Note: This third Halloween entry in the classic Allan Fish Bonanza Encore series is the twenty-fourth in the series overall to post over the past weeks at WitD.
by Allan Fish
(Germany 1922 96m) DVD1/2
Aka. Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens
A true symphony of horrors
p Albin Grau d Friedrich W.Murnau w Henrik Galeen novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker ph Fritz Arno Wagner, Günther Krampf m Hans Erdmann/James Bernard/Art Zoyd art/cos Albin Grau
Max Schreck (Count Orlock), Alexander Granach (Knock, the estate agent), Gustav Von Wangenheim (Wutter), Greta Schröder (Ellen),
Werner Herzog is of the belief that Nosferatu is the greatest German film ever made and certainly it would have to be a serious contender to that crown, and Herzog paid it his own homage with a fair remake with the loathsome Klaus Kinski in 1979. However, there is only one version of the tale and Murnau’s film, freely adapted from Bram Stoker’s masterpiece of Gothic horror, is the greatest vampire film of them all, a film that truly lives up to its subtitle, “a symphony of horrors.” If it were a symphony, it’s worthy of those eternal children of the night Dowland, Moussorgsky, Borodin and Kilar.
Many versions of Dracula have followed, with the 1931 Universal (with the immortal Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye) and the 1958 Hammer (covered previously) standing out and a mention in despatches for the romantic Frank Langella. They may indeed stick closer to the novel and keep the characters’ names, but the very term ‘Nosferatu’ isn’t just referring to the undead, rather a sort of pestilent plague that spreads after sunset. Indeed the opening titles refer to the tale that follows as “A Chronicle of the Great Death of Wisborg – 1838.” The story, which we shall not waste space detailing, may be changed radically from the original, being set in Germany and Transylvania rather than England and with rather dramatic changes to the rest of the characters, but it’s still a truly disquieting movie to this day. There are scenes here that truly chill over eighty years on; the first vision of the Count, beckoning on his guest into the castle with cadaverous glee, lusting after his blood when he pricks his finger; the shot of Orlock standing on the deck of the ship of the dead; the immortal shadow of Orlock climbing the stairs and unlocking Ellen’s room; his death as the sun rises over the very houses opposite which he owns; and arguably most memorably of all, the numerous shots of sunsets and sunrises over the German countryside. Murnau has always been fascinated with temptation and the symbolism of sunlight and of the earth itself (just check outThe Burning Soil, for example), but never has it been more prevalent than here in his first true masterpiece. It’s here that we first see the imagery that would be so perfectly deployed in Hollywood in Sunrise.
Murnau is of course ably assisted by a team of creative geniuses singing from the same Gothic hymn sheet, from the superb art direction of Albin Grau (and Orlock’s unforgettable costume), Fritz Wagner’s incredible photography and, more than anything, by the performance of Max Schreck. So convincing was he as the loathsome Orlock he was never able to escape the role and rumours even persisted that he was a real vampire (a legend made into the 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire with the splendid Willem Dafoe). His antithesis of modern vampire cultdom, with two central fangs like a demonic rabbit and ears and nose from the school of Lon Chaney, seems from another era but is far and away the most chilling and the most accurate Count in comparison to the original novel. It’s arguably the greatest performance in horror movie history.
For many years Nosferatu was whispered of by film critics and when it came to video it was in butchered third generation prints of little more than an hour. An excellent restoration with score by James Bernard and colour tinting came along in the mid nineties, but better still was Eureka video’s sepia release to DVD, which perfectly captured the atmosphere and was accompanied by a bizarre electronic score from Art Zoyd, and another restoration followed in 2007. Forget Tod Browning, Lon Chaney and Universal; if you want to study cinematic terror, this is where you really begin.
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This was the forerunner of all the horror films to the present day. I do agree with Mr. Fish that the Universals are tame next to this moody, expressionist film. And true this is Murnau’s first masterpiece. Towering above all is Max Shreck’s incredible presence.