Line #60 Film/Nosferatu


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nosferatu_1922_8.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E16GraveyardShiftKrustyLove He was the one flickering the lights.]]]]
3	%%
4	->''"Mortal terror reigned''\
5	''Sickness now, then horrible death''\
6	''Only Lucy knew the truth''\
7	''And at her window --''\
8	''Nosferatu."''
9	-->-- '''Music/BlueOysterCult''', "Nosferatu"
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11	''Nosferatu'' (rarely used full title: ''Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens''[[note]]English: ''Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror''[[/note]]) is a German silent horror film and the first known surviving [[VampireFiction vampire movie]], released in 1922. Director Creator/FriedrichWilhelmMurnau cast [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0775180/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1 Max Schreck]] as Count Orlok, with the veteran character actor [[LooksLikeOrlok wearing a costume that left him bald, with huge pointed ears and long sharp fangs]]... In short, one of the most frightening characters in film history. This movie is also notable for influencing the cinematic depiction of the idea that [[WeakenedByTheLight vampires can be killed by sunlight]].
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13	''Nosferatu'' was originally intended to be a direct adaptation of Creator/BramStoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', but Stoker's widow, who owned the copyright, refused permission. So Murnau and his team [[CaptainErsatz changed the characters' names]], [[note]]Some later English-language prints "restore" the character names to their ''Dracula'' originals.[[/note]] simplified the plot, and tried to pass ''Nosferatu'' off as an original story – though the original opening credits still acknowledge the story as being "freely adapted" from Stoker's novel.
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15	It didn't work. The production company was forced to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying royalties to Stoker's estate for copyright infringement. All copies were supposed to [[DisproportionateRetribution be destroyed]], but a KeepCirculatingTheTapes mentality among fans kept it from being [[MissingEpisode lost]]. ([[DigitalPiracyIsOkay Pre-digital film piracy?]] It's OlderThanYouThink.) We, too, can see the greatness of Murnau's vision.
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17	The film entered the PublicDomain in 2019; consequently, it may be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6jFoYm3xs in its entirety]] on Website/{{YouTube}}. In 2017, a version called ''[[http://nonsilentfilm.com/en/ Nosferatu: The Non Silent Film]]'' was created by Brazilian agency [=AlmapBBDO=] and Punch Audio, which not only re-scores the film but also layers on sound effects and voice clips from Getty Images' massive audio library (a trailer can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFUbKJ64BKo&t=25s here]]).
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19	In 1979, Creator/WernerHerzog wrote and directed ''Film/NosferatuTheVampyre'' (German title: ''Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht''), a re-adaptation of ''Dracula'' heavily influenced by Murnau's iconic visuals and streamlined plot. Creator/KlausKinski played the title role (now back to the name "Dracula"), and Herzog's film is considered by many to be as good as if not better than the original. Kinski would return for the 1988 sort-of-sequel ''Nosferatu in Venice''.
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21	Another remake, directed by Creator/RobertEggers, wrapped filming in 2023. Creator/BillSkarsgard stars as Orlok, with an ensemble supporting cast that includes Creator/NicholasHoult, Creator/LilyRoseDepp, Creator/AaronTaylorJohnson, Creator/EmmaCorrin, Creator/RalphIneson, Simon [=McBurney=] and Creator/WillemDafoe.
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23	There are a number of myths about the film, and particularly its star. Firstly, it ''was'' Max Schreck in the title role, not an unknown or [[Film/{{Metropolis}} Alfred Abel]] under a pseudonym. It was also ''not'' Max Schreck's only role; he appeared in over 20 films and hundreds of stage productions, all in Germany. For that matter, it wasn't even Schreck's only role for Murnau, as the two collaborated again on ''Die Finanzen des Grossherzogs'' two years later. E. Elias Merhige utilized many of these myths to craft the 2000 film ''Film/ShadowOfTheVampire'', which portrays Schreck (played by Willem Dafoe) as an actual vampire. It also takes inspiration for its depiction of the relationship of "Murnau" and "Schreck", not from the real Murnau and Schreck,[[note]]Schreck was no method actor and according to production accounts, was totally normal and friendly off-camera - which somehow made it even stranger, since he had to remain in his Orlok makeup![[/note]] but from the famously insane and violent relationship between Herzog and Kinski.
