Count to 100

Celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of one of the most influential films of all time, is worthy of a dedicated post here at Dada Debaser. F. W. Murnau's 1922 German Expressionist film Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens, or to English language heads, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (commonly abridged to just Nosferatu), cemented its legacy in the annals of cinema as one of the greatest horror films of all time. 

Won't even bother going into regurgiating details of its origin, production woes, or its legal problems with the Bram Stoker estate, but it's worth mentioning that its obvious deviation from the Dracula novel, made it a uniquely iconic entity in its own right. Also, the documented interest in occultism by its producer Albin Grau, was evident in many of the film's visual details, such as Hutter's contract papers. The ghoulish undead visage of Count Graf Orlok, played by Max Schreck has ingrained itself into popular culture since it first made its presence known exactly one hundred years ago this very day. You could travel into the deepest heart of the Amazonian Rain Forest, stumble upon the remotest tribe there, play a scene from the film on your phone, and they would probably successfully identify it as Nosferatu while tucking into some long pig. That's how recognisable it is.

On a personal tip, Nosferatu was perhaps the earliest film throughout the history of cinema that I actively sought out to watch from beyond my timeline and became my first foray into German Expressionism, without some pretentious film scholar demanding it. It wasn't just the grand daddy of vampiric horror, it was the very ancestor of an entire movie genre. It was the common element that bridged the gap between serious 'kino' *yawn* heads and horror fans like myself.

Happy Birthday, Nosferatu!

Dada Debaser Bonus:

The film received the remake treatment in 1979 by tougher than leather film maker Werner Herzog, who this time around managed to get permission from the Stoker estate to use the official character names. Herzog's Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night), AKA Nosferatu the Vampyr miraculously emphasised the gloomy existance of Schreck's character, now called Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski) even further, by portraying him as an even more pathetic entity in comparison to the original. Isabelle Adjani being cast as Lucy Harker set into motion this lad's penchant for goth babes, which, in all honesty, is probably the reason why I slightly prefer the remake over the original to this day. Kinski returned to his role with Vampire in Venice (1988), which I never bothered with, since Herzog wasn't involved with it and I've been burnt by way too many of Kinski's movies, although the trailer does look pretty cool.

 

Hard to believe, but, E. Elias Merhige, the director of the completely bonkers Begotten (1989), helmed a fictional account of the making of Nosferatu, with the novel spin of Max Schreck being a genuine blood-sucker in the film Shadow of the Vampire (2000), causing all types of mayhem during the production. Featured in the film are acting luminaries John Malkovich, Udo Kier and Willem Dafoe in one of his most underrated performances, as the repugnantly creepy Max Schreck. A gothed-up Catherine McCormack, higher than graphics card prices, as Nosferatu's objet de désir, Greta Schröder, is another major hightlight from the film. The film is one of my favourite movies about movie making and well worth checking out.