Nosferatu

The first notable adaptation of Dracula on film was Nosferatu, F.W. Murnau's classic that was released in 1922. The problem was that it was completely unauthorized. All the character names were changed, but the plot was pretty much the same as Bram Stoker's novel, and his widow sued. All prints were to be destroyed, and that they weren't may be bad legal form but good for the history of cinema.

Murnau was well known as one of the greatest practitioners of what became known as German Expressionism, which later influenced Hollywood films in the form of film noir. He used long shadows and interesting angles, and this works well with the story of a vampire.

In this adaptation, Max Schreck plays Count Orlok (the DVD I watched has clearly undergone revision, as title cards now contain the names of Stokers' characters, as well as a credit "based on the novel by Bram Stoker"). But we don't see him for a while, and this is one of the drawbacks of the film, among others. Though only 81 minutes long, Nosferatu takes forever to get started.

First we meet Renfield, a weird old coot, who is a realtor. He sends Harker (Gustav von Wangenheim) to Transylvania to help Orlok buy a home in Bremen, Germany (standing in for London). Renfield is clearly acting on orders from Orlok, and Harker becomes food for him when he arrives. His wife, Nina (Greta Schroder) receives psychic messages from her husband, and goes into a trance when he is attacked.

Harker escapes back to Germany, and Orlok packs up a few coffins full of Earth and heads to Bremen, where he feeds on the entire crew (in this film, he brings contagion with him, as his menace is tied to fears of the plague). Nina reads that the only way to destroy him is to offer herself to the monster freely, and then keep him up until the sun rises. Thus we get the famous scene of Orlok climbing the stairs, seeing him only in shadow, and then the shadow of his hand, with the creepy long fingers, making a fist on Nina's chest. He feeds on her, but forgets about the sun rising and is destroyed.

Stoker's novel, which I will discuss in more depth later this year, has had many interpretations, but one of them has been its stark xenophobia, perhaps cast as anti-Semitism. Orlok, as played by Schreck and his makeup, is made to be hideous (which is true to the book), and in no way romantic, as it would in later years. He is rat-like, or perhaps more accurately, bat-like,with an extremely large nose, pointed teeth, and bugged eyes. I suppose it could be construed as a Semitic look, but I don't know if this is intentional.

In any event, he is a terrifying figure to behold. There's a great moment when he bolts upright out of his coffin, and I do mean upright--he doesn't bend at all, but just rises as if on a spring. There is also a great moment when he sees the picture of Nina and says to Harker, "What a lovely throat she has."

The film does have issues, most notably for the dated acting styles. I saw it first in college, and the audience, since it is a silent film, treated it like it was Mystery Science Theater 3000, calling out gag lines (I remember that when Harker shimmies down bed sheets to escape from Orlok's castle, a friend of mine yelled out, "To the batpoles, Robin!" Also, the DVD I watched did not do the film any favors by including an overwrought and inappropriate score. I think the best way to watch this film is at a midnight show, preferably on Halloween, maybe in a church, with a live organist accompanying.