Review of Nosferatu (1922) by Eduardo C — 28 Dec 2009

"And when he had crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him.".

Haunting, visionary, immortal. The first retelling of the "Dracula" mythos, and probably the best. The film is exquisitely photographed, and the images, the first of its kind, laden with the power of archetype.

The amazing use of shadow, stop motion, lighting (Count Orlock literally steps into and out of the darkness) has been well covered, but what stands out to me the most are the positively Lovecraftian elements. Insanity is the Count's herald: the closer characters get to him the quicker their mind begins to unravel. The town, upon his arrival, is besieged by a plague (the plague is, of course, the Count's need for blood, but it is interesting he brought rats with him) and it is only through a willing sacrifice that matters are resolved.

Max Shreck set the tone for subsequent Draculas by making his Count not an evil figure, but a pathetic one whom kills to survive, believes he has fallen in love and ultimately dies for it. The scene where he is looking, out his window, into his female neighbor's room is very moving, and illustrative. There have been dozens upon dozens of Dracula films, but only 3 of them featured truly original performances (apologies to the man-god that is Christopher Lee, who delievered one of the very best performances, but not exactly one of the most original), and this is one of them.

It truly is amazing to see how films today still use many of the same techniques Murnau first developed here, how many of the shots and sequences he created are now staples of the genre. Truly a beautiful, timeless work.

"The death-ship had a new Captain.".