Shadow of the Vampire

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Shadow of the Vampire
movie poster
Directed by	E. Elias Merhige
Produced by	Nicolas Cage Jeff Levine
Written by	Steven Katz
Starring	John Malkovich Willem Dafoe Udo Kier Cary Elwes
Music by	Dan Jones (composer)
Editing by	Chris Wyatt
Distributed by	Lions Gate
Release date(s)	May 15, 2000 (Cannes Film Festival)
Running time	92 min
Language	English
Budget	$8,000,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Shadow of the Vampire is a movie that opened in America on December 29, 2000. It was directed by E. Elias Merhige and written by Steven Katz, and it starred John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe and Udo Kier.

1 Story
2 Technique
3 Cast
4 Awards
5 External links

[edit] Story

The movie is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic horror film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, directed by F.W. Murnau. The story takes place in 1922 in Eastern Europe.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Murnau, the director, takes his cast and crew into a faraway place in order to shoot the film, while he keeps assuring them that everything will be fine. The person who is playing the part of the vampire Count Orlok, an obscure German theater performer called Max Schreck, is a highly professional method actor, and, in order to involve himself fully in his character, he will only appear among the cast and crew in full make-up and character.

The main setting is an old castle in Czechoslovakia. Schreck is there waiting for the filming team, and his appearance and behavior are truly disquieting. The cameraman soon starts feeling terrorized and sick, and has to be taken away and replaced. The other main actor is frightened of Schreck but then convinces himself that he is simply a very good actor.

On one occasion, two members of the crew are sharing a drink under the stars, and Schreck approaches. They invite him to join them, and Schreck drinks with them. Jokingly they ask about his vampirism and Schreck replies as if he were a real vampire, centuries old. When questioned, he tells the crew that he is so old, he cannot remember how he became a vampire, and cannot create more of his own kind. A bat flies by and Schreck catches it with a quick hand and bites it, ecstatically sucking blood from its body. The others are left impressed.

As it turns out, Murnau has made a deal with a true vampire, in order to make his film absolutely realistic. Schreck has been promised the main actress Greta Schroeder as prize, provided he fulfills his role until the end of the filming. But the vampire is at times uncooperative and seems too anxious to wait. He eventually grabs a member of the crew by surprise and sucks him dry. Murnau is furious and has to threaten him, while reassuring his investors.

In the end, Schreck kills Schroeder and the crew before being exposed to sunlight and dying, all while Murnau continues filming.

[edit] Technique

The film includes frames with texts explaining elided action as in silent films. The crew uses iris lenses to turn images to black-and-white. The image the public sees also becomes monochrome during the shooting.