Home > Nosferatu

"Dracula" became "Nosferatu" (according to Stoker, the Old European word for "vampire" although not found in any European language before "Dracula") and the names of the characters changed, with Count Dracula changed to Count Orlok. The role of the vampire was played by Max Schreck. Other major actors in the film were: Gustave Von Wagenheim , Greta Schroeder , Alexander Granach

Stoker's estate sued for copyright infringement and won. The court ordered all existing prints of Nosferatu destroyed, but a number of copies of the film had already been distributed around the world. These prints were then copied over the years, resulting in Nosferatu gaining a reputation as one of the greatest movie depictions of the vampire legend.

This was the first, and last, film of the production company Prana-Film GmbH. With all prints and negatives ordered destroyed they declared bankruptcy rather than pay compensation to Florence Stoker , Bram Stoker’s widow.

With the influence of producer and production designer, Albin Grau, the film established one of two main lines of vampire depiction in movies. The 'Nosferatu-type' is a living corpse with rodent features (especially elongated fingernails and incisors), is associated with rats and plague and can only be defeated by a virgin sacrifice; he is neither charming nor erotic but totally repugnant. The victims usually die and are not turned into vampires themselves.

The more common other line is the "Dracula-type" (established by Lugosi and perpetuated by Lee), a charming aristocrat adept at seduction and turning his victims into new vampires.

Parts of the film allegedly showing Transylvania were filmed in SlovakiaSlovakia ( Slovak: Slovensko is a landlocked republic in Central Europe. It borders the Czech Republic in the northwest, Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east, Hungary in the south, and Austria in the southwest. Slovenska Republika ( In Detail) Nationa, e.g. Nosferatu's castle is the Orava castle in northern Slovakia.

Murnau's Nosferatu is in the public domainThe public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. Proprietary interest is typically represented by a cop, and copies of the movie are widely available on video -- usually as poorly transferred, faded, scratched video copies that are often scorned by enthusiasts. However, pristine restored editions of the film have also been made available, and are also readily accessible to the public.

A curious sound remake, Die Zwolfte Stunde, (The Twelfth Hour) appeared in 1930. No credit for director is claimed, but a reference to "artistic adaptation" is given to Dr. Waldemar Roger. He apparently re-edited the original film with some of Murnau's discarded footage and changed the characters’ names (Count Orlok became Furst Wollkoff). A new character and scenes were added. A young priest, Hans Behal conducted a Mass for the Dead, but censors cut the sequence because of its religious implications. Murnau probably knew the film existed, but it is unlikely that he ever saw this unauthorised adaptation, which unlike its original ended on a happy note.

In 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings., Werner HerzogWerner Herzog (born September 5, 1942) is a German screenwriter, film director and actor. Many of his films are, however, in the English language. He directed five films starring German actor Klaus Kinski: Aguirre, Wrath of God Nosferatu Woyzeck Fitzcarra directed a remakeIn cinema, a remake is a work that has the same story, and often the same title, as a work that was made earlier. In the history of cinema, remakes have generally been considered inferior to the earlier versions by film critics and cinema-goers alike, but of Nosferatu. Filmed on a shoestring budget (as was common for German films during the 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends), and starring Klaus Kinski as the vampire, Herzog's Nosferatu was a critical success, considered by many to be a faithful homage to Murnau's original film. Herzog filmed two versions of the movie simultaneously, one in German and one in English. The actors spoke their own lines in English, meaning that their own voices are included in the English version of the film; they are not dubbed over by voice actors.

In 2000, a Hollywood movie called Shadow of the Vampire told a fictional story of the making of the silent version of Nosferatu. Starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe, proposed the fantasy that Max Shreck was an actual vampire.

See also Nosferatu (White Wolf)