Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writer:

Henrik Galeen (writer)

Release Date:

3 June 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife. Silent classic based on the story "Dracula."

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Real Estate Agent | Real Estate | Obsession | Loss Of Wife

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Max Schreck	...	Graf Orlok
Gustav von Wangenheim	...	Hutter (as Gustav v. Wangenheim)
Greta Schröder	...	Ellen Hutter, seine Frau (as Greta Schroeder)
Alexander Granach	...	Knock, ein Häusermakler
Georg H. Schnell	...	Westenra - Hutters Freund (as G.H. Schnell)
Ruth Landshoff	...	Lucy, Westenras Frau
John Gottowt	...	Professor Bulwer, ein Paracelsianer
Gustav Botz	...	Professor Sievers - der Stadtarzt
Max Nemetz	...	Käpitän der Demeter
Wolfgang Heinz	...	Matrose 1
Albert Venohr	...	Matrose 2
Eric van Viele	...	Matrose 3

Also Known As:

Nosferatu (UK) (USA)
Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror
Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror
Terror of Dracula

Runtime:

94 min | USA:81 min | Spain:65 min (VHS version) | Spain:92 min (DVD edition) | 84 min (1994 restored version projected at 20 fps) | UK:88 min (1997 restored version) | Belgium:85 min | Sweden:84 min (DVD version)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) (DVD rating) (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1922) | Finland:K-12 (1987) | Iceland:L | Canada:13+ (Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Czech Republic:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | Spain:T | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Baltic Sea

Company:

Jofa-Atelier Berlin-Johannisthal

Trivia:

Ruth Landshoff, the actress who played the hero's sister once described a scene in which she fled the vampire, running along a beach. That scene is not in any version of the film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The captain of the ship carrying Nosferatu ties himself to the wheel with a 'granny knot' (which may slip loose), rather than the correct sailors 'reef knot'. Knot is clearly visible at 52:00 min on the DVD.

Quotes:

Graf Orlok: Is this your wife? What a lovely throat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster (1999) (V)

My conception of the vampire made celluloid...

I despise most vampire stories. Not even Florence Stoker's dear departed husband could keep me occupied after the first act in Transylvania in "Dracula". The vampire has been so romanticized as an archetype (particularly during the '90s) that I can't but feel that most horror fans have forgotten exactly what made us afraid of these guys to begin with. Murnau's "Nosferatu" is just such a reminder and, because of that, is the only screen version of "Dracula" that I have ever loved.

Though Murnau, in the hopes of dodging the copyright bullet, took many liberties with the novel, he actually shot a great part of the film on location (an unusual practice for the time) in the historical Dracula's old stomping grounds: the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. The town, landscapes, and castles were all for real, not just some fancy studio backdrop. To me, it helps convey the tone of authenticity, as you can believe this story being told. As for Max Schreck, no charming, suave seducer is he. With his bald head, bushy eyebrows, rat-like teeth, pointed ears, nails as long as the fingers they are attached to, emaciated build, and stare that seems to come from the bottom of Hell itself, he is the primal, archetypal image of the vampire of legend.

While some could interpret this tale as a subtext to Nazism or anti-Semetism, at it's core, it's simply the tale of a monster, who brings ruin and death in his wake. That such a tale has managed to survive it's era, considering the obstacles that could have totally removed it from view, is the gain of all who have seen. Eat your heart out, Bela Lugosi.