In Nosferatu, the corrupting power of the vampire is linked to that most symbolically potent infectious disease, bubonic plague, with its centuries of history and the power to generate fear.
As noted, the use of shadow is pivotal in the film and is what makes it so terrifying. Though the chiaroscuro lighting dominates most of the film, the climactic end epitomizes how Murnau utilized the shadow as a storytelling and symbolic device.
In Stoker's novel, sunlight weakens vampires, but that doesn't stop the title villain from walking around during the day. Nosferatu's fiery demise was added by the filmmakers to make the climax more visually interesting.
In one of the film's scariest scenes, Nosferatu rises ominously from one of the coffins, terrifying the crewman. When the ship arrives in port, all the crewmen are dead, and the hatch of the hold opens as if by magic.
Nosferatu has been noted for its themes regarding fear of the Other, as well as for possible anti-Semitic undertones, both of which may have been partially derived from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula, upon which the film was based.
Background. Nosferatu are one of the fourteen vampire clans of Vampire: The Masquerade. The Nosferatu wear their curse on the outside. Their bodies horribly twisted and deformed through the Embrace, they lurk on the fringes of most cities, acting as spies and brokers of information.
The problem is, Nosferatu director F.W. Murnau adapted the 1897 novel without permission from Stoker's estate. The film's producer, Albin Grau, was inspired to make a vampire movie after learning about the lore in Serbia while serving in World War I.
“Nosferatu” is strictly 18-plus. Rupe said some trigger warnings include violence, full nudity and adult themes. Rupe said he wants the audience to feel a range of emotions when they leave the show.
The main plot innovation is the plague theme: Nosferatu's vampire brings hordes of disease-carrying rats which infect the town as he arrives by sea on the ill-fated Demeter.
Garlic, specifically the chemical compound allicin inside garlic, is a powerful antibiotic. Some European beliefs around vampires stated they were created by a disease of the blood, so a powerful antibiotic would “kill” a vampire.
Vampires also have objects that hurt them and/or reduce their abilities. Vampires hate garlic, running water, and objects associated with Christianity such as holy water and crucifixes. It's believed that vampires often need to be invited inside the place of residence of a human if the deed is in a human's name.
Break into Three: Ellen reads from Hutter's book. She learns that the only way to defeat the Nosferatu is if a sinless maiden gives her blood to it willingly, making it forget about the coming dawn until it is too late.
But the original Nosferatu almost vanished into celluloid history, because its screenplay was an unauthorized blatant rip of Bram Stoker's Dracula. That author's estate successfully sued for copyright infringement, with the result that the producers declared bankruptcy.
An overarching theme of Nosferatu's work is the menacing and supernatural figure of death, which Count Orlok represents. The quiet town of Wisborg appears to be a more or less typical small German town until the arrival of Count Orlok. Orlok brings death and disorder, very much like what World War I brought to Europe.
He is also one of the few monsters to be instantly recognisable, even in silhouette. Murnau makes spine-tingling use of his shadow – and once you see the outline of Orlok's domed, bald head, his pointed ears, his hunched shoulders, his stick-thin body and his snaking talons, you know who's on the prowl.
Jure Grando Alilović or Giure Grando (1578–1656) was a villager from the region of Istria (in modern-day Croatia) who may have been the first real person described as a vampire in historical records. He was referred to as a štrigon, a local word for something resembling a vampire and a warlock.
Nosferatu, portrayed by Max Schreck in Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922), is 6 foot 3 inches (1.91 m) tall. Nosferatu is an illegal adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, created by Prana-Film.
It's true: Nosferatu, the German silent classic directed by FW Murnau, was undeniably a Dracula knock-off – an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel with the names changed and the plot whittled down. Among the excised elements was Stoker's polymath-turned-vampire killer Van Helsing.
If Dracula is in fact Vlad Dracul “the Impaler”, as is suggested by references he makes to his past, then he was born between 1428 and 1431. The book takes place in the 1890s. Let's go with the publication date of 1897 as when it actually happens. That makes Dracula between 469 and 466 years old.
In Bram Stoker's original tale, it was never revealed precisely how he became the monster, although it was heavily implied through the research Van Helsing did into his past: when he was still alive, Dracula frequented “Scholomance”, a school of dark magic in Transylvania run by the Devil; it seems as though this was ...
