With the release of the latest version of Nosferatu about to hit the big screens it feels like there has never been as much interest in this unique piece of cinema history. Yes, we had the 100th anniversary of the film only a few years ago, but that was only something that caught the attention of those already aware of the film. The new adaptation from the hugely popular Robert Eggers has ignited an interest in the iconic character, and with the release only a few weeks away now's the perfect time to five into the history of one of the first icons of horror cinema.
Nosferatu: The Real Story is a new documentary film from New Wave Pictures that brings together a number of experts on the topic, including authors, cinema historians, and horror aficionados, to provide important insight on the topic. The film begins before Nosferatu, giving the viewer some much needed background on German cinema at the time, as well as the history and personal lives of the people chiefly responsible for its creation.
This part of the film was somewhat unexpected, and I was surprised when the movie veered away from Nosferatu to discuss German expressionist films and early horror movies, as well as figures like the notorious Alistair Crowley. However, I soon forgot that I was watching a documentary about Nosferatu, and found myself becoming absorbed in the wider topic. It was incredibly interesting to learn about German cinema of the time, and seeing some of the footage from these films was eye opening for how unique they looked. It's easy to slip into the black and white films of the 1950's when you're asked to think about old movies, films that didn't really try anything special in terms of cinematography or effects, but the films show here feel more daring and advanced than many of them despite being from decades before. It makes you want to go out and find some of these other movies, and makes you lament somewhat that cinema went much more realistic instead of following this more expressionistic approach.
After some stage setting the film moves onto the main event, and it begins to discuss the 1922 film and its production. For those coming to Nosferatu without knowing much of the history this part of the film will be packed with surprises, with even the most well known piece of trivia about the movie, that it was basically a knock-off version of Dracula that tried to get around copyright laws, is handled in such a way that it's not expected that you would know that, and the facts are covered in such a way to still be interesting for those that do.
One piece of information that was the most surprising for me when it came to Nosferatu was that it was the origin of sunlight causing the death of vampires, something that I wasn't aware of despite being more knowledgeable of the film that the average moviegoer. It's the small things like this, the tiny titbits of information that are thrown in by the people who know this topic better than anyone else that makes the movie the most enjoyable. The film also discusses the impact of the movie, how it went on to inspire other films, how it ran into trouble with the Stoker estate and was nearly permanently lost to time, and how it had remakes in later years.
The film is packed with footage from the various versions of Nosferatu, as well as other movies from the era, all of which are presented in great quality. It seems like the documentary went out of its way top try and find the best looking versions of the films to include here, and the footage used throughout might be the best looking 1920's German expressionist cinema clips I've ever seen. There's an attention to detail and quality throughout that shows effort was put into presenting the topic in the best way possible.
Whether you're coming to this film as a fan of the original film, or as someone checking it out for the first time thanks to your interest being piqued by the upcoming Eggers version, Nosferatu: The Real Story is a film that will inform and entertain in equal measure, making you want to go out and watch several of the films that it references.
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