Nosferatu

Nosferatu (Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens) (1922)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: F.W. Murnau

Starring: Max Schreck, Gustav Von Wangenheim, Greta Schroder, Alexander Granach, Georg H. Schnell

From: Prana Film

Whoops, it's time for me to catch up. Monday night I watched the new 4K print of Suspiria on the big screen, which was an awesome experience. I was impressed by how it looked and how it sounded. I'll be posting two reviews on Wednesday proper. For now, this silent classic: 

It is an amazing feat to play a role SO well and disturb so many people throughout the years that a movie was made which says that you actually were that creature and not an actor playing a role... I am referring to 2000's Shadow of the Vampire, and indeed Max Schreck was great as Count Orlok, i.e. Count Dracula, as this was a blatant unauthorized version of Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. One day I'll see Shadow of the Vampire but for now, this German Expressionist horror classic.

Everyone knows how hideous and horrifying Orlok was (a drastic change from the usual suave Dracula) but there are several people in this that are just bizarre-looking human beings. That adds to the creepiness factor of this tale; I don't need to recap the plot as it's the typical Dracula story. Our main character (Thomas Hutter) is rather nonchalant about being in a remote castle with a host who is quite ugly and he thinks that the bite marks on his neck are from mosquitoes. Others believing that “a plague” was happening when it was actually Orlok, that is more understandable.

Shreck in the role is a huge asset due to how well he plays it, but another big help is the direction of the great F.W. Murneau. His talent really shined here. It being a silent was not a big deal for me at all. I was invested in the story so reading the interstitials was no problem... not that it ever has been. The unique silent thing of various scenes being tinted various colors worked like aces here. The score that was used on the version shown on TCM that I watched was note-perfect; Berndt Heller can be thanked there. There are unforgettable moments, such as Orlok rising out of the coffin (I imagine many have stumbled upon that moment somehow even if they have never watched the movie in full).

Even if you don't really dig the silent films, if you have even a little interest in horror, this incredibly influential motion picture needs to be seen.