• -Home
• -History
• -Cause
• -Definition
• -Facts
• -Bram Stoker
• -The Movie
• -About
• -Contact Us
• -Buy Items

Nosferatu: The 1922 Movie

Nosferatu, was the first “vampire” movie ever made. It was a silent film created by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1888-1931) and released by Prana Films in 1922. The film was based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and in fact, Murnau intended on naming his film “Dracula”. However, Murnau failed to obtain copyright permission and attempted to disguise the film by changing the film’s storyline and name. In the story he changed Dracula to Graf Orlock and gave him the appearance of a dead corpse. He also added the idea that vampires spread a plague like disease and are killed by exposure to sunlight. He was desperate for a name for his film and decided to rename it "Nosferatu" two weeks before its release. All of these changes were to no avail as Prana Films was sued by Stoker’s widow, Florence. The courts ruled in Stoker’s favor and ordered that all copies of the film and negatives be destroyed. Not all of the copies were destroyed and this film continues to be shown to this day. This film is considered to be a horror classic and was a remarkable film for its era. However younger audiences accustomed to modern day Hollywood productions may not be as impressed as the film critics. Also this film does not accurately portray the Nosferatu in general, as they do not always look like corpses, spread the plague, or die when exposed to sunlight. Still this is a creepy horror film worth watching and an achievement for its time.

Other Movies