The History & Influence of Cinema's Greatest Vampire | Nosferatu



1922’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror has stood as my absolute favorite movie since I first saw it 18 years ago.
With Robert Eggers’s adaptation on the horizon, I figured now would be a great time to look back at the film that gave birth to the cinematic vampire, exploring its influences, impact, and lasting legacy.

#nosferatu #vampires #filmmaking

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife of his estate agent, Hutter, and brings the plague to their fictional town of Wisborg, Hermany. The film is a loose adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula.

Directed by F. W. Murnau

Written by Henrik Galeen & F. W. Murnau

Starring Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder. Alexander Granach, Ruth Landshoff, and Wolfgang Heinz

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:41 The Early Life and Influences of F. W. Murnau
05:03 Nosferatu is Born
07:19 Themes, Cinematography, and Symbolism
12:09 Technical Styles and Lasting Impacts
15:06 Films That Echo Murnau’s Magic
16:11 Conclusion

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14 thoughts on “The History & Influence of Cinema's Greatest Vampire | Nosferatu”

  1. Merry Christmas everyone 🎄

    I pulled a lot of info for this video from Kevin Jackson's book, *Nosferatu (1922) eine Symphonie des Grauens*, published by the British Film Institute in 2013. It's a short read and I highly recommend for other Nosferatu enthusiasts 🤗

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  2. I had NO idea about the backstory of this film! So enjoyable to listen to as I do last minute cleaning before getting to sleep (otherwise Santa won’t come!). Great work Vex!

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  3. I saw this in the 80's, but I was a teenager and didn't really appreciate it at the time. In the 90's I saw the Klaus Kinski version and hated it. So I watched the 1922 original again and found a new love for the film.

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  4. While Sunrise is my favorite Murnau film, I do enjoy a Nosferatu revisit every few years. Ebert once put it wonderfully: To see Nosferatu is to see the vampire film before it had seen itself. It's a movie that feels as though it truly believes in vampires. Oh, Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr is also a rather fascinating, expressionist look at the subgenre, just in case you haven't seen it.

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