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25	''Nosferatu'' is also sometimes listed in reference books as ''The Twelfth Hour'' due to an unauthorized sound version released the early '30s; this was never an official title for Murnau's version (see Trivia page for details).
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27	----
28	!!''Nosferatu'' provides examples of:
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30	* AdaptationalBadass: In the book, Dracula has to visit each of his victims directly and personally bite them on the neck. Orlok, however, is a vampire of the post-WWI, post-1918 flu epidemic world, and simply by [[BrownNoteBeing being in Wisborg]] he seems to be able to dish out sickness and death on an industrial scale.
31	* AdaptationalDumbass: In the book, Jonathan Harker ignored some red flags while making the journey to Castle Dracula, but once he'd actually stayed in the castle, he quickly figured out that Dracula wasn't human and began trying to escape. Thomas Hutter, by contrast, [[CaptainOblivious completely fails to notice that there's anything off about Orlok]] until after Orlok has made his way to Germany.
32	* AdaptationalLocationChange: The vampire chooses the German city of Wisborg for his new home base rather than London as in Stoker's novel.
33	* AdaptationalUgliness: While Dracula wasn't all that attractive in the original novel, he at least looked relatively normal. Orlok, on the other hand, looks like the plague-bearing monster he really is.
34	* AdaptationalWimp:
35	** Dracula in the original book was merely weakened by sunlight, while Orlok [[spoiler:just straight up died from it]].
36	** Prof. Bulwer is broadly analogous to the book's Van Helsing, but is much less effective against the vampire menace, to the point of being effectively DemotedToExtra.
37	** In the book, Jonathan Harker was an intelligent gentleman who showed no hesitation in risking death to protect his wife. His movie counterpart Thomas Hutter is an IdiotHero and DirtyCoward. And unlike Harker with Dracula in the book, Hutter ''doesn't'' get to be the one to kill Orlok in the end.
38	* AdaptationDistillation: Despite not being an official adaptation, it's a greatly simplified version of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}''.
39	* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: In the book, Dracula travels from Romania to England by stowing away on a ship, where he gradually picks off the crew. The movie keeps this plot point, but changes Orlok's and the crew's route to instead be from Romania to Germany, raising the question of why they were travelling by sea in the first place.
40	* AdaptationNameChange:
41	** Dracula becomes Orlok.
42	** Jonathan Harker becomes Thomas Hutter.
43	** Mina Harker becomes Ellen Hutter.
44	** Renfield becomes Knock.
45	** Van Helsing becomes Bulwer.
46	** Seward becomes Sievers.
47	** Lucy Westenra becomes Ruth Harding.
48	*** There is a print that reverts everyone's names, yet Mina becomes "Nina" and ''The Twelfth Hour'' changed everyone's name once again with Orlok becoming Prince Wolkoff, Knock becoming Karsten, Hutter becoming Kundberg, Ellen becoming Margitta and Annie becoming Maria.
49	* AdaptedOut: Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris have no equivalent in this version. The vampire brides are also absent.
50	* AnimalMotifs: Orlok has a very subtle (yet obvious in hindsight) connection with rats and, through them, the plague. His fangs are rat-like incisors rather than the elongated canines usually used for vampires, his pointed nose and thin face give his facial features a rodent-like quality, and even his taloned hands are reminiscent of the grasping paws of a giant rat.
51	* AntagonistTitle: Also a OneWordTitle, named after the supposed Romanian word for "vampire", that threatens the land.
52	* AristocratsAreEvil: Count Orlok (Graf Orlok in the original German). He's a count and a bloodthirsy (in all senses) vampire.
53	* ArtShift: A striking one. As Hutter's coach approaches Orlok's castle, one shot of the coach on the road is shown in photographic negative, likely to symbolize Hutter's entrance into another world.
