We've had our Halloween decorations out since the beginning of the month. Well, really, I guess they're
my decorations more than anything, but since mom insists on putting out an entire Christmas village that takes over half the living room every year no one really complains about my window display or the little horror themed knick-knacks I put around the house.
Nosferatu
No idea where this poster came from. I just picked the one I liked the most.
TCM has silent movie night on Sundays and they decided to show this little gem. I actually have this as part of a boxed set, but the film quality isn’t too hot (and the score is kinda crackly, too), so I decided to give it a re-watch.
Do you really need a summary? Yes? All right then…Do you know the story of Dracula? Blood-sucking Count uproots from Transylvania and causes utter havoc in another town?
”Dilapidated, dank house. Perfect for conversion or the ravenous undead. Inquire within.”
Ring a bell? Great, because this is the story of Dracula. The names have merely been changed to protect the pocketbooks of a few “Oops! We forgot to ask for permission to do this and now we’re getting sued!” filmmakers. All of the copies of the film were supposed to be destroyed, but lucky for us the film, like all good vampires, was hard to kill and not all of the copies of the film ended up being destroyed.
This film is known for its imagery and it certainly delivers. The use of shadow is probably one of the most memorable features.
Damn bothersome groping shadows.
But Count Orlok also makes for an imposing figure as well (once he takes that little beanie off his head.) The tall, slender frame, baldhead, pointy teeth, the way he rises out of the coffin and even the contrast of the dark coat and pale skin make for a striking image.
It's creepy, right?I mean, just look at him. He like a vampiric Slenderman.
Although, there are a couple of moments where he comes off looking a little goofy.
Did anyone see that….Nah, I’m probably fine.
The movie originally had a live orchestra, but the original score was lost to time. So since the film has now fallen into the public domain, the score you get will depend on what version you watch. The one TCM aired was fine and dandy, but there were a couple of cues that bordered on the comical. Considering the rest of the score those two instances stood out quite a bit and temporarily sucked me out of the moment.
No…not Chopsticks…Anything…but that…
The film moves along at a pretty good pace, though it does have it’s slow parts. One in particular where Orlok spends five minutes wandering around town carrying a coffin filled with dirt. Why dirt?
Oh. Thank you, movie.
And though a series of cuts you see him do this six different times.
Six…
Freaking..
Different…
Times…
Oh. Now we get to see the same thing on a boat…..Why?
Was it necessary to show it six times? Wouldn’t half of that been enough? It’s a small thing to note, I know, but for some reason that really suck out for me.
And really, it wouldn’t have normally bothered me, but this was also one of the aforementioned scenes where I thought the music was questionably too…humorous? Upbeat? So you end up with Orlok walking down the streets, carrying a coffin of dirt and looking around to make sure no one is following him, all set to a piece of music that was a little bit to bouncy for my tastes. And to top it off all I could hear in my head the whole time this was happening was Johnny Depp’s voice singing “I’ve got a jar of dirt. I’ve got a jar of dirt.”
F*ck you, Jerry Bruckheimer. F*ck you straight to hell.
I’m sure this movie was freaking terrifying to moviegoers in 1922, but it’s lost a bit of it’s bite (haha) since then. Still, it’s easy to see how this film has influences so many others. The films striking images and dream-like feel are still mesmerizing even after repeat viewings and with it so easily available in DVD collections and Youtube there’s really no reason not to experience it.
