We stick with silent German cinema with Nosferatu from 1922, directed by F. W. Murnau and based on Dracula (1893) by Bram Stoker.
Plot
Thomas Hutter (played by Gustav von Wangenheim) travels to the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, Romania, on orders from his employer Knock (played by Alexander Granach), to visit a new client Count Orlok (played by Max Schreck). The locals are uncooperative and fearful and urge Hutter to return home. Hutter, the fool that he is, is undeterred and continues his journey in a black coach that mysterious appears. At Orlok's castle, Hutter meets the count and Orlok signs documents to purchase the house next door to Hutter's. Hutter is pleased that he has made a sale but he's not so sure about Orlok. Why did he try to lick Hutter's blood after he cut his thumb? Where did those bite marks on his neck come from? And why does Orlok like to sleep in coffins?
My thoughts: Good film that like Caligari produces an effective creepy atmosphere. Slower than Caligari, however, so those of you with little patience may want to give this one a miss.
The film producers were not able to obtain the rights to the novel Dracula from Stoker's widow, Florence but they went ahead with the film anyway, changing the characters' names. When Florence found out, she sued the studio, which lost, and the courts demanded that every copy of the film be destroyed, however, one copy did survive and it is from this that all surviving copies have been made from. Some versions keep the original names, whereas others change Orlok to Dracula and Hutter to Harking etc.
An interesting spin-off film was released in 2000 Shadow of the Vampire which is a fictionalised look at the making of Nosferatu, with the twist that Max Schreck was a real vampire. I haven't seen it yet so I'm not going to comment any further. Just like with Caligari, a sound remake was made...
Plot
Thomas Hutter (played by Gustav von Wangenheim) travels to the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, Romania, on orders from his employer Knock (played by Alexander Granach), to visit a new client Count Orlok (played by Max Schreck). The locals are uncooperative and fearful and urge Hutter to return home. Hutter, the fool that he is, is undeterred and continues his journey in a black coach that mysterious appears. At Orlok's castle, Hutter meets the count and Orlok signs documents to purchase the house next door to Hutter's. Hutter is pleased that he has made a sale but he's not so sure about Orlok. Why did he try to lick Hutter's blood after he cut his thumb? Where did those bite marks on his neck come from? And why does Orlok like to sleep in coffins?
My thoughts: Good film that like Caligari produces an effective creepy atmosphere. Slower than Caligari, however, so those of you with little patience may want to give this one a miss.
The film producers were not able to obtain the rights to the novel Dracula from Stoker's widow, Florence but they went ahead with the film anyway, changing the characters' names. When Florence found out, she sued the studio, which lost, and the courts demanded that every copy of the film be destroyed, however, one copy did survive and it is from this that all surviving copies have been made from. Some versions keep the original names, whereas others change Orlok to Dracula and Hutter to Harking etc.
An interesting spin-off film was released in 2000 Shadow of the Vampire which is a fictionalised look at the making of Nosferatu, with the twist that Max Schreck was a real vampire. I haven't seen it yet so I'm not going to comment any further. Just like with Caligari, a sound remake was made...
In 1979, a sound remake was produced directed by Werner Herzog.
Plot
Exactly the same as the original.
My thoughts: Good attempt. Better than the Caligari remake but still not fantastic. It does, however, do a better job of conveying a despairing atmosphere than the original but unfortunately this can make the film bland and expressionless.
Next time, we'll take a trip over the pond and see what Hollywood was up to during the 20s.
See also:
More horror
Universal's Dracula series
See also:
More horror
Universal's Dracula series