54	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The etymology of the word "nosferatu" is unclear. This film isn't the first to use it (Stoker's novel referenced it first), but the usual origin (the UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}n word for "vampire") is false. The two most probable etymologies are a corruption of the Romanian "Necuratu," meaning "unclean spirit," or [[UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} Greek]] "Nosophoros," meaning "bringer of plague."
55	* BaldOfEvil: Orlok is completely bald except for tufts of hair directly over his ears. Combined with his huge eyebrows, pointy ears, hooked nose and bulging eyes, it makes for a singularly horrific and inhuman image.
56	* BedsheetLadder: Used by Hutter to escape Orlok's castle.
57	* BigBad: Count Orlok, a vampire spreading a plague across a German village.
58	* BigOlEyebrows: Orlok sports some pretty thick bushy ones.
59	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:While Ellen's plan to destroy Orlok works, as he forgets about the sunrise while attacking her, she ultimately dies stopping him.]]
60	* BreakingAndBloodsucking: Ellen's plan to destroy Orlok is to wait for him to attack her in her bed and allow him to slowly feed to distract him from the lethal sunrise.
61	* CaptainOblivious: It takes Hutter entirely too long to figure out that [[ObviouslyEvil the ghoulish figure with sharp talons and giant fangs who wants to suck the blood out of his finger]] might not exactly be the safest guy around.
62	* CaptainsLog: The people of Wisborg consult the ghost ship's log in an effort to figure out what happened.
63	* ComicallyCrossEyed: One of the sailors gets crossed eyes when facing Nosferatu below the deck.
64	* ComicBookAdaptation: Two, the first being a straightforward adaptation from 1989, the second a modernized adaptation from 2010.
65	* CreepyLongFingers: Orlok's fingers are already long with pointy nails to begin with, but as the film progresses his nails lengthen until they resemble a bird of prey's talons, enhancing the effect. {{Exaggerated\|Trope}} when Orlok's shadow reaches out to open the door to Ellen's bedroom, the fingers stretching inhumanly as he does.
66	* CueTheSun: The sunlight is gradually shown increasing over the rooftops the morning [[spoiler: after Orlok attacks Ellen.]]
67	* DangerWithADeadline: While vampires have historically been considered nocturnal, Count Orlok is the earliest example of a vampire [[spoiler:actually being ''killed'' by sunlight]].
68	* DemotedToExtra:
69	** The film's equivalents of Van Helsing, Holmwood and Seward only appear in scenes that do not relate to the overall plot, and they never learn that Orlok is a vampire. However, they're better off than Quincy, who [[AdaptedOut doesn’t have a counterpart at all]]. Annie is often viewed as Lucy's counterpart. One English copy of the film even calls her as such.
70	** It is also worth mentioning that Annie, just as Lucy, is implied to be visited by Orlok, and in a deleted scene she would be lured by Orlok to the seaside and bitten. In the novel Dracula lures Lucy to a small seaside cemetery and bites her for the first time.
71	* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: In ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', Mina survives. In this film, Ellen [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices her life]] to destroy Orlok.]]
72	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler: Ellen dies in her husband's arms after her HeroicSacrifice kills Orlok.]]
73	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler: Literature/{{Dracula}} is killed with a SlashedThroat and a stab through the heart. Orlok is [[WeakenedByTheLight killed by sunlight]] when Ellen distracts him from the dawn by [[HeroicSacrifice letting him feed on her]].]]
74	* EvilSorcerer: Orlok apparently can become noncorporal at will to get through locked doors.
75	* FauxAffablyEvil: Orlok is at first gentle and polite towards Hutter when he meets him. This trait totally vanishes after the ship massacre and it only gets worse from there.
76	* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the middle of the movie, Count Orlok sees Thomas' locket of Ellen and comments on how she has a "beautiful neck". By the end of the movie, he would enter into Ellen's bedroom and sink his teeth into her neck, [[WeakenedByTheLight which almost immediately leads to his downfall]].
77	* GagNose: Orlok has a very long and beaked nose.
