Comprehensive information and links about Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens ("A Symphony of Horrors" in GermanNosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens is a German Expressionist film shot in 1922 by F.W. Murnau. He had wanted to film a version of Bram Stoker's , but his studio was unable to obtain the rights to the story. Murnau decided to film his own version and made only slight changes to the story. The resultant movie has many similarities to Stoker's original tale.

"Dracula" became "Nosferatu" and the names of the characters changed, with Count Dracula changed to Count Orlok. The role of the vampire was played by Max Schreck. Other major actors in the film were Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder, and Alexander Granach.

This was the first film of the production company Prana-Film GmbH; it was also the last as they declared bankruptcy after Bram Stoker's estate—acting for his widow, Florence Stoker—sued for copyright infringement (plagiarism) and won. The court ordered all existing prints of destroyed, but a number of copies of the film had already been distributed around the world. These prints were then copied over the years, resulting in

With the influence of producer and production designer, Albin Grau, the film established one of two main lines of vampire depiction in movies. The "Nosferatu-type" is a living corpse with rodent features (especially elongated fingernails and incisors), associated with rats and plague, and neither charming nor erotic but totally repugnant. The victims usually die and are not turned into vampires themselves. The more common other line is the "Dracula-type" (established by Bela Lugosi's version of Dracula and perpetuated by Christopher Lee), a charming aristocrat adept at seduction and turning his victims into new vampires.

Parts of the film allegedly showing Transylvania were filmed in Slovakia. Nosferatu's castle, for instance, is the Orava castle in northern Slovakia.

Murnau's is in the public domain, and copies of the movie are widely available on video—usually as poorly transferred, faded, scratched video copies that are often scorned by enthusiasts. However, pristine restored editions of the film have also been made available, and are also readily accessible to the public.

Contrary to popular opinion, the word "nosferatu" does not mean "vampire", "undead", or anything else like that. The term originally came from the Old Slavonic word . This derivation makes sense when one considers that amongst western European nations, vampires were regarded as the carriers of many diseases.

("The Twelfth Hour") appeared in 1930. No credit for director is claimed, but a reference to "artistic adaptation" is given to Dr. Waldemar Roger. He apparently re-edited the original film with some of Murnau's discarded footage and changed the characters’ names (Count Orlok became Fürst Wollkoff). A new character and scenes were added. A young priest, Hans Behal conducted a Mass for the Dead, but censors cut the sequence because of its religious implications. Murnau probably knew the film existed, but it is unlikely that he ever saw this unauthorised adaptation, which unlike its original ended on a happy note.

In 1979, Werner Herzog directed a remake titled . Filmed on a shoestring budget (as was common for German films during the 1970s), and starring Klaus Kinski as the vampire, Herzog's was a critical success, considered by many to be a faithful homage to Murnau's original film. Herzog filmed two versions of the movie simultaneously, one in German and one in English. The actors spoke their own lines in English, meaning that their own voices are included in the English version of the film; they are not dubbed over by voice actors. Since by the time of Herzog's film the original Bram Stoker novel had gone into the public domain, Herzog used the character names from the novel.

In 1988, an Italian film rather intended to be a sequel to 1979 remake, titled starring Kinski as Nosferatu along with Donald Pleasence (as Don Alvise) was released. However, this film never achieved the success of Herzog's Nosferatu.

In 2001 Cleopatra Records released a DVD of the original silent film, replacing the original score with Industrial and Gothic Rock bands. Some artists included are Rozz Williams of the Death Rock band Christian Death and The Electric Hellfire Club.

In 2001 a version of the original Nosferatu was released on VHS with an introduction by David Carradine and a musical score by the heavy metal band Type O Negative. A DVD version was released in 2003

1988 U.K. based Gothic Rock band Nosferatu is formed, heavily influenced by classic horror, vampires, and vampyre subculture. series of videogames feature a magic spell called "Nosferatu", which allows the caster to absorb the hit points of another unit. series of films has visual cues from Nosferatu, including the grotesque, white face, and over-long fingers and nails. written by Mark Ellis with art by Rik Levins that provides an origin for Orlock seperate and distinct from Dracula. The series also portrays his career after the events of the Murnau's film.. He is seen terrorising a young woman in bed, but he offers betting tips and says "Monster, Monster!", was visually based on Nosferatu, having long nails, large bat-like ears, and a white, bald, head. In the episode "Why We Fight" there is also a Nosferatu-looking vampire on board a submarine, though it is implied he is actually supposed to be Count Orlok. Also in the seventh and final season of Buffy, the protagonists fight a race of ubervampires called the Turok-Han who are also very reminiscent of Nosferatu.1999– Jean-Marc Lofficier wrote a trilogy of graphic novels based on German expressionist film, the second of which was titled . Batman's costume was remodeled to resemble Orlok's, but most of the plot came from a less well-known film, , imagining that actor Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) was himself a vampire, and that director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) was complicit in hiring the creature for the purposes of realism. feature the recurring villain NOS-4-A2, a robot that feeds off of the energy of anything mechanical.2002- Jill Tracy and The Malcontent Orchestra release the CD "Into the Land of Phantoms," selections from their acclaimed score to Nosferatu. a member of the Iscariot Organization refers to the main character Alucard as "Nosferatu Alucard" in reference to his dispicable demeanor.) when speaking about movements for the character is quoted as saying, "In fact, we talked about Fagin as well as classic vampire movies, including