Nosferatu (1922)

Originally posted to Facebook on 6/29/2017

Nosferatu was our third film from 1922, and the first we’ve seen directed by F.W. Murnau. As with a few of the other films we've seen recently, this too is one of the rare silents that is still somewhat known in the modern era. I had never seen it before (though I had seen Shadow of the Vampire, which was a fictional depiction of its making.) The plot is taken directly from Dracula, which famously led to a lawsuit from the estate of Bram Stoker, and many copies of the film were destroyed as a result. Max Schreck plays Count Orlok (i.e. Dracula), with Gustav von Wangenheim as Hutter (i.e. Harker) and Greta Schröder as Ellen (i.e. Mina.)

This is the fourth German film we’ve seen from the 1920s, which is partially the result of our selection process, but also reflective, I think, of a certain uptick in German creativity post WW1 -- as all four of the German films we’ve seen have been innovative or unusual in some way. Three of them, including this one, could be considered horror films in some sense, but I think this was the purest horror film by modern standards. In The Golem, the title character was menacing, but was similar to the Frankenstein monster, in that he wasn’t entirely evil or even consistently hostile -- just potentially dangerous. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, on the other hand, was so eccentric and artificial that it evoked more of a dreamlike state than true horror. Nosferatu, though, had a truly malevolent villain, and had the most pure “shock” scenes, such as the title character rising out of his coffin, or attempting to lick blood off of the lead's cut hand, or staring maniacally at the protagonist from an adjoining building. Other aspects don’t work quite as well, such as use of stop motion -- which was perhaps intended to communicate unearthliness at the time, but today comes off as more of a gimmick, or even comically. I certainly wouldn’t suggest that this movie would scare a modern audience, but you can see the techniques of modern horror film begin to be assembled, and there are certainly moments that still convey tension.

Next week we see our fourth film from 1922, and also our second directed by Fritz Lang: Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler. The list as always, is here: https://bit.ly/2lZtfmT