78	* {{Gonk}}: Orlok has a grotesque, rat-like appearance, which is the first sign that he's far from a human being.
79	* GhostShip: The one Orlok takes to Germany becomes one of these when it pulls into port because of him whittling down the crew.
80	* GhostlyGlide: Played with. Orlok is shown walking many times, but he has an unnaturally even gait that has little to no bounce, making him almost appear to scuttle instead of striding.
81	* HappilyMarried: Hutter and Ellen are deeply in love. She pines for him the entire time he's gone, and is doing a needlework that reads "Ich liebe Dich"[[note]]"I love you" in German[[/note]] during the sequence where the townfolk are trying to catch Knock.
82	* HaveAGayOldTime: The soil in Orlok's coffins (that allows Orlok to travel away from his grave) is referred to as "goddamned soil" - as in, literally damned by God - in some prints.
83	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Ellen reads in the book that Hutter brought back from Transylvania that a vampire can be killed when "a sinless maiden makes the Vampire forget the first crow of the cock - if she was to give him her blood willingly." Thus, she deliberately lets Orlok feed on her to distract him until [[WeakenedByTheLight sunrise]], and she dies soon after.]]
84	* HollywoodDarkness: All the exterior night scenes are given a blue tint to suggest darkness.
85	* IdiotBall: Hutter, don't you know to never cut towards yourself?
86	* LeanAndMean: Orlok is skeletally thin. And yes, he's a very completely evil blood-sucking monster.
87	* LooksLikeOrlok: TropeNamer. Quite a contrast to the suave, attractive vampires that make up so much of the rest of vampire fiction (and a bit of a diversion from the old cranky man that Dracula himself started out as).
88	* LoveTranscendsSpacetime: At the very moment when Orlok is readying himself to feed, fatally, on Hutter, Ellen has a sudden panic attack -- which somehow makes the vampire back down and leave Hutter alive.
89	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Hutter tells his wife that he is heading to "the country of thieves and ghosts"--and he seems [[MoodDissonance awfully excited about it too]]!
90	* ObviouslyEvil: Orlok is a skeleton-thin, hairless man with CreepyLongFingers who acts very shady, but Hutter suspects nothing.
91	* OneWordTitle: As the name of the monster, also an AntagonistTitle.
92	* OnlyThePureOfHeart:
93	** Only an innocent young woman's willing sacrifice of her blood to distract the vampire from the coming dawn can destroy him.
94	** The animated UsefulNotes/{{Swi\|tzerland}}ss parody "Nosferatu Tango" drives a stake into this trope: The innocent young woman took Brand ZZZZZ sleeping pills, which also lay Nosferatu to (eternal) sleep when the morning comes.
95	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: As noted above, this film originated the idea that vampires burn in sunlight. Also, Schreck's vampire is rather uniquely portrayed as [[LooksLikeOrlok a rat-like monster]] and the personification of pestilence, as well as having a considerable resemblance to some kind of ghost. There are numerous scenes where Orlok seems to materialise or dematerialise at will (such as when carrying his coffin into his new lair), as well as the famous sequence where Orlok seems to sneak into Hutter's home as a disembodied shadow.
96	* PickedFlowersAreDead: Ellen, in the opening scene, chides Hutter for picking some flowers for her.
97	-->Why have you killed them...the beautiful flowers...?!
98	* PivotalWakeup: Orlok rising from his coffin in this manner on the ship is the TropeMaker, and one of the creepiest moments in the movie.
99	* ThePlague: When Orlok arrives in Wisborg, he brings disease with him.
100	* {{Plaguemaster}}: The most significant difference between Count Orlok and Count Dracula is that the former has the ability to bring pestilence all across Europe via rats in coffins full of dirt.
101	* TheRenfield: Knock, who was already under Orlok's control before the start of the film.
102	* RoyalDecree: Plague victims are decreed to be kept out of the hospital to stop the spread of the disease.
