F. W. Murnau’s Vampire Masterpiece NOSFERATU Celebrates Centennial
March 5, marks the 100th anniversary of the German silent horror film Nosferatu. An early example of German Expressionism, the film was directed by F.W. Murnau, who helmed other early cinematic masterpieces such as Sunrise (1927) and City Girl (1930), and starred Max Schreck as a Transylvanian vampire named Count Orlok.
Orlok is looking for new digs, which brings estate agent Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) his way. Hutter has heard stories of the mysterious Orlok, mostly from locals who cower at the mere mention of the Count’s name. Paying no mind, Hutter makes his way to Orlok’s castle and is invited to stay for dinner. Hey, can’t beat a free meal!
While dining, Hutter cuts his thumb with a steak knife and begins to bleed profusely. Like any good host, Orlok offers to suck the blood out. Hutter politely declines the medical help and begs off to bed. In the morning, the agent notices two strange puncture wounds on his neck but chalks them up to some nasty mosquitoes.
After signing some deeds, Orlok notices a picture of Hutter’s wife, a real dish named Ellen (Greta Schröder). Orlok comments that Ellen has “a nice neck.” Ignoring Orlok’s skeeziness, Hutter stays yet another night in the castle, eventually stumbling upon the coffin in which Orlok takes his rest. “Ah, dude’s a vampire,” Hutter says to himself.
In 1922, one film changed cinema and defined screen terror. 100 years later, it continues to haunt and terrify audiences. 2022 brings the centenary of the most influential horror film of all time. The turning point in the career of legendary director F.W. Murnau (Sunrise, The Last Laugh), the screen’s first, albeit unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (which itself celebrates its 125th Anniversary this year) features Max Schreck’s unforgettable performance as the vampire Count Orlok, the most chilling portrayal of cadaverous evil in film history. Although a court order to destroy the film was successfully brought by Stoker’s widow, some copies escaped, and subsequently gave the 20th century some of its defining images of supernatural terror and dread. A decades-long search for the best surviving material and a re-recording of the original score by Hans Erdmann now allows us to see the film exactly as it premiered 100 years ago.
Remade by Werner Herzog in 1979 (and inspiring films as diverse as Abel Ferrara’s King of New York and The Addiction, and E. Elias Merhige’s Shadow of the Vampire), F. W. Murnau’s surreal 1922 cine-fable remains the original and landmark entry in the entire global tradition of “the horror film”. A towering masterpiece whose legacy is truly incalculable, Nosferatu remains as mesmerizing – and haunting – as ever.
