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Nosferatu

A review by Brooks Rich

I can't believe I haven't discussed the genius of FW Murnau yet or even discussed the brilliance of German Expressionism really. My favorite genre to study in my early film classes in college was German Expressionism. In a time when silent films were very simple and were more plays being filmed, German directors like Murnau were experimenting with light and camera angles. They are the pioneers of discovering the advantages of film and how it can be more than just static shots. Today I am discussing my favorite silent film of all time, FW Murnau's 1922 masterpiece, Nosferatu. In 2022 it will be a hundred years since Nosferatu came out. Even all these years later Nosferatu is still one of the creepiest films ever made. 

If you've never seen a silent film before, The Artist does not count, it is a very different style than what we're used to in film today. Everything is very exaggerated and over the top. Remember all these actors are coming from the stage, where their actions have to exaggerated to reach the audience in the back. Nosferatu was one of the first films to understand the subtly and nuance of the medium. 

The character of Count Orlock is something right out of your nightmares. This is not a romantic and suave vampire, like Lugosi in the original Dracula. Orlock is literally a monster, played perfectly by the enigmatic German actor Max Schreck. All of you who are mesmerized by Joaquin Phoneix;s performance in Joker should watch Max Schreck in Nosferatu. An acting performance so strange and terrifying that Schreck's existence was taken into question. There's a great film from 2000 called Shadow of a Vampire that tells a fictionalized account of the making of Nosferatu where Max Schreck, played by Willem Defoe, is an actual vampire. 

When you watch a film like this, keep in mind this was 1922. These guys were doing things that were unheard of. Something as simple as Count Orlock's shadow being seen on the wall before he came into the frame was unheard of at the time. Murnau took the time to experiment with light and shadows and the position of his camera. If you cinema fans out there are looking for something a little different as Halloween comes to an end and you haven't seen this, my God give Nosferatu a try. 

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