Nosferatu

Nosferatu was the film that really made me realise that there is more to cinema than just being a casual film-watcher. Before watching this, I would never have thought that a film shot in 1922 would leave such an impact on me.



Count Orlok



The German expressionist masterpiece has been one of my favourites since, and is something that I think is inspiring, not just in terms of filmmaking, but how it came about.

I think that F.W Murnau's interpretation of the classic Dracula by Bram Stoker is absolutely revolutionary. I personally think that the film is far more chilling than any of the modern day horror films. It doesn't rely on gore and violence to make the film scary to the audience, and it certainly doesn't rely on the sudden loud noise method that sadly so many directors rely upon for frights.

Instead, I think the film works brilliantly because of two things mainly.

The stellar performance from Max Schreck and

The incredibly unsettling colours that Murnau chose to use.

For me, the purple filters give it the most unnatural appearance it can, and totally does it for me. If I'm feeling a certain way, it can actually make me feel nauseous, which is a feat in itself. On top of this, you've got to remember that it was released way back in 1922, and doing something like this was somewhat unheard of.

F.W Murnau's vision and bottle to try something radical has really hit a spot with me, and I have nothing but admiration for the work that he created. Again, much like Hitchcock, my ultimate aim is to create something that people will consider fantastic in decades to come.

One of my favourite things about Nosferatu is the whole ordeal with the rights to the Dracula story. I love the fact that it is an unlicensed version, with modifications of the characters and plot, just enough so that they avoided being sued. I also like that it almost went out of existance, after Bram Stoker's wife attempted to literally destroy all physical copies of the film. Fortunately this was not accomplished and the film lives on.

I think the creativity of Murnau to be able to get around this, and the nerve that he showed to create the film, is a credit to him, and something that aspiring directors should look at when they are in a sticky situation. Of course it's a completely different level, but it shows that sometimes being quite cheeky can pay off; in this case paid off massively.

As Nosferatu approaches its 90th anniversary, I think that it still stands up against modern horror films, and beats it hands down.