How ‘Nosferatu’ Connects to ‘Dracula’, Explained

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Quick Links

  • ‘Nosferatu’ (1922) Made Major Changes to Dracula’s Story
  • ‘Nosferatu’ Was Destroyed at the Order of a German Court, But the Monster Didn’t Die
  • ‘Nosferatu the Vampire’ (1979) Added Another Layer to the Connection With Dracula
  • Where to Watch Each Version

As a cinephile who’s spent countless hours immersed in the world of cinema, I must admit that the evolution of Dracula and Nosferatu is nothing short of mesmerizing. The first silent film adaptation, F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu from 1922, set the stage for all vampire films to follow with its atmospheric and haunting portrayal of Count Orlock.

In 2024, the movie titled “Nosferatu” will be released, featuring Bill Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp, and Nicholas Hault. This film is part of a long series of vampire stories that have graced the silver screen. Although it’s not exactly the same story as Bram Stoker’s 19th-century novel “Dracula,” it shares connections with the original work and numerous adaptations that followed, particularly the 1922 horror film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror.

In addition to Nosferatu sharing ties with the legend of Dracula, the original film and its intricate past have given rise to numerous adaptations. Legal disputes, copyright battles, and a drive to breathe fresh life (or so to say) into the title character have all contributed to the enchantment and fascination surrounding his tale. The upcoming movie Nosferatu (2024), penned by writer Robert Eggers and directed by him, carries on the extensive legacy of Dracula and vampire cinema as a whole in this manner. Here’s an explanation of how that comes to pass.

‘Nosferatu’ (1922) Made Major Changes to Dracula’s Story

In my opinion, “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” directed by F.W. Murnau, is a captivating take on the classic vampire tale that deviates from Bram Stoker’s original “Dracula” novel in numerous ways. The title character, Nosferatu, is said to be derived from an Eastern European term for ‘vampire.’ Unlike the original story, this chilling saga unfolds not in England but in Germany during a bygone era, decades before Stoker’s work.

Unlike Count Dracula who merely weakened under the sun’s rays, Orlok was utterly vulnerable to sunlight. While Dracula created more vampires by turning them, Orlock only killed his victims. Furthermore, Orlok’s appearance was far more unsettling compared to Count Dracula, as he had long fingernails, no hair, oversized ears, and a distinctively shaped nose.

Apart from the variations in details, the core storyline of Nosferatu mirrored that of Dracula. Characters Orlok and Dracula were both portrayed as vampires, often leading to their confusion in people’s minds. This misidentification was one reason why Florence Stoker, Bram Stoker’s widow, sued the film production company, Prana Films, for using her husband’s work without permission. Primarily, it was because the movie asserted that it was based on her husband’s novel.

‘Nosferatu’ Was Destroyed at the Order of a German Court, But the Monster Didn’t Die

Following a court ruling in Germany that favored Florence Stoker in her lawsuit against Nosferatu, it was ordered that most copies of the movie be destroyed. However, given the difficulty in tracking down every single copy, many were indeed destroyed, but some remnants continued to exist. Silent film expert Brent Reid has stated this as his understanding.

Instead of a single authentic whole print, there are numerous ones that are mostly complete or just fragments. The existing versions of “Nosferatu” we have today are essentially assembled collections of these varying prints. In essence, it has involved piecing together the movie, often on a frame-by-frame basis.

Nosferatu continued to exist, much like opinions on the movie, whether they were favorable or unfavorable. For instance, The New York Times labeled Nosferatu as “not particularly captivating” back in 1929. However, at roughly the same time, a version titled The Twelfth Hour with a more optimistic ending was premiered in European theaters.

In 1931, the portrayal of Dracula by Bela Lugosi was significantly shaped by the character of Nosferatu, played by Max Schreck. Furthermore, the enduring popularity of Nosferatu, fueled by its clips and a growing underground following, has kept it relevant and influential in shaping global vampire folklore.

‘Nosferatu the Vampire’ (1979) Added Another Layer to the Connection With Dracula

In 1979, I was part of the team who brought Werner Herzog’s masterpiece, Nosferatu the Vampire, to life. This time around, we adopted the characters’ names from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, breathing new life into Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Count Dracula, and more. Essentially, we wove together elements from both Nosferatu and Dracula, creating a cinematic tapestry where these two foundational works became almost indistinguishable. Critics such as Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times hailed it as “A film of astonishing beauty and daring… not a horror picture but one of eerie wonderment and bizarre spectacle.

Roger Ebert had a comparable opinion: “This film isn’t frightening; it’s leisurely at times, bordering on meditative, but it presents the most stirring visual portrayal of the vampire concept I’ve encountered since F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu from 1922. It seems Herzog aimed to replicate this with his adaptation of the tale. Later, he expressed that his film, titled Nosferatu the Vampire, was an attempt to fill a gap, to reconnect to the grand cinema of the 1920s.

In the following years, stories about vampires similar to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) continued to merge elements of Dracula and Nosferatu. For instance, Coppola’s Dracula was described as “unusual” and it seems that his portrayal drew inspiration from Murnau’s Orlock. Moreover, writer Rick Worland noted that Coppola’s film sequences bore a strong resemblance to techniques used in German silent films.

Where to Watch Each Version

Movie Release Year Where to Watch
Nosferatu 1922 Prime Video
Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979 Prime Video
Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992 Prime Video
Nosferatu 2024 In Theaters

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2024-12-24 01:01