Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
In 1838, in the fictional town of Wisborg, Thomas Hutter, a young notary’s clerk who is happily married to Ellen, has to travel to Transylvania to sell a property to Count Orlok, who wants a residence in the town. After a journey through a land of shadows, the young man is welcomed into a sinister castle by the Count. During the transaction, Orlok catches sight of a miniature of Ellen, who fascinates him and decides to buy the building – close to the couple’s home – that has been offered to him. Hutter, the Count’s host, soon discovers the Count’s true nature. Nosferatu makes his way to his new property, spreading a plague in his wake. Ellen, soon to fall prey to Nosferatu’s clawed hands as he covets her, will let the Count make her his victim and sacrifice her blood to the vampire to save the plague-stricken town.
Description
This film is freely adapted from the novel Dracula without having the rights to it. For this reason, some names and details have been changed from the novel. Count Dracula becomes Count Orlok.
The film was the subject of a lawsuit brought by the writer’s widow, which in 1925 resulted in a ruling requiring the destruction of all illegal copies. The ruling was not enforced, however, and several copies were circulating in the United States and France from the 1930s onwards.
Director : Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Screenplay : Henrik Galeen, based on Bram Stoker
Country : Germany
Length : 94 minutes
Release date : 1922
This video was transcribed and subtitled (French) by Collectif Alirebleco for Le Voxographe.
