwide by the end of 2019. Despite this, the film had already been subject to widespread circulation via a sped-up, unrestored black and white Bootleg recording, bootleg copy. Beginning in 1981, the film has had various different official restorations, several of which have been issued on home video in the U.S., Europe and Australia. These versions, which are all Film tinting, tinted, speed-corrected and have specially recorded scores, are separately copyrighted with respect to new copyrightable elements. The most recent restoration, completed in 2005/2006, has been released on DVD and Blu-ray throughout the world, and features a reconstruction of Hans Erdmann's original score by Berndt Heller.


Remakes

In 1977, Spanish amateur filmmaker José Ernesto Díaz Noriega added humorous and iconoclastic dialogues to the film. His adaptation or détournement, titled ''Manuscrito encontrato en Zarazwela or Nos fera tu la pugnete'', was based on a S8 mm print of the English version. "Observing the curious coincidence of the fiction that is related in the film with history", Díaz Noriega adapted ''Nosferatu'''s plot to the years of the Spanish transition to democracy: Prime Minister Carlos Arias Navarro, Arias Navarro becomes Draculas Navarro and Juan Carlos I, Juan Carlos de Borbón becomes Jonathan Carolus (prince of Franconia). The original Transylvania becomes Galitzia and the Pazo de Meirás becomes the vampire's castle. All Murnau's characters find equivalence in the political actors of the Spanish transition to democracy. ''Nosferatu the Vampyre'', a 1979 remake of the film was directed and written by Werner Herzog and starred Klaus Kinski. Although based on the 1922 film, the characters' names are faithful to Bram Stoker novel. A Nosferatu (2023 film), remake by director David Lee Fisher, starring Doug Jones (actor), Doug Jones as Count Orlok, premiered in November 2023 at the Emagine Theater in Novi, Michigan. The film uses green screen to insert colorized backgrounds from the original film atop live-action, a process Fisher previously used for his remake ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005 film), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (2005). It was later released on video on demand via Amazon Prime Video in September 2024 and on streaming though Apple TV+ on 18 October 2024. In July 2015, Nosferatu (2024 film), a remake was announced with Robert Eggers writing and directing. It was reported in September 2022 that Eggers' remake would be distributed by Focus Features, with Bill Skarsgård set to star as Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter. Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, and Emma Corrin also appear. The film wrapped principal photography on 19 May 2023. The film's first teaser trailer was released on 24 June 2024, and the film itself later released on 25 December 2024.


See also

* List of cult films * List of German films of 1919–1932 * Gothic film * List of films considered the best


References


Bibliography

* (1921-1922 reports and reviews) * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * *
''Nosferatu'': History and Home Video Guide
at Brenton Film *
''Nosferatu''
a
WeimarCinema.org
{{Authority control 1922 films 1922 horror films Articles containing video clips German black-and-white films German Expressionist films German silent feature films German vampire films German independent films Gothic horror films Films adapted into operas Films directed by F. W. Murnau Films based on horror novels Films of the Weimar Republic Films involved in plagiarism controversies Films set in 1838 Films set in castles Films set in Europe Films set in Germany Films set in Transylvania Films set on ships Films shot at Johannisthal Studios Films shot in Slovakia Judaism-related controversies Nosferatu, Unofficial film adaptations Silent German adventure films Silent German horror films 1920s German films 1920s German-language films Nosferatu films