Nosferatu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the 1922 silent film. For the 1979 remake, see Nosferatu the Vampyre. For other uses, see Nosferatu (disambiguation).
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

A promotional film poster for Nosferatu
Directed by F. W. Murnau
Produced by Enrico Dieckmann
Albin Grau
Written by Bram Stoker
Henrik Galeen
Starring Max Schreck
Gustav von Wangenheim
Greta Schröder
Alexander Granach
Georg H. Schnell
Ruth Landshoff
John Gottowt
Max Nemetz
Wolfgang Heinz
Albert Vehnor
Heinrich Witte
Guido Herzfeld
Karl Etlinger
Fanny Schreck
Hardy von Francois
Gustav Botz
Cinematography Fritz Arno Wagner
Günther Krampf
Distributed by Flag of the United States Film Arts Guild
Release date(s) Flag of Germany 4 March 1922
Flag of the United States 3 June 1929
Running time 94 min.
Country Flag of Germany Germany
Language Silent film
German intertitles
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was in essence an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu," and Count Dracula became Count Orlok).

Contents

[edit] Plot

Thomas Hutter is an employee at a real estate firm in a fictitious German city called Wisborg (the name of the town being a reference to the actual town Wismar), happily living with Ellen, his wife. One day, his employer, Knock, receives a mysterious letter, written in strange symbols. Knock decides to send him to visit Count Orlok in the Carpathian Mountains to finalize the sale of a house. Hutter leaves his wife with his good friend Harker, and Harkers's wife Lucy, before embarking on his multiple-month journey.

Close to his final destination, Hutter boards at an inn, where the locals become frightened at the mere mention of Orlok's name, and discourage him from traveling to his castle during the night. In his room at the inn, Hutter finds a book entitled The Book of the Vampires, which he disregards before falling asleep.

Hutter is left to finish his journey on foot after his hired driver refuses to pass the bridge to the castle. However, he is soon picked up by Count Orlok's coach, which is driven by a strange specter that hides its face, and moves at an unnatural speed. At his arrival at the castle, whose doors open by themselves, he is welcomed by Count Orlok. His grotesque facial features hidden at this stage by his hat, Orlok initially appears to be a mere eccentric gentleman. Hutter has dinner at the castle; Orlok refuses to eat and silently reads a letter. A bell rings at midnight and a startled Hutter cuts his thumb. Count Orlok tries to suck the blood out of the wound, before being repelled by a cross hanging around Hutter's neck. Hutter falls asleep in the parlor after a conversation with Orlok.

Hutter wakes up to an empty castle with fresh wounds on his neck, which he attributes to mosquitoes. That night he is joined by Orlok and they sign the documents for the sale of the house facing Hutter's. Hutter finds The Book of the Vampires in his luggage and starts to suspect that Orlok is nosferatu. He tries to hide in his bedroom as midnight approaches. However, the closed door opens by itself and Orlok comes in, his true nature revealed. At the same time, Ellen sleepwalks and is found by Harker in a comatose state, screaming for Hutter. Her screams stop Orlok, who leaves Hutter untouched.

Waking up, Hutter explores the castle and its crypt. He finds a coffin, where Orlok is resting in a dormant state. Paralyzed with fear and the sheer sight of the nosferatu, he dashes back to his room, where he witnesses Orlok piling up coffins on a coach and climbing into the last one before the coach leaves. Hutter escapes the castle through the window, but is knocked unconscious when he falls and hits the ground. Meanwhile, the coffins are shipped down a river on a raft.

Next, Hutter is at a hospital after his flight from the castle. The coffins are put into a large boat, after the crew sees that they are full of soil and rats.

In a psychiatric ward, Knock is in a confinement cell where he eats flies and tries to bite the neck of his doctor. Hutter decides to leave the hospital to warn his town against Orlok. In his cell, Knock steals a newspaper with news of a new plague, which causes him to rejoice. The sailors on the boat carrying the coffins get sick and soon, all but two are dead. One of them decides to destroy the coffins, which are now crawling with rats. However, Orlok wakes up and confronted with this vision, the sailor jumps into the sea. The captain ties himself to his ship's wheel. Orlok is the new master of the boat.

The ship arrives. Orlok leaves it unseen in one of his coffins, quickly followed by the rats. Knock escapes from his cell. Hutter also arrives in Germany. The next morning, the ship is inspected and it appears empty, except for the dead captain with wound marks on his neck. The logbook of the ship is found, the doctors realize they are dealing with plague. The town is stricken with panic. Ellen reads the book of vampires, despite Hutter's forbidding. She learns how to kill a vampire: a woman pure in heart must make him forget the rooster's first crowing. The town is flooded with corpses and its people chase Knock, mistaking him for a vampire.

