In this blog, we will look at the influence a director of a particular country, in our case Germany, to a director of that country's later generation. In this example, we will look at a film and its remake, and see how they represent the film movements they both were made during. We will look at F. W. Murnau's 1922 silent classic Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens and Werner Herzog's 1979 remake/homage Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht.
In 1922, F. W. Murnau made Nosferatu, a unauthorized adaptation of the Gothic novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Murnau made many changes in the transition of the novel to the screen; changing character names, settings, etc.
Now, the story was set in mid-19th century Germany, where a realtor, Hutter, is sent to Transylvania to help Count Orlok purchase a home in the city. Hutter then realizes that Count Orlok is a vampire and has trapped him in his abandoned castle, as Orlok is bent on taken Hutter's wife and bringing a plague of rats and death to the city of Wisborg.
The film is one of the most famous films of the German Expressionistic movements, which I talked about in the last post, and one of the earliest horror films, lending inspiration to later vampire films and other Dracula adaptations, such as the one that would come almost a decade later from Universal Studios (although an influence is more apparent in the Spanish-language version of Dracula rather than the English one).
The film is populated by the dark foreboding and the shadows that infest German Expressionistic films. The film makes use of post-production color, editing, 1920s film techniques (the carriage moving at impossible speed due to slow camerawork), and, of course, the use of shadows with the frame. The most infamous shot in the film shows Orlok going up the stairs of Hutter's home, almost as a shadow himself than as a full form, giving off the impression of the vampire's possession of the night, or the location and the overpowering of the character to whom he will suck the blood from.
One of the most notable features of the film is the appearance of Count Orlok, played by Max Shreck. A bald headed rat-looking creature is so different to the current vision of Dracula, the debonair theatre-goer, in the same "vein" as Lugosi or Langella or Oldman, who play the character with a sense of class. This Dracula is the bringer of death immediately from his stare. One would not wish to be caught in the shadows of his grasp.
With Nosferatu, we get an influence in German Expressionism as well as an influence in horror and one of the first notable films by director Murnau (even though a lawsuit with the Stoker estate caused the film production company to go bankrupt). as he moved on to more visual styles of filmmaking that become more and more lavish in approach, with The Last Laugh, Faust and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
In 1979, Werner Herzog attempts to remake the film with his vision, Nosferatu the Vampyre or Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht. The film follows the same story, taking more from the novel to fill out his version. There are very slight differences narratively, but visually the differences are massive. What Herzog did is try to emphasis on elements of the original film that weren't as iconic and make them his own, which is what is brilliant about this remake.
The film makes use of the beautiful landscapes that are presented when Harker (the realtor character) goes on his journey to Transylvania. We are hit by misty mountain, waterfalls and hills, set to the music of Popul Vuh, giving us a feeling of climbing down a misty mountain monastery. We get a dream like quality in the film.
Technology in Murnau's time was not equipped to capture the beauty of the lanscape, so there is more focus on the creation of suspense, like on the "haunted" ship going back to Wisborg. With the 79 version, you get a feeling of Herzog's own directorial visions in his depiction of landscapes (a trademark that can also be seen in many of his film, like in Aguirre, the Wrath of God).
We also get a performance from Klaus Kinski, a frequent collaborator with Herzog, who is the Count Dracula of this film. He lends a much different air to the vampire than Shreck, while still retaining a feeling of creepiness and unsettling nature.
The most interesting thing is how subdued Kinski is in the role (a man noted for his temper) giving all the more apprehension to what he does in the role. What is even more interesting is the hint of humanity to the role that is not given in the original. Orlok is a creature that feasts on blood, a hunter who you cannot control. Kinski's Dracula is one that is empathetic in a why, cause he is cursed to live a life feeding off the blood of others and cannot die.
With this film, Herzog made a fitting tribute to Murnau as well as one of the better remakes that has been made. Herzog represents a generation of German filmmakers in the New German Cinema movement, with other filmmakers like Fassbinder, Wenders, etc. The movement is noted for making "German" films for a small budget, usually in an art-house style. It was a big encouragement to filmmakers to make culturally German films.
But why would Herzog remake Nosferatu? Out of appreciation. In an interview, he said,
"As a German filmmaker, we had no real fathers to learn from, no points of reference. Our father’s generation sided with the Nazis or was forced into immigration so we were a generation of orphans. And you can’t work without having some sort of reference as to your own culture and the connection and continuity, so it was our grandfathers–Murnau, Fritz Lang, Pabst and others–who were our teachers, our guidance. For me, Murnau’s film Nosferatu is the best German film ever, and I somehow needed to connect, I had the feeling I had to go back my own roots as a filmmaker. As an homage to him, I chose to make this film.”
So, when Herzog needed inspiration, he returned to those German Expressionism directors, especially Murnau. He did this film as an homage to him. In a sense, Herzog felt that Murnau and his generation better captured the essence of German culture in their films than the films of his own "fathers", the directors before the New German Cinema movement.
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