Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror/
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
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A real estate agent, assigns his employee Hutter to visit the remote castle of Count Orlok, who wishes to buy a house in town--"a deserted one." Hutter soon realizes that the Count is not what he seems and a deadly plague will follow them back to Hutter’s hometown.
Overall: The silent film was based on Bram Stoker novel’s “Dracula”, but the names were changed because Stoker's widow was unhappy feeling that her husband's estate was being ripped off. Stoker’s widow had all known prints and negatives destroyed under the terms of the settlement of her lawsuit. However, the film subsequently surfaced in other countries and since the film is silent, the language of the other prints isn’t a problem. The film isn’t that scary anymore and for those who are used to films with sound, this film can actually come off boring. It also doesn’t have the classic vampiric stereotypes of holy water, crucifixes or whatever else. The creature is fairly scary looking and moves like a creature, not like a man. Silent films show us exactly what we take for granted with film scores & sound editing. This stuff is important and can make a good film into a great film. Nevertheless, it’s the penultimate; the first of it’s kind. This was scary way back then. This was horror way back then. This was a masterful classic way back then. For me, today, this movie shows us great acting. It shows great cinematography and scenery. It shows us the value of good make-up. There’s a lot of positive stuff about this movie, which most films today still can’t match. Don’t expect a scary movie but enjoy it for what it is. Comparison: Dracula (1992) meets Citizen Kane |
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