Orlok stares from his window at the sleeping Ellen. She opens her window to invite him in but faints. As Hutter leaves to get help, Orlok comes in. He drinks her blood and forgets about the dawning day. A rooster crows and Orlok goes up in smoke as he tries to escape. The last image of the movie is Orlok's castle in the Carpathian Mountains.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

[edit] Deviations from the novel

The story of Nosferatu is similar to that of Dracula and retains the core characters — Jonathan and Mina Harker, the Count, etc. — but omits many of the secondary players, such as Lucy and Van Helsing, and changes all of the character's names (although in some recent releases of this film, which is now in the public domain, the written dialog screens have been changed to use the Dracula versions of the names). The setting has been transferred from England and the 1890s to Germany in 1838.

In contrast to Dracula, Orlok does not make any other vampires but kills his victims, causing the town folk to blame the plague, which ravages the city. Also, Orlok must sleep by day, as sunlight would kill him. The ending is also substantially different from that of Dracula. The Count is ultimately destroyed at sunrise when the "Mina" character sacrifices herself to him.

Parts of the film depicting Transylvania were in fact filmed in Slovakia. Nosferatu's castle, for instance, is Orava Castle in northern Slovakia, and other locations are in the High Tatras and on the Váh River around Strečno Castle.

[edit] Influences

Max Schreck as Count Orlock
Max Schreck as Count Orlock

This was the first and last Prana Film; the company declared bankruptcy after Bram Stoker's estate, acting for his widow, Florence Stoker, sued for copyright infringement and won. The court ordered all existing prints of Nosferatu destroyed, but copies of the film had already been distributed around the world. These prints were then copied over the years, helping Nosferatu gain its current reputation as one of the greatest movie adaptations of the vampire legend.

With the influence of producer and production designer Albin Grau, the film established one of two main depictions of film vampires. The "Nosferatu-type" is a living corpse with rodent features (especially elongated fingernails and incisors), associated with rats and plague, and neither charming nor erotic but rather totally repugnant. The victims usually die and are not turned into vampires themselves. The more common archetype is the "Dracula-type" (established by Bela Lugosi's version of Dracula and perpetuated by Christopher Lee), a charming aristocrat adept at seduction and whose bite turns his victims into new vampires.

A more universal effect of the film is less obvious: the ending of Nosferatu single-handedly created the concept that vampires can be physically harmed by sunlight. While this was a common element of many other mythical creatures, pre-Nosferatu vampires disliked but could endure daylight (for instance, a scene in the original Dracula novel shows its Count in a London street by day). Since the film's release, the vampire legend quickly incorporated the idea of fearing the sun.

Murnau's Nosferatu is in the public domain, and copies of the movie are widely available on video (usually as poorly transferred, faded, scratched video copies that are often scorned by enthusiasts). However, pristine restored editions of the film have also been made available, and are also readily accessible to the public. The only complete, original copy is said to be owned by the German Max Schreck collector Jens Geutebrück. The film was remade in 1979 as Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, which was directed by Werner Herzog and starred Klaus Kinski.

[edit] Derivative works

[edit] Cultural references

 This article or section may contain poor or irrelevant examples.
Articles should only contain pertinent examples.
Please improve the article or discuss proposed changes on the talk page.
You can edit the article to add more encyclopaedic text. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions.

