Nosferatu

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens ("A Symphony of Horrors" in German) is a German Expressionist film originally shot in 1922 by F.W. Murnau. He had wanted to film a version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but his studio was unable to obtain the rights to the story. Murnau decided to film his own version and made only slight changes to the story. The resultant movie has many similarities to Stoker's original tale.

Related Topics:
German - German Expressionist - 1922 - F.W. Murnau - Bram Stoker - Dracula

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"Dracula" became "Nosferatu" and the names of the characters changed, with Count Dracula changed to Count Orlok. The role of the vampire was played by Max Schreck. Other major actors in the film were Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder, and Alexander Granach.

Related Topics:
Count Dracula - Count Orlok - Vampire - Max Schreck - Gustav von Wangenheim - Greta Schröder - Alexander Granach

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This was the first film of the production company Prana-Film GmbH; it was also the last as they 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 a number of copies of the film had already been distributed around the world. These prints were then copied over the years, resulting in Nosferatu gaining a reputation as one of the greatest movie adaptations of the vampire legend.

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With the influence of producer and production designer, Albin Grau, the film established one of two main lines of vampire depiction in movies. 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 totally repugnant. The victims usually die and are not turned into vampires themselves. The more common other line is the "Dracula-type" (established by Bela Lugosi's version of Dracula and perpetuated by Christopher Lee), a charming aristocrat adept at seduction and turning his victims into new vampires.

Related Topics:
Albin Grau - Rodent - Fingernail - Incisor - Rat - Plague - Bela Lugosi - Christopher Lee

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Parts of the film allegedly showing Transylvania were filmed in Slovakia. Nosferatu's castle, for instance, is the Orava castle in northern Slovakia.

Related Topics:
Transylvania - Slovakia - Orava castle

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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.

Related Topics:
Public domain - Restored editions

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Contrary to popular opinion, the word "nosferatu" does not mean "vampire", "undead", or anything else like that. The term originally came from the old Slavonic word nosufur-atu, which itself was derived from the Greek "nosophoros". "Nosophoros", in the original Greek, stands for "plague carrier". This derivation makes sense when one considers that amongst western European nations, vampires were regarded as the carriers of many diseases.

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