Nosferatu, the original screen vampire, proves to be just as bloodthirsty and frightening today as he was when he first hit the big screen in 1922. Despite its ripe old age of 78 years, the silent "Nosferatu" is not even close to being long in the tooth.
One can attribute the film's enormous popularity to the same cause of its notoriety and the fact that all existing prints of "Nosferatu" were almost destroyed at one point. The scandalous truth is that it is a very faithful yet unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula." In fact, it follows the book's plot more closely and captures its macabre mood better than the more famous 1931 "Dracula," which starred Bela Lugosi.
Although the characters in the film and book have slightly different names (Thomas Hutter rather than Jonathan Harker and Count Orlock instead of Count Dracula, for example), the story remains the same. A young real estate office worker, Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) goes to Count Orlock's castle in the Carpathian mountains of Transylvania. He is ordered to get some paperwork signed and sealed in order to get the Count a residence in Bremen. He ends up trapped in the castle until Orlock leaves, giving him a chance to escape (intact, though a few gallons shorter on blood than when he entered). The Count kills off an entire ship's crew on his voyage to Bremen and then lets loose a plague when he arrives. He proceeds to snack on the local citizens until the climactic showdown.
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Copyright laws were somewhat fuzzy in the 1920s, and it wasn't clear what procedures had to be adopted to bring a novel to the big screen. In Germany, director F.W. Murnau thought it would be safe to bring Stoker's "Dracula" to cinematic life since its author had long since passed away. After producing and releasing the film, he was surprised when he was sued by Stoker's estate and forced to destroy all prints of the film. Sadly, this order was carried out but fortunately, someone "goofed up" somewhere along the way, because a few prints survived.
"Nosferatu" follows in the footsteps of the German expressionist classic "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" with its brilliant visual style. Almost every scene has some symbolic visual significance. The theme that vampires, insects and humans are all parasites in one way or another is prominent with close-ups of a variety of insects and plants fighting for survival.
The film's latent sexuality is very Freudian, which isn't surprising because his work was very fresh and popular in Germany when this film was produced. Looking at "Nosferatu" from a psychodynamic angle makes a number of shots imply sexual frustration, impotence on behalf of Hutter, and phallic undertones in the vampire's behavior and movements.
Murnau moves "Nosferatu" at a very rapid pace, and the inter-titles that explain the narrative and dictate what the characters are saying never feel intrusive. The smooth tempo, clever framing and editing and visual jolts keep the viewer both engrossed and off balance.
It has little to no graphic violence but its implications of vampire mayhem and victims of the malign plague the creature brings to the city give the film extra horrific undertones.
"Nosferatu'"s only weakness is its overacting, which is common in silent films. The actors' cliched melodramatic gestures and facial expressions are at times distracting and unnecessary to convey the emotions or ideas of most scenes. Although some of it adds unintentional charm, it gives a few scenes a cheesy edge that can detract from the generally eerie atmosphere.
One performer who never fails to nail down every character gesture and nuance is Max Schreck as Nosferatu. His makeup makes him truly look like a ghoul with his pointed ears, two long and menacing fangs and a bald, pale head. He resembles a rat and it is only fitting that his travelling companions in the film when he goes by ship are rats. He also appears in the form of a wolf early in the film, but all Schreck need do is hold his hand a certain way or raise an eyebrow and his vampire is instantly more menacing and frightening than any of his other manifestations.
"Nosferatu" fully deserves both its place as one of the greatest horror films ever and its place in this year's film festival. Its artistic merits alone give it historical value but its atmosphere and mood make it entertaining and unforgettable as well.
This bloodsucker bash is far more engaging and intense than talented director Werner Herzog's abominable 1979 remake, "Nosferatu the Vampyre." Sink your teeth into this one and taste the blood of genius.
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