Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
Directed by F.W.Murnau
A few weeks ago I was at a party, and someone started talking about the original silent Nosferatu. I had to admit that I had never actually watched it, even though the Herzog remake is one of my favourite films. I decided that this Halloween I would change that, and so tonight I sat down, ate candy, drank whiskey, and watched the Masters Of Cinema restored version of the 1922 silent classic. This version has blue and yellow tints which was how the film was originally projected, as opposed to black and white as most of the versions released on VHS, or DVD have been, as well as the orchestral score written for the film by Hans Erdmann.
Nosferatu was an unofficial movie version of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, and was almost sued out of existence by the Stoker estate. All copies of the film were ordered to be burned, though lucky for us some prints survived. I'll assume anyone reading this has a passing familiarity with the story of Dracula, and won't bother to retread the plot. Most of the major elements are present. What makes this such an incredible film though is the powerful imagery Murnau creates. The photography is beautiful and eerie. That and the otherworldly performance of Max Schreck as the Vampire, Count Orlock. Schreck is unbelievable. Not only is his make up terrifying, but he fills every scene he's in with an almost cosmic menace. His vampire is almost Lovecraftian.
The other thing I'll mention is the score. I don't know how the film works with different music, though there are dozens of alternate soundtracks, but the restored Hans Erdmann score is masterful. It delivers just the right atmosphere of menace.
This is one classic that lives up to the hype. If you haven't seen it, by all means do.
No comments:
Post a Comment