[edit] In film and television

  • 1972 – Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires: When Dracula (John Forbes-Robertson) awakes, the lid of his sarcophagus opens by itself, and Dracula rises like a wooden plank on a hinge, à la Schreck in Nosferatu.
  • 1979 - Salem's Lot, directed by Tobe Hooper, this television film features a very Orlok-like vampire, Mr. Kurt Barlow, who is even more decayed and vermin-like in appearance.
  • 1989 - Woody Allen's segment in the movie New York Stories has Woody Allen mimicking Nosferatu's famous entrance, after a particularly stressful reappearance by Woody's character's mother.
  • 1991 – The vampire Radu from the Subspecies series of films has visual cues from Nosferatu, including the grotesque white face, and over-long fingers and nails.
  • 1993 - The Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode "Midnight Madness" revolves around an eccentric filmmaker who has retitled the film Nosferatu: The Demon Vampire and added a plot twist: "In my version, the vampire wins!" Nosferatu proceeds to come to life and run amok in the movie theater.
  • 1993 - In The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror IV during the segment "Bart Simpson's Dracula", the shadow Mr. Burns casts against the wall when he welcomes The Simpsons into his castle references the famous shadow scene from Nosferatu.
  • 1997 – The Master, the villain throughout the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was visually based on Nosferatu, having long nails, large bat-like ears, and a bald white head, while having the facial features of what would be established as a "Buffyverse" vampire (more demonic in appearance, not so much rodent-like). In the Angel episode "Why We Fight" there is also a Nosferatu-looking vampire, known as the Prince of Lies, on board a submarine, though it is implied he is actually supposed to be Count Orlok.
  • 2000 – In an episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, the story revolves around an energy vampire named "NOS-4-A2", a play on the word Nosferatu.
  • 2002 - In the end of the Spongebob Squarepants episode "Graveyard Shift" the reason for the lights flickering on and off is because Nosferatu is messing with the switch. The characters playfully call his name out, and the last shot includes Nosferatu grinning at the camera.
  • 2005 – General Grievous is based on various aspects of Nosferatu. Rob Coleman (one of the top VFX workers on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) when speaking about movements for the character is quoted as saying, "In fact, we talked about Fagin as well as classic vampire movies, including Nosferatu."
  • 2006 – The character Uta Refson (Erica Cerra) [Nosferatu backwards] is introduced in the series The L Word. Uta Refson is shown to have a bony figure, very intense eyes, long sharp fangs and finger-nails, a casual avoidance of being seen in mirrors, exceptional stamina, a preference to only go out at night, an aversion to discussing religion and far greater strength than her body suggests.
  • 2006 – In the film Running Scared, when Oleg is in the bathroom at the pedophile's house, a creature is seen in silhouette through a window. The creature is supposed to be based on Nosferatu, although many people mistake the long nails and hat for a reference to Freddy Krueger.
  • 2006 - In the film Severance, one of the character's stories is shown in a filmic style reminiscent of Nosferatu. The Main Character in this story is modelled on Max Schrek's Orlok.

[edit] In music

In addition to other works inspired by Nosferatu, the film and its variant of the vampire legend has had a significant influence in music, including musicals and, particularly, Gothic rock and death metal. The following list of references is by no means comprehensive.

  • 1922–1929 – American composer Aaron Copland's first ballet, Grohg, has a plot loosely based on and inspired by Nosferatu, involving a vampiric necromancer who brings his victims back to life. Copland adapted music from the ballet (which was never staged) into his Dance Symphony of 1929.
  • 1977 – The narrative song Nosferatu closes the album Spectres by Blue Öyster Cult.
  • 1979 – 'Nosferatu' was the title of an album by The Stranglers' lead-singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell and Captain Beefheart percussionist Robert Williams.
  • 1982 - The music video to the Queen and David Bowie song "Under Pressure" contains scenes from the film.
  • 1987 – Nosferatu is the name of a song on the album R.I.P. by Coroner.
  • 1988 – UK based Gothic Rock band Nosferatu is formed, heavily influenced by classic horror, vampires, and vampyre subculture.
  • 1988 – The music video of Heart, from technopop duo Pet Shop Boys, shows a character very similar to Nosferatu. This character was portrayed by Ian McKellen.
  • 1991 - "Nosferatu Man" is a song by the rock band Slint, appearing on their critically-acclaimed second album, Spiderland.
  • 1991 - Rochester, NY based death metal band Nosferatu is formed. They went on to release the songs "Insecurity Blanket", "People In Isolation", "Wisdom", "Green Pieces" and "Lust"
  • 1993 - Nosferatu is mentioned in the Type O Negative song Black No. 1.
  • 1993 - House of Krazees(now days know as Twiztid) did a song call "Nosferatu."
  • 1994 - Nosferatu the Vampire, is a concept album and musical by Bernard J. Taylor.
  • 1994 - German black metal band Moonblood released a demo-tape titled Nosferatu, with cover art taken directly from the film.
  • 1995 – Illbient group Liminal released a soundtrack for the film; the recording was improvised as accompanying music when the film was screened at the Knitting Factory in New York City.[1]
  • 1996 - The Detroit-based horror rap group House of Krazees release a song called Nosferatu about the vampire of the film.
  • 1998 - German experimental krautrock band Faust releases Faust Wakes Nosferatu, an accompaniment or alternative soundtrack to the film. The vinyl and CD editions of the record, however, contain completely different music.
  • 1999 - The Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey has a track on their 1999 album Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy titled Nosferatu.
  • 2000 - Canadian alternative musician Nash the Slash debuts his new soundtrack for the film.
  • 2001 – The American groove metal band God Forbid had a song entitled Nosferatu which is thematically based around the character of Count Orlok/Nosferatu.
  • 2001 - The music video for the song "Sumisu" by Farin Urlaub reenacts many climactic and important scenes from Nosferatu; the only major difference is at the end of the video when the black and white fades to color and reveals a twist ending. View video
  • 2003 - The Virginia based horror-punk band Blitzkid released the song Nosferatu on their second album "Let Flowers Die"
  • 2003 - Techno-classical fusion artist UltraMax released a song called "Nosferatu" on his album "Dark Horizons."
  • 2007 - McFly's music video for hit song Transylvania features lead Tom Fletcher dressed as Count Orlock and terrorizing band mate Dougie Poynter. The entire music video is based on 1920's-1930's style horror movies.
  • 2007 - The teaser video for the song "Bleed Well" from the album Venus Doom by Finnish rock band HIM features Count Orlok.
  • 2007 - On October 13, Chicago instrumental rock band Tortoise performed an original score to the film during a screening at Chicago's Symphony Center.
  • 2007 - On October 26, the avant-garde ensemble "Equinox" performed its original live score to the film at the State Theater in Springfield, Ohio.
  • 2007 - "Nosferatu Waltz," a piano song written by Cruzic on a concept album entitled "God's Nightmare And The Devil's Dream" that can only be heard on certain Web sites, including Newgrounds and Myspace.

