The scene in “Faust” where Mephisto rises over the village, his cape blotting out everything, is still jaw-dropping to this day. I get chills every time I see it.
These films are a century old, and have never lost their ability to amaze thrill and entertain. Film magic caught forever. An astounding video, of rare quality.
I often point out to people I discuss such things with, that while I respect the need for copyright laws, "Nosferatu" is a perfect example of how overzealously protecting a copyright could have (and legally would have) robbed society of a great piece of cinema and art. I also note that there are those people in the film industry who rightfully revere the film but also talk about stringently protecting copyrights at all costs and don't realize that the fact they can watch this film at all in this day and age is due, in effect, to video piracy. Technically, it is illegal for it to exist. Copyrights are meant to be about ownership and fairness, but taken to extremes, it can ironically rob the culture.
MattHawes I see your point, but the fact that Nosferatu is a classic due to the direction doesn’t take away the fact that story wise it’s pretty close to Stoker’s work. If someone copied my work to this extent without renumeration, I would’ve done something as well. Maybe try to reach a compromise rather than demand all prints destroyed though.
@@lordoshower3478 Oh, I am not arguing against copyright protections, but rather the extreme lengths such laws can go to, and the inflexibility of the law or the copyright holders in such instances. It's very much a gray area, or should be.
@@MattHawes Prana films who produced Nosferatu are definitely in the wrong, but the court ordering the negatives to be destroyed seems a harsh judgement - destroying one piece of art doesn't defend the other. Really they should have demanded royalties for the Stoker estate.
Personally I consider Orlok his own character. He possesses many abilities the original Dracula did no possess, such as Telekinesis, but is also more Demonic than Human like a Vampire would appear to imitate. His Sharp Incisors instead of fangs and Claws instead of Nails, he is a very unique character, especially since the Original Dracula, as well as Carmilla, could walk in the sunlight while the Sun was deadly to Orlok. Orlok is more of a Demon than a traditional Vampire.
I believe it was an alias chosen specifically for the film. At least that was what I was taught back in the '60's at Hunter College (of New York City University) in their first ever film history course.
Excellent mini-docu, well-researched, flawlessly written. Please do more like this one. How awful that so many under-30s won't even watch a B&W film, let alone a silent one.
It's so important to have someone with both appreciation and understanding point out what makes a piece of art special. Nosferatu is obviously iconic and retains a creepy quality even today but without context can come across as corny. I've always liked Nosferatu but hadn't put together before your video that the vampyr is an expressionist style element invading an otherwise naturalistic film, just as the strange, supernatural foreigner is invading London in the novel. This and your explanation of the film's structure has given me a far greater appreciation of Nosferatu. Thanks for making this amazing video!
I actually grieve the fact that Murnau died so early in life, much like other great artists like Mozart, Beethoven (if only for a year or two longer), and Schubert. His films were so emotionally impactful and I just have to wonder how he would have crafted something that contained dialogue.
On the other hand, maybe it's for the best that he didn't end up having to make all his future films under Gœbbels and Riefenstahl before ending up in a prison with a purple triangle sewn onto his uniform.
@@DistractedGlobeGuy He had moved to America and lived there for around four years prior to his untimely death. Like director Ernst Lubitsch and actor Conrad Veigt, who also moved to America in the 1920s, F. W. Murnau wasn't under any obligation to move back to Germany, especially if he felt that they'd be in physical danger from the Nazis. Lots of German and Jewish European actors and other film-industry people swarmed to America to escape from Nazi tyranny. So, there's no reason to feel like his death was something fortunate because he would have otherwise suffered under Nazi rule. He could have lived an otherwise healthy and successful life away from Hitler and his goons.
This is an exceptional retrospective. But, then again, it's what I have come to expect from your efforts. Not only are these longer presentations filled with extraordinary in-depth information, they also present exceptional insight into the motivations of those involved with these various film productions. To wit, I can only say; "Well done, gentlemen". Your work serves to seriously enhance our enjoyment of these film masterpieces.
I was so engaged in this that I loudly clapped my hands while shouting "Bravo" at the end. Well done sir! This was a fantastic TH-cam experience for me!