103	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Count Orlok is shown loading his coffins onto a horse-drawn wagon by himself (whereas Count Dracula had hired a caravan of Romani to do this this in the book and [[Film/BramStokersDracula the 1992 film]]). He's even shown carrying his coffin to his new home later on. Of course, the absence of any noticeable servants at his residence should be some cause for concern on Hutter's part, if the innkeeper's warnings and the [[LooksLikeOrlok Count's]] [[ObviouslyEvil appearance]] hadn't already been.
104	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When the first mate goes into the cargo hold and sees Count Orlok rise from one of the coffins, he immediately freaks out, runs back atop the ship and jumps into the ocean, much to the confusion and horror of the captain.
105	* SettingUpdate: Inverted, with the action moved from 1890s England to 1830s Germany - what's called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biedermeier Beidermeier period]]. At least one restoration of the film gives it a time stamp of 1838, approximately 60 years before ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' was set and published. This does track with some of the visual details like Ellen's hair and dresses, as well as the less advanced science and technology in the narrative, most of which were overtly based on Beidermeier paintings.
106	* SilentAntagonist: Being a SilentMovie Orlok has some unheard and written dialogues only in his scenes with Hutter. After leaving him at the castle he has no more lines.
107	* SilentMovie: Commonly regarded as one of the greatest.
108	* SoundtrackDissonance:
109	** Some versions of the film feature a near-constant usage of a strange, cheerful little tune that sounds more like it would belong in an old WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse cartoon than a classic horror movie. It becomes increasingly hard to get into the mood of the film when this song is in nearly every other scene, even in perfectly innocuous ones, such as the simple act of walking up stairs.
110	** Most modern releases of the movie come with two soundtracks: A conventional period orchestra score, and an organ score. On paper, this sounds like a great idea, due to the instrument's association with vampires, and it fitting the theatrical nature of silent films. The problem lies with the fact that 75% of the soundtrack consists of extremely dissonant {{Scare Chord}}s played at full volume, often times with ''{{Music/Yes}}''-esque baroque arpeggios. This works well in actually scary moments, when the music progression is natural and unexpected. However, when mundane or even happy moments are scored in the exact way, it not only leads to mood dissonance, but it actually nullifies the scare impact of the music, as most listeners will just grow fatigued of it.
111	* StopMotion: Used in a deliberately crude manner for scenes of Orlok's carriage ride and other shots in which Orlok is moving around. This results in a creepy, unnatural effect befitting a ghastly monster.
112	* SupportingProtagonist: Hutter. His wife Ellen's presence protects him from Orlok while he's in Transylvania, and it is only through her [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] that Orlok is killed.
113	* SwarmOfRats: Orlok brings them with him aboard his ship. This is played up in the remake, where Orlok had ''a lot'' more rats.
114	* TerrifyingPetStoreRat: The SwarmOfRats includes several of the hooded (dark head, white body) variety, which is a domesticated strain of rat.
115	* TorchesAndPitchforks: One of the earliest instances on film, when the villagers organize a mob to hunt down Knock, mistakenly believing that he is the vampire. Unable to find him, they settle for tearing apart a scarecrow. Some film scholars have interpreted this scene as a comment on the atmosphere of misdirected, unproductive rage that was building in Germany at the time, and would eventually contribute to the rise of fascism.
116	* UncertainDoom: The crew member who jumps overboard to escape Orlok. We don't know if he drowned or stayed afloat long enough to reach land or be rescued by another ship, though the first option seems more likely.
117	* VampireBitesSuck: Orlok's needle-like incisors leave two small pinprick-holes in the victim's throat. After Hutter is first bitten, he mistakes the wounds for mosquito bites.
118	* WeakenedByTheLight: Sunlight makes Orlok catch fire and disappear. (As noted above, this film is the TropeMaker.)
119	* WeatherSavesTheDay: Despite being a thinly veiled stealth-adaptation of ''{{Literature/Dracula}}'', the film's Van Helsing equivalent, Bulwer, has a greatly diminished role. Count Orlok is instead anticlimactically killed by an unexpected sunrise rather than being slain by Hutter and a Quincey Morris equivalent.
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121	----
122	->''"[[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants Nosferatu!]]"''
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Context Film / Nosferatu