BFI Watchlist - Nosferatu (1922)

Nosferatu, 1922

Director: F.W. Murnau. Starring Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim and Greta Schröder. Remastered by the BFI 



Before you read any further, consider this your “spoilers ahead” warning, the ending of the film is mentioned so read at your own risk!

 

“The ‘original’ Dracula film, this expressionist horror spawned many imitators and is seen as one of the greatest gothic movies despite falling foul of Stoker’s estate and being pulled out of distribution for three decades. Max Schreck’s terrifying Count Orlok, a fascinating cinematic ghoul, spreads fear and deadly plague wherever he goes. This restored print features a new score by Hammer composer James Bernard” - BFI description  

Before I sat down to watch this film I thought I should perhaps research into why it fell “foul of Stokers estate” and it turns out that director Muranu was denied copyright access to make the film and was also denied permission by Bram Stokers widow Florence but he decided to make the film anyway. Thinking that if he changed the plot slightly along, with changing various characters names and leaving out quite well known characters to the Dracula storyline e.g Van Helsing. 
Obviously this wasn’t enough and Florence Stoker sued him on copyright grounds, she demanded that every copy be destroyed and that his production company Prana-Film. Thankfully a copy had been sent America where the copyright laws for Dracula were not a problem. There it sat for 7 years before being released (in the US), in 1929.  

I sat down to watch this film with very little expectations, I had never seen a silent film before nor had I ever watched a Dracula film, because I hate modern horror films with a passion.  Although I did quickly read the book plot on Wikipedia to be safe.  

Despite the obvious plagiarism to Stoker's Dracula I can also see and understand why many people regard this film as an influential piece of cinema. This was one of the earliest attempts to put a vampire on the big screen, it paved the way for the vampire genre to find success in various mediums.

The film takes place in 1838, in the fictional city of Wisborg, Germany. Here lives Thomas Hutter and he wife Ellen. Thomas is a happy man who is deeply devoted to his wife Ellen. Ellen is also deeply devoted to her husband but consumed with anxiety over concern for his safety. 

Thomas heads to Transylvania by orders of his boss to sell a house in Wisborg to Count Orlok. His time in Transylvania can only be described as torturous, horrific and maddening. He then endures a long and difficult ride back to his love Ellen. But his happiness, in reuniting with Ellen is short lived. For soon the Count plages the town with illness and paranoia. BUT THEN, plot twist! Ellen saves the town by sacrificing herself, and allowing the Count to drink her blood until sunrise, which ultimately destroys him.

To me Ellen is the unsung hero of this horror story, for she saves the town, but at a great price.    The film is classed as a silent German expressionist horror film, yet in many ways it can also be classed as a tragedy. Thomas deeply loved Ellen and it seems that she deeply loved him.
However, Ellen’s devotion to Thomas could in some ways be debated. When Count Orlok arrived in Wisborg, Ellen in somes ways seemed to be under his spell. Slowly becoming obsessed with him.

On the other hand, some could argue that Count Orlok may have had a devotion to Ellen because of her beauty and “purity”.

Although, to me it just seemed like a harrowing creature had a creepy obsession with a young beautiful women. However, I do acknowledge that perhaps that is just because I’m looking at a early 19th century film from a 21st century viewpoint.     

As the film came to an end, I found myself feeling extremely sorry for Thomas, for he was tortured, haunted and had his blood drained in the Count’s castle. The poor man then suffered madness, exhausting travel back to Wisborg and then to top it all off his wife LITERALLY DIES AT THE HANDS OF A VAMPIRE!   

To summarise, I sat down to watch this film with no expectations and I was happily surprised by the high level of acting, clever yet plagiarised writing and, extremely glad not every copy was destroyed in the lawsuit.