@Dark Corners Reviews THANK YOU so much for all the superb videos you've made. They have a enchanting depth of passion. Because of you, and many others, new people are being educated and introduced to cinema treasures. The videos I've watched for the last few days are: Christopher Lee & Hammer, the Frankenstein series & Hammer, Lon Chaney Jr & the Wolfman films and finally, the Golem and of course, this video about Murnau's films. I still remember watching "Nosferatu" in the 80s, as a little boy, in the afternoon. My beloved Grandma said "That's a very scary film". She was born in 1907, so she would've been a young lady when it appeared on the silver screen. The films themselves, are priceless. The fact (as you said) 80% of films made before 1930 are gone forever IS simply heart breaking. Just IMAGINE what we could've learned about the films and the people who made them? As a Doctor Who fan, I am very aware of how episodes were junked or have been discovered in the most unlikely places. But of course, when something long lost IS found? It is both an eye opening experience as it is a great tribute to the amazing people who created the magic. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year 2023, David
An amazing tribute to F.W. Murnau. Robin's narration is very good and the amount of research that you guys must have done definitely shows in the final product. It's too bad that so many of Murnau's films have been lost, but we can at least enjoy the ones that were saved.
I have watched this movie multiple times and still love it thank God that some of the copies survived destruction (truly an un-dead film) from an upset widow Ms. Stoker who had the copyright association order the film destroyed
Murnau's "Nosferatu" as well as Lang's "Der müde Tod" introduced me to the work of Fritz Arno Wagner, who by the way died during work in my hometown. Wagner has been a genius and I wonder if a film like "Nosferatu" would have been as brillant as it became without him. His camera work at films like "Nosferatu", "Der müde Tod" and also Lang's "M" is pure piece of art.
Possibly the best of your video essays, as it unearths the hidden gems and themes of a director both internationally known and yet so mysterious. It was a great watch, truly.
I really appreciated the comparison between NOSFERATU and FAUST. Never thought of it this way before. But it shows really well how unique both of these movies are, especially NOSFERATU. Greetings from Germany! :-)
I’ve been watching your programs for a couple of years now and am very impressed with your historical retrospects. The Frankenstein Series, Lon Chaney, King Kong.....keep it up!
I now know why Murnau's Faust is as celebrated as Nosferatu in cinema's history. And thanks to you, my friend, I know I MUST see Faust. Murnau's images are so powerful. I know Nosferatu by heart. It's time to chase after Faust. I hope it's not too hard to find....
This is a beautiful retrospective, perhaps your finest work to date. Given the scattered and incomplete nature of his back-catalogue, this really helped me to understand the journey of Murnau's work. I have loved Nosferatu for many years and now I know which other films to seek out, so thank you for that. No-one has used shadows like Murnau in nearly 100 years since. Personally, I think Orlok is the greatest cinematic vampire of all time, and not just for pre-dating most. Lugosi and Lee come close, but it's that sense of a monster straining to appear human that makes Orlok so compelling.
I really enjoyed this excellent mini-doc. I've seen a couple of Murnau's films ("Nosferatu" and "Sunrise") and I want to see even more. Thanks for making this!
That video is diferent because instead of just goong trough the chronology of the films releases, you go back and forth telling a history about the rhymes in the visuals and the scrypts, linking them. I like it.
This was an excellent analysis. I'm generally not into horror movies, but Murnau is one of my favourite directors, and the way you brought attention to the details and the fineness of his genius is truly meritorious. Thank you for this.
I really loved this and appreciate the work you did...and continue to do in all your videos. Despite the film now being over 100 years old,Nosferatu's Count Orlock remains the creepiest and most chilling vampire ever put to screen.
I saw Nosferatu with a live orchestra playing about 5 years ago. Amazing. This is a bitter/sweet video. I hate hearing about lost films, but a great deconstruction of this film in its era.
Nosferatu is probably the most artistic version of Dracula ever created. Unfortunately, Bram Stoker's widow sued and forced all prints to be destroyed. Luckily, a few prints survived, so we still have decent copies of this great film.
Yeah thank god too to be honest bram stokers family are just a bunch of petty little goblins trying to destroy all of the copies of the film because it’s slightly similar is just plain ridiculous
Thank you for the information about one of my favorite films. I never really knew very much about Murnau's other work, and now I am eager to see them. Thank you for the excellent presentation.
Amazing short documentary! I totally forgot I was subscribed to this channel and now, in my hour of need (i.e. when I have an analytical paper on Murnau’s Nosferatu due in 9 hours), you come to give me fresh inspiration. Thank you!
It's great to finally see this. You guys did a fantastic job. This made me even more interested in Murnau than I was before. Nosferatu is one of my favorite films of all time, but his other work also looks brilliant, especially Faust.
This video is a Godsend! I'm about to start studying German Expressionism at college and wow this has helped so much. Thank you for taking the time to make this video you don't even know how much this helped me out.
I happened to stumble upon this documentary quite accidentally, and I’m so glad I did! I’ve watched it probably four different times maybe even five... showing it to other people and I think it was very well done…it not only gave me an appreciation for Murnau the man and additionally his works, and of course Nosferatu (which I only decided to watch after seeing this documentary), but also an extreme appreciation for the evolution of film.. well done and good on ya!
