Nosferatu (1922)

Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Henrik Galeen (screen play), Bram Stoker (based on the novel: "Dracula")

Stars:

Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Max Schreck	...	Graf Orlok
Gustav von Wangenheim	...	Hutter (as Gustav v. Wangenheim)
Greta Schröder	...	Ellen - seine Frau (as Greta Schroeder)
Georg H. Schnell	...	Harding - ein Reeder (as G.H. Schnell)
Ruth Landshoff	...	Ruth - seine Schwester
Gustav Botz	...	Professor Sievers - der Stadtarzt
Alexander Granach	...	Knock - ein Häusermakler
John Gottowt	...	Professor Bulwer - ein Paracelsianer
Max Nemetz	...	Ein Kapitän
Wolfgang Heinz	...	1. Matrose
Albert Venohr	...	2. Matrose
Eric van Viele	...	Matrose 2

Storyline

Wisbourg, Germany based estate agent Knock dispatches his associate, Hutter, to Count Orlok's castle in Transylvania as the Count wants to purchase an isolated house in Wisbourg. They plan on selling him the one across the way from Hutter's own home. Hutter leaves his innocent wife, Ellen, with some friends while he is away. Hutter's trek is an unusual one, with many locals not wanting to take him near the castle where strange events have been occurring. Once at the castle, Hutter does manage to sell the Count the house, but he also notices and feels unusual occurrences, primarily feeling like there is a dark shadow hanging over him, even in the daytime when the Count is unusually asleep. Hutter eventually sees the Count's sleeping chamber in a crypt, and based on a book he has recently read, believes the Count is really a vampire or Nosferatu. While Hutter is trapped in the castle, the Count, hiding in a shipment of coffins, makes his way to Wisbourg, causing death along his way, ...

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | self sacrifice | bite mark | dracula | gothic | 

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Taglines:

A thrilling mystery masterpiece - a chilling psycho-drama of blood-lust.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

3 June 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nosferatu

Filming Locations:

Orava Castle, Oravsky Podzámok, Slovakia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jofa-Atelier Berlin-Johannisthal,Prana-Film GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 65 min (video) 92 min (DVD) 84 min 88 min (1997 restored) 84 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Count Orlok appears in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants called "The Graveyard Shift" eighty years after the film was released.

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Goofs

When Nosferatu emerges from the ship's hull, the wooden "hatch/door" is not attached to anything. Moments later, a large arm hinge is suddenly attached to the right side.

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Quotes

Graf Orlok: You have hurt yourself... your precious blood!

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Alternate Versions

There are a confusing number of different surviving prints, restorations and alternate versions of Nosferatu. In the main, there are three 'complete' restorations and two incomplete, partially-restored versions. All five are available on DVD, while the latest two restorations, from 1995 and 2006, are also on Blu-ray. In addition there are countless low-quality public domain DVDs with different lengths, running speeds and soundtracks. All are derived from a single print held by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). They usually have replacement American intertitles and are always in black and white; the film was originally color tinted throughout and only meant to be seen that way. This comprehensive article explains all of them simply and clearly: Nosferatu: The Ultimate Blu-ray and DVD Guide.

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Connections

Referenced in Dracula 3000 (2004)

User Reviews

a truly original Vampire film- a tale of the Gothic legend in Murnau's masterpiece

Nosferatu is a great horror movie (possibly the first ever according to some accounts), and one of the pinnacles of the German silent era of film-making. Made in the silent age by the German expressionist/auteur FW Murnau, the film has the genuine power to act creepy, odd, alluring, mythic, and beautiful by way of images and music that don't leave your mind once the film is over. It's like someone collected a stash of nightmares and pulled them together with the original Bram Stoker story of Dracula. Max Shreck, in his most notorious role (and apparently the only one really anyone's bothered to see) plays the monstrous Count Orlock, a vampire who comes out at night to tempt the living and, of course, to suck blood. Though this story of Dracula has been numerously repeated (even by the Hollywood version in the early 30s), this film is one of the prime examples of how horror SHOULD be done- dispense with cheap thrills or overloading with exposition.

A director like Murnau here, who had total artistic control (abeit the film not in circulation for many years), could transform Orlock's world into one of acute, deliberate angles, long deep shadows, and painting with light like some mad artist from the dark ages. One could almost claim that this, alongside Night of the Living Dead, changed the way audiences looked at horror films, that a style and presence could be wrung from characters that bring out the worst fears and dread in common people. Years from now, long into the digital age, there may still be room for of all things a silent, non-talking effort like Nosferatu, where the terror can still be felt through the black and white (sometimes tinted) photography and stark physical performances by Schrek and the others. In short, a film like this is one of the reasons I love to watch horror movies.