Nosferatu Analysis

            Anyone who has ever seen one of the several adaptations of Dracula as a movie will know that it was intended to be a horror story.  Stoker goes to great lengths in order to create an

The story of Nosferatu is a tale of xenophobia that used heavy expressionism to display its stances. Without all of the expressionist elements for it, it would just be a bunch of people fearing migrant citizens as they don’t want their culture to be taken over by them. The added expressionism in the makeup, cinematography, acting, and set design added a more fearful and anxious tone to the film. The people of yesterday and today fear everything that Orlok stood for such as madness, disease, and lust as they still believe foreigners will bring all of those things to their home countries. The imagery in the film warned us about the power of Nosferatu and that he was something not to be tampered with. All of these techniques formed Murnau’s masterpiece film and it set the standard for the horror films of yesterday and today.

More often than not, dramatic irony causes the novel to not be as gripping as it could be since the readers already know a large part of the suspense. However, in the case of Dracula, it is anything but this. Dracula was one of the first novels of its kind and gave the readers a new kind of thrill and is as gripping as any of the contemporary horror novels. The dramatic irony actually acts as a means to keep the readers glued to the novel since the readers know what Jonathan’s fate will be but can do nothing but wait for the inevitable. As the novel proceeds, the readers cannot help but worry about the safety of Jonathan and this makes the novel very

Nosferatu is far less sexually explicit than Dracula, focusing on the fear of inexplicable evil intruding on the unified love of a married couple, rather than a women’s sexual position in society. Murnau explores this through the sleep walking, balcony scene, where Ellen reaches out with her arms, possessed, and the responder is left to question whether she is reaching for Orlok, or her husband Hutter. The fear of being controlled whilst subconscious, and unaware of what is happening – the notion of the supernatural, is a gothic convention employed by Murnau. Murnau in this scene also uses colour imagery to highlight the notion of duality, being another gothic convention. Ellen’s white robe, symbolising innocence and purity is a contrast to the black surroundings, emphasising the good versus evil convention.

The story of Nosferatu has its origins in the novel, Dracula, written by Bram Stoker in 1897. The historic story of Johnathan Harker, an innocent lawyer from England, who was lured to Dracula’s Castle to help the Count purchase land in London. Johnathan is nearly infected by three women vampires but escapes with his life. This scene reveals the Victorian Society’s ideas about Sexuality, which is a prevalent theme in Dracula. Count Dracula has been adapted numerous times over its 121-year life. Blacula is a horror movie which was released during the momentum of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1970’s. The movie features Mamuwalde, an African prince from the 1800’s, who upon his journey to Transylvania

    The protagonist and story of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula have been widely interpreted and adapted in films throughout many years. Despite almost a century of time since the initial publication, Dracula has maintained its ability to frighten and mesmerize readers. Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula; however, utilizes the erotic romance of the original novel in order to depict a tragic love story. The film accurately follows the general plot of the novel, yet presents the characters in a unique manner that provides for a different appreciation of the characters.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a story of horror, suspense, and repulsion. The main antagonist, Count Dracula, is depicted as an evil, repulsive creature that ends and perverts life to keep himself alive and youthful. To most onlookers that may be the case, but most people fail to see one crucial element to this character. Dracula is a character that, though it may be long gone, was once human, and thus has many human emotions and motives still within him. Let us delve into these emotions of a historically based monster.

Dracula is a signet classic novel written by Bram Stoker. This novel is portrayed by an antagonist character known as Count Dracula. He has been dead for centuries yet he may never die. He has a peculiar power of hypnotic fascination but he is weak in god’s daylight. He is immortal as long as he is able to drink blood from the living. He can change his form into a wolf, a bat or a puff of smoke. Dracula get in touch with Jonathan Harker through a real estate transaction. He went to Dracula’s castle through a carriage as were planned. After a few days, he felt as if he were prisoned in the castle as his movements were restricted. Meanwhile, Harker has a fiancée named Mina

Characterization is the way the author has developed or revealed the personality of a character in a literary work. Van Helsing’s nature enables him to be a threat that Dracula fears the most. Van Helsing says, “Ah, my child, that I do; and indeed there is no wish of me to add to your anguish. But just think, what can we do, until the world be at movement? I have thought and thought, and it seems to me that the simplest way is the best of all. Now we wish to get into the house, but we have no key; is it not so?” Van Helsing’s words show readers that he has a caring, compassionate personality, and although he knows it is important to comfort his friends, he keeps a level and clever perspective on their dire situation. It is Van Helsing’s tenderness towards those he loves, such Jonathan and Mina Harker, that display how determined he is to end the Count’s torment of innocent souls. His ability to think logically in any situation also deepens his offense against Dracula. When Jonathan is upset and wants to take immediate action against the Count, Van Helsing analyzes the problem clearly, announcing that the best path of action would to be wait for morning and hire a locksmith to enter the Count’s house in Piccadilly. His simplistic yet brilliant way of thinking, along with his great sympathy for others, proves that Van Helsing is a

Even more, the nauseating “cruel-looking” (49) creature described in the novel is turned into a charming young Gary Oldman. Although Coppola starts the film with a brilliant representation of Stoker’s monster, he seems to embellish on the younger Dracula (12:44-13:00). In the novel Dracula becomes younger by gorging himself with blood, but Jonathan Harker describes him “like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion” (83). Coppola makes the monster more of a human, and the audience can feel for his and Mina’s love affair. Also, Jonathan seems distant from Mina, and this makes the love is even more

The novel Dracula had, and still has an immense effect on horror through its use of literary elements which are observable in horror movies. Bram Stoker's Dracula was revolutionary in its use of literary devices such as dramatic irony, to convey suspense, and the use of sexuality in literature. These devices were adapted to film in early horror movies and continue to appear till today. Dracula was very influential to the film industry when it comes to horror movies because horror movies draw a lot of devices used in Dracula and use them in their movies, this can be seen in movies such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the movie adaptation of Dracula.

Silent horror films continued throughout the early 20th century. Some of the most famous horror films of this era included; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), The Golem (1920), and Nosferatu (1920). These films feature a mad doctor, a vampire, and a monster that is never seen. (Wilson) These monsters were some of the very first to be introduced to horror but certainly not the last.

Bram Stoker’s ingenious piece of work on writing Dracula has set the expectation for gothic novels all over the world and time to come. The mindset of writing Dracula through the Victorian Era really sets the tone for the reader by creating a spine-tingling sensation right through the novel. With this in mind, Stoker wouldn’t have been able to succeed his masterpiece without the effective uses of symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, and its overall theme.

I feel it would be very challenging to produce such a complex story under the constraints of such a short film.     I believe my experience to be very typical of someone who has never watched a full-length silent film, I was gripped with curiosity on how this film would tell the great story of Dracula without the stereotypical screams and jump scares that horror movies today bring to the screen. I feel like the film did a fantastic job of telling the story with the limitations of being able to use sound. I will be very interested in watching another full-length silent film from that era to see the difference in writing and filming styles. I would also be interested in re-watching Nosferatu during the night time to see if that elevates the experience of watching a horror in the

   The legendary creature Dracula has mesmerized readers and viewers for nearly a century. In Bram Stoker's masterpiece, Dracula, the infamous monster affects each reader in a different way. Some find the greatest fear to be the sacrilegious nature of his bloodsucking attacks, while others find themselves most afraid of Dracula's shadow-like omnipresent nature. The fascination with Dracula has assimilated into all parts of society. Dracula can now be seen selling breakfast cereals, making appearances on Sesame Street, and on the silver screen. Countless film adaptations of Stoker's original novel have been undertaken by the some of the most skilled directors in Hollywood including,