Your channel is one of the most informative on you tube. You do a great job in every video. Murray was brilliant and his death, like Paul Leni's, was a major loss to film.
"Sunrise" is a fascinating Murnau film, too. There's horror in it, certainly... but the supernatural lurks somewhere else, leaving its audience to ponder love and redemption rather than death and danger.
0:00 It's interesting how Werner Herzog got rid of the staircase shot in his remake of Nosferatu - perhaps, because it was such a powerful image that he didn't want to screw it up, or maybe he just needed an easy way to distinguish between his version and the original.
Been a fan of Nosferatu for 13 years. Still learned something new from this video. Thank you so much! I simply adore the horror classics. I even wrote a book about the history of horror cinema)
Dark Corners Reviews, I value this in depth study. Your short humorous reviews are so well thought out, written, produced and performed. Been watching for a while. Subscribed.
Only just got round to watching this now and it was well worth waiting for. As usual this is fantastically put together. Your passion and knowledge always shines in these specials and it’s fascinating to watch. Taught me a lot and shows there’s more to Murnau than just Nosferatu :)
6:08 - 6:13 "...but the film is lost anyway." I don't know why, but I always laugh the many, MANY times I've rewatched this Retrospective and here that line.
One thing I got from the film was that the location of Graf Orlock's castle seemed closer than that of Count Dracula's. Hutter packs his things in a couple bags that he carries over his shoulder and walks most of the distance when he's not on horseback. Then there's the final stretch of his journey from the village to the castle in Orlock's carriage.
This was so well researched and beautifully put together. As a lover of the silent era as well as horror films, I'm really impressed with this presentation. High art on TH-cam! ! Who would have believed it? Well done. 👍😎
Just watched Nosferatu! Didn't realize the original was color graded, the one I watched was in a single color grade. I was really impressed with it, especially Shreck and Schröder's performances. Absolute classic!
Dark Corners Reviews I’d like that, Caligari is a film that I still find unnerving especially in it’s distorted perspective and use of shadows and angles.
I remember stumbling across the Salt storage warehouse in Lübeck in Northern Germany. We are yet to visit other location that were used but that build is used for one of the most famous images in an Horror film . As for Conrad Veidt he was an amazing actor who was fearless in the roles he played he played a Gay male in one German silent movie along with his now famed Horror roles and basically giving Batmans Joker his face. He was also also was a stauch anti Nazi to the point of taking on his wifes Jewish status and the risks that led to . He and his family moved to London were he was said to have given all his wealth to the UK war effort . He became a good friend of the next Horror legend and actor of Vampire Christpher Lee they played golf together whole Lee pick his brain for acting advice . He later moved to the USA we he made the Man who laugh ( the Joker look ) and moved from silent films into sound movies and helping with war effort before saddly dieing before he saw the Nazi's defeated or went onto a greater film roles. All these German films are great in one way or another and both the influence they left along with those escaped to tye USA and all went on to help create and develope the ways film were shot and made. Along with developing the whole Horror movie formate with the now classic Universal series of Horror movies. Even the master if suspence Alfred Hitchcock spent time in Germany at the UFA studio's and picked up many idea and methard he would later put to such good effects. These films are a gold mine for ideas many that challegen the polotics of the time through the medium of film.
I have read about Germanies film break throughs but, I have only seen Nosferatu. Too bad so many of Murnau's films have been lost.That being said,the film Metropolis was missing scenes. A few years ago a complete version was found in Argentina.(?) Maybe some some missing films will be found? Great video.Educational too.
I have been studying these movies for 30+ yeard and saw parts of film on this video I have never seen before. Very well done guys! Also informative. Imagine if he would have directed Frankenstein or Dracula for Universal. That would have been awesome.
@Robin. WOW. This review was awesome. I love all the fun reviews on the B-movies with the dialog audio clips and scenes and your funny observations' great fun but this serious review just blew me away. I totally enjoyed the background information and all the history and in depth look at the movies , their comparisons and about the actors and film makers. You offered such great background information and history that totally held my interest which is rare for my attention span.
Goes to show you all most contemporary directors have is visual effects while lacking the imagination and inventive of masters like Murnau. Great Video, Thanx!!!
Thanks his was excellent. Very interesting. Awesome job. Been really enjoying these “history” videos. Lon Chaney, hammer Dracula, etc.. keep up the great work.
Sepulchral excellence, as per usual. Great vid, guys. This is up there with the Chaney retrospective. It's also reminded me that i've never seen 'Phantom'. I'll have to remedy that at some point.
Very well done, interesting compariasons, highly informative. I had never seen fragments of Satanas, before. The digression on the screenwriters and the "who influenced who" logic is very interesting. Quality content, not at all easy to find on YT. The appearance of Mephisto in Faust, which frankly I think is amomg the very best 10 films ever made, is one of the most chilling moments I have seen in cinema. A true masterpiece.