[edit] In videogames

  • In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Count Orlok (his english name is Orlox) is a boss battle inside of Dracula's castle. He floats around using various types of magic. When enough damage is inflicted on him, he transforms into a tall, green creature.
  • In Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, The CFA-44 Nosferatu is a fictional "super-aircraft" capable of firing either a rail gun, a missile-confusing Electronic Counter-Measures Pod, or All-Directional Multi-purpose Missiles. In the Campaign, the airframe is flown by the enemy ace pilot Lt. Cmdr. Ilya Pasternak, and in Ace of Aces Mode, is assumed that Lt. Col. Victor Voychek flies one in the first mission.
  • In EVE Online, the Nosferatu is a type of device used to leech energy from an enemy spaceship.
  • In Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Nosferatu was the third boss in the game.
  • in Fire Emblem, Nosferatu is a dark type magic tome that steals the enemy's hp and gives it to the user.

[edit] Other

  • In the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game, 'Nosferatu' is one of the vampire clans players can choose to play, made up of vampires disfigured in ways similar to Count Orlok.
  • In the PC video game Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, the Nosferatu network is named "Schrecknet", an obvious reference to Max Schreck who played the Nosferatu Count Orlok
  • In laser tag franchises such as Zone 3 and Laser Skirmish in Australia, Nosferatu is the ID name for one of the players
  • The popular Living Dead Dolls had made exclusive Nosferatu living dead doll, that came with his victim, his pet rat, a vampire book, and a death certificate, Noseferatu and his victim was a Diamond Previews exclusive 2-pack.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Films directed by F. W. Murnau
German films: Der Knabe in Blau (1919) Prinz Kuckuck (1919) • Der Januskopf (1920) • Satanas (1920) • Sehnsucht (1920) • Der Gang in die Nacht (1920) • Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin (1920) • Schloß Vogelöd (1921) • Marizza (1922) • Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) • Phantom (1922) • Der Brennende Acker (1922) • Die Austreibung (1923) • Der letzte Mann (1924) • Die Finanzen des Großherzogs (1924) • Herr Tartüff (1926) • Faust (1926) •

American films: Sunrise (1927) • Four Devils (1928) • City Girl (1930) • Tabu (1931)
v • d • e
Dracula
Characters of Dracula
Film Adaptations of Dracula
Nosferatu (1922) · Dracula (1931) · Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) · Dracula (1958) · Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) · Count Dracula (1970) · Dracula (1973) · Count Dracula (1977) (1977) · Dracula (1979) · Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) · Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) · Dracula (2002) · Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) · Dracula (2006)
Other films featuring Dracula
Stage Adaptations of Dracula
Dracula (1924)  · Count Dracula (1972)  · Dracula, a Musical Nightmare (1974)  · Dracula (1980)  · Dracula: the Musical? (1982)  · Dracula (1995)  · Dracula (1996)  · Dracula (2000)  · Dracula, the Musical (2004)
Parodies of Dracula
Dracula in video games