Here's a nice copy of Nosferatu on YouTube. It's German silent movie, from 1922, that adapts Bram Stoker's Dracula. The film makers didn't have any rights so they changed the name and some bits of the story. The family sued and won, all prints were to be destroyed. Lucky for us, copies survived. The Wikipedia says that the film was a hit in the US when it was released in 1929. It was directed by FW Murnau and the novel was adapted by Henrik Galeen. FW directed 20 other films but I can't say I've ever seen any of them. None on his IMDb page are familiar. He died in 1931 at the age of 42.
It's an fairly decent adaptation of the Dracula novel, much of the story remains the same. A guy travels to Transylvania to sell Count Orlok a house in Germany. The guy stays at Orlok's castle a while, discovers some weird stuff going on, and eventually gets trapped there while the Nosferatu does a bunk. Nosferatu is the movie's work for vampires. The Count sets up house in England and some folks get chomped on. The guy eventually escapes and returns to England but not before some more people are given a bit of the old bite. I can't remember the novel enough to remember all what's changed but it's been detailed on the Wikipedia if you need to know.
It's moody and atmospheric but not like the US version. The German version is angular and stark, with the contrast turned up to eleven. The film is black and white that's been tinted. It's mostly a deep dark yellow. The Vampire and the Nosferatu are greatly different. Count Orlok is an ugly old creep, unlike Bella's urban and handsome Count Dracula. Orlok jerks around like he's a praying mantis, while Bella seems to glide. I actually like the James Whale Dracula over the Murnau Nosferatu but I would still recommend both films to anyone interested in the vampire genre. It's always good to know what was going on in the beginning.
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