Nosferatu the Vampire

Thèmes abordés

Friedrich W. Murnau - Bram Stoker - German Expressionist cinema

Résumé du document

Nosferatu the Vampire (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens in the original) is a German silent film by Friedrich W. Murnau (who is a pioneer in this genre of movie) screened for the first time March 5, 1922 in Berlin.

This is the first film adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, although she was not authorized by the copyright owners. It is also one of the first horror movies and one of the great masterpieces of German Expressionist cinema. First, we will explain the background of Nosferatu and make a technical approach. Then we will analyze the importance and influence of the movie. Finally, the comparison between this genre at the beginning of this century and nowadays.

Extraits

[...] les contrastes permanents entre la lumière et l'obscurité, mais aussi par sa radicalité qui l'installe comme une oeuvre hors-normes, un OVNI dans le paysage cinématographique de l'époque : accélération de l'image, négatif saturé, surimpressions et autres techniques d'avant-garde qui permettent à Murnau de graver sur pellicule quelques-unes des images les plus persistantes et les plus obsédantes de l'histoire du cinéma. [...]

[...] Finally, sunlight can kill the vampire (while in the novel, Dracula walks in London, during the day). Nevertheless, the narrative is respected. Regarding the work of the color, Friedrich-Wilhelm Murnau did not use color filters for his film, like most silent films of the era. Nosferatu, the film in black and white, has indeed a yellow and a bluish tint printed directly through "natural colors" of the day and night. According to the website Allociné (http://www.allocine.fr ) the average rating is 3.8 stars out of 5. [...]

[...] We must not forget that Nosferatu was the subject of a remake in 1978. Nosferatu Phantom of the Night, directed by Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski starred in the role of the vampire, and also Isabelle Adjani. Werzog, who was inspired by both the Bram Stoker's novel and original film, led the tribute to use some of Nosferatu film locations for shooting his own movie. The filmmaker must nevertheless distance themselves from the work of Friedrich-Wilhelm Murnau. "This is an entirely new version" he says. [...]

[...] They are too old, the grain on the video is not great. Nevertheless, the film artist” proves that there is still a public for this movie's genre. It is like a renewal , a return of what was thought to be lost. It was a big bet to launch this movie and thought that it could compete three musqueteers” or Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn”. the film had to undergo restoration. Indeed The original version suffered from numerous cuts and damage since the years following its release, partly due to the substitution by each distributor of German intertitles by cards in the language of their country. [...]

[...] Critical debate caused a storm in the movie. On the other hand, as we think of the film filth that abounds today about vampires, we are delighted to see Murnau's Nosferatu. Height of German Expressionism, it is remarkable to see these scenes in chiaroscuro and the games with the shadows, shapes, silhouettes. Remember that in "Expressionism" there "expression": the faces, gestures, behaviors are amplified and exacerbated voluntarily - to frown. The film succeeds in spite of the imperfections due to the image - it was released in 1922, a beautiful day! [...]