F.W. Murnau

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F.W. Murnau was a German film director. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served as a company commander at the eastern front and was in the German air force, surviving several crashes without any severe... See full bio »

Born:

December 28, 1888 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Died:

March 11, 1931 (age 42) in Santa Barbara, California, USA

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3 wins. See more awards »

Known For

Sunrise Director

(1927)

Nosferatu Director

(1922)

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas Director

(1931)

The Burning Soil Director

(1922)

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Filmography

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Director (21 credits)

1931 Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

1930 City Girl

1928 4 Devils

1927 Sunrise

1926 Faust

1925 Tartuffe

1924 The Last Laugh

1924 Finances of the Grand Duke

1923 Die Austreibung (Short)

1922 Phantom

1922 The Burning Soil

1922 Nosferatu

1922 Marizza

1921 The Haunted Castle

1921 Desire

1921 Journey into the Night

1920 Evening - Night - Morning

1920 The Head of Janus

1920 The Hunchback and the Dancer

1920 Satanas

1919 Emerald of Death

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Writer (2 credits)

1931 Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (told by)

1924 Komödie des Herzens (as Murglie)

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Producer (2 credits)

1931 Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (producer - uncredited)

1922 The Burning Soil (associate producer)

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Actor (1 credit)

1927 Sunrise
Dancer (uncredited)

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Miscellaneous Crew (1 credit)

2008 The Bathroom Mirror (Short) (footage: Nosferatu)

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Thanks (5 credits)

2020 Red Oedipal (Short) (grateful acknowledgment) (filming)

2016 Kitsune (Video short) (special thanks)

2015/II Boy 7 (thanks - as Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau)

2014 Special Collector's Edition (TV Series) (in memory of - 1 episode)

- Nosferatu (1ª Edición) (2014) ... (in memory of - as Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau)

2012 Blancanieves (the director wishes to thank)

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Self (2 credits)

1928 Die Filmstadt Hollywood (Documentary)
Himself

1925 Der Film im Film (Documentary)
Himself

Show

Archive footage (7 credits)

2014 From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses (Documentary)
Himself

2014 Welcome to the Basement (TV Series)
Himself / Dancer

- Sunrise (2014) ... Himself / Dancer

2008 Murnau, Borzage and Fox (Video documentary)
Himself (uncredited)

2007 La duodécima hora (Short)
Himself

2003 Der Weg nach Murnau (TV Short documentary)
Himself

2002 Los 5 Faust de F.W. Murnau (Video documentary)
Himself

1992 Die UFA (Documentary)

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Personal Details

Publicity Listings:

3 Biographical Movies | 3 Print Biographies | 1 Portrayal | 17 Articles | See more »

Official Sites:

Filmmuseum Berlin presents F.W. Murnau (german, english)

Alternate Names:

Murglie | Dr. F.W. Murnau | Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau

Height:

6' 4" (1.93 m)

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Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

Don't act - think! See more »

Trivia:

He directed Satanas (1920) with Fritz Kortner and Ernst Hofmann, Der Januskopf (1920) with Conrad Veidt, Magnus Stifter and the later Dracula (1931) star Bela Lugosi, and Schloss Vogeloed (1921) with Arnold Korff and Paul Bildt. These films already possessed many of the gloomy "Germanic" touches he was famous for, which still hold up to the present day. Unfortunately, some of these works are lost. See more »