ClassicHorror
04-30-2005, 02:17 PM
Nosferatu: 83 Years Of Horror and Still Kicking
By ClassicHorror
Nosferatu the Led Zeppelin of vampire films, the holy grail of bloodsuckers. Nosferatu has lasted 83 years and is still the most popular silent horror film. Though horror has been around since Georges Melies’s Devils Castle in 1896, horror has not gotten the fame it deserved until F. W. Murnau picked up a little Bram Stoker novel called Dracula, and decided to create a masterpiece. The novel’s centerpiece character was the bloodsucking prince of darkness himself….Count Dracula. Murnau then decided he needed the perfect actor to play this important role, not any ordinary actor would do…..but when we first saw Max Shreck with that makeup, and long taloned claws…we all knew deep inside that we were in store for a very special treat. Thus Max Shreck and F. W. Murnau created a landmark in horror history. But wait a second….Dracula isn’t the only character in this story….
The next person Murnau needed to cast was the character of Hutter a young clerk of a real estate agent…..the actor Alexander Granach fit the bill, and a legacy of horror was born…..
Now that we know the heroes of this story we must now know that this little flick almost DIDN’T survive, and the reason of that is because of Bram Stoker’s widow. Bram Stoker’s widow sued Murnau for making a film of her husbands novel without permission, the copies of the film were ordered to be destroyed…..years later a copy was found, and a true classic was saved from the clutches of the masses.
To protect the film, the title of the film was changed from “Dracula” to “Nosferatu”, and Max Shreck’s character in the film was changed to Count Orlock, thankfully these changes were made because horror today would be so different if the film was never showed to the world.
Nosferatu not only is a true classic which has influenced vampire films to come, but it is also a very enjoyable, and good film. Nosferatu is personally one of my favorite horror films in Classic Horror, and horror for that matter. Without Nosferatu I probably wouldn’t have been into horror the way I am today…nope that’s for damn sure. Nosferatu is filled with great lighting, wonderful music (the Symphony of Horror version is superb), great theatrics, wonderful visuals, spectacular plot, and unforgettable scenes of horror which live up to this day. Max Shreck’s performance is truly unforgettable, how can you forget the dinner scene at the castle when Hutter cuts his finger and Nosferatu stares intently at the bloody digit with piercing cat eyes, and what about the boat scene when the sailor opens up the crate only to have the count rise up from the crate looking to be so tall the head can’t even be seen on the TV screen, shortly killing the whole crew and the captain.
Nosferatu is also one of the closest adaptations of Bram Stoker’s novel. Most Dracula films leave out lots of great parts from the novel, but Nosferatu stays as close to the novel as a film possibly can, and I am glad afterall a novel so great deserves a great film.
As I’ve said its been 83 years and this film has managed to stay alive through countless acts of reproduction and memorabilia. The horror world is truly proud to carry such a fine film in its genre, a film which will be viewed by a countless number of generations to come.
RIP Bram Stoker
RIP Max Shreck (aka Count Orlock
RIP F. W. Murnau
RIP Alexander Granach (aka Hutter)
By ClassicHorror
Nosferatu the Led Zeppelin of vampire films, the holy grail of bloodsuckers. Nosferatu has lasted 83 years and is still the most popular silent horror film. Though horror has been around since Georges Melies’s Devils Castle in 1896, horror has not gotten the fame it deserved until F. W. Murnau picked up a little Bram Stoker novel called Dracula, and decided to create a masterpiece. The novel’s centerpiece character was the bloodsucking prince of darkness himself….Count Dracula. Murnau then decided he needed the perfect actor to play this important role, not any ordinary actor would do…..but when we first saw Max Shreck with that makeup, and long taloned claws…we all knew deep inside that we were in store for a very special treat. Thus Max Shreck and F. W. Murnau created a landmark in horror history. But wait a second….Dracula isn’t the only character in this story….
The next person Murnau needed to cast was the character of Hutter a young clerk of a real estate agent…..the actor Alexander Granach fit the bill, and a legacy of horror was born…..
Now that we know the heroes of this story we must now know that this little flick almost DIDN’T survive, and the reason of that is because of Bram Stoker’s widow. Bram Stoker’s widow sued Murnau for making a film of her husbands novel without permission, the copies of the film were ordered to be destroyed…..years later a copy was found, and a true classic was saved from the clutches of the masses.
To protect the film, the title of the film was changed from “Dracula” to “Nosferatu”, and Max Shreck’s character in the film was changed to Count Orlock, thankfully these changes were made because horror today would be so different if the film was never showed to the world.
Nosferatu not only is a true classic which has influenced vampire films to come, but it is also a very enjoyable, and good film. Nosferatu is personally one of my favorite horror films in Classic Horror, and horror for that matter. Without Nosferatu I probably wouldn’t have been into horror the way I am today…nope that’s for damn sure. Nosferatu is filled with great lighting, wonderful music (the Symphony of Horror version is superb), great theatrics, wonderful visuals, spectacular plot, and unforgettable scenes of horror which live up to this day. Max Shreck’s performance is truly unforgettable, how can you forget the dinner scene at the castle when Hutter cuts his finger and Nosferatu stares intently at the bloody digit with piercing cat eyes, and what about the boat scene when the sailor opens up the crate only to have the count rise up from the crate looking to be so tall the head can’t even be seen on the TV screen, shortly killing the whole crew and the captain.
Nosferatu is also one of the closest adaptations of Bram Stoker’s novel. Most Dracula films leave out lots of great parts from the novel, but Nosferatu stays as close to the novel as a film possibly can, and I am glad afterall a novel so great deserves a great film.
As I’ve said its been 83 years and this film has managed to stay alive through countless acts of reproduction and memorabilia. The horror world is truly proud to carry such a fine film in its genre, a film which will be viewed by a countless number of generations to come.
RIP Bram Stoker
RIP Max Shreck (aka Count Orlock
RIP F. W. Murnau
RIP Alexander Granach (aka Hutter)