Happy birthday Mr. Murnau! My favorite films that Mr. Murnau made are The Haunted Castle (1921), Nosferatu (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), Faust (1926), and Sunrise (1927).
I have just discovered your channel. What a masterful retrospective. I enjoy watching the rest of your back catalogue and what is to come. Thank you for the efforts!
The scene in “Faust” where Mephisto rises over the village, his cape blotting out everything, is still jaw-dropping to this day. I get chills every time I see it.
These films are a century old, and have never lost their ability to amaze thrill and entertain. Film magic caught forever. An astounding video, of rare quality.
I often point out to people I discuss such things with, that while I respect the need for copyright laws, "Nosferatu" is a perfect example of how overzealously protecting a copyright could have (and legally would have) robbed society of a great piece of cinema and art. I also note that there are those people in the film industry who rightfully revere the film but also talk about stringently protecting copyrights at all costs and don't realize that the fact they can watch this film at all in this day and age is due, in effect, to video piracy. Technically, it is illegal for it to exist. Copyrights are meant to be about ownership and fairness, but taken to extremes, it can ironically rob the culture.
MattHawes I see your point, but the fact that Nosferatu is a classic due to the direction doesn’t take away the fact that story wise it’s pretty close to Stoker’s work. If someone copied my work to this extent without renumeration, I would’ve done something as well. Maybe try to reach a compromise rather than demand all prints destroyed though.
@@lordoshower3478 Oh, I am not arguing against copyright protections, but rather the extreme lengths such laws can go to, and the inflexibility of the law or the copyright holders in such instances. It's very much a gray area, or should be.
@@MattHawes Prana films who produced Nosferatu are definitely in the wrong, but the court ordering the negatives to be destroyed seems a harsh judgement - destroying one piece of art doesn't defend the other. Really they should have demanded royalties for the Stoker estate.
@@robinbailes5236 I agree. Thanks for the response.
MattHawes don't tell that to my eighth grade English teacher. Some 38 years ago he made me love this movie
Personally I consider Orlok his own character. He possesses many abilities the original Dracula did no possess, such as Telekinesis, but is also more Demonic than Human like a Vampire would appear to imitate. His Sharp Incisors instead of fangs and Claws instead of Nails, he is a very unique character, especially since the Original Dracula, as well as Carmilla, could walk in the sunlight while the Sun was deadly to Orlok. Orlok is more of a Demon than a traditional Vampire.
It amuses me to no end that the actor playing Nosferatu is named Max Schreck. "Schreck" means "fright" in German XD
Maximum Fright !
@@twikirobot6897 Max, in this case, is short for "Maximilian", so Maximilian the Scary Dude.
I believe it was an alias chosen specifically for the film. At least that was what I was taught back in the '60's at Hunter College (of New York City University) in their first ever film history course.
@@robertmusacchio9409 As far as I know it was his actual name (Maximilian Schreck). Greetings from Germany :)
@@robertmusacchio9409 no it wasn't, as it has been shown that Max Schreck had a career before and after the film Nosferatu.
Excellent mini-docu, well-researched, flawlessly written. Please do more like this one. How awful that so many under-30s won't even watch a B&W film, let alone a silent one.
Thank you
Great point, if an unfortunate one.
Heck any film made before the early 2000s is judged as "too old" by many
I'm watching The Blue Angel (1930) and was brought here by Google. I'm a devotee of horror and welcome this information.
Wait, if that was you on the phone and the bus, then who was flickering the lights?
*Lights flicker*
Everyone: Nosferatu!
Great comments Check out THE DAILY DAN BLOG playlist VAMPIRE comics
It's so important to have someone with both appreciation and understanding point out what makes a piece of art special. Nosferatu is obviously iconic and retains a creepy quality even today but without context can come across as corny. I've always liked Nosferatu but hadn't put together before your video that the vampyr is an expressionist style element invading an otherwise naturalistic film, just as the strange, supernatural foreigner is invading London in the novel. This and your explanation of the film's structure has given me a far greater appreciation of Nosferatu. Thanks for making this amazing video!
Thanks a lot! It's been really rewarding taking a closer look at the films and trying to figure out how it works.
This channel is becoming the best horror movie review site on TH-cam... Great job....
I wholeheartedly concur!
I actually grieve the fact that Murnau died so early in life, much like other great artists like Mozart, Beethoven (if only for a year or two longer), and Schubert. His films were so emotionally impactful and I just have to wonder how he would have crafted something that contained dialogue.
On the other hand, maybe it's for the best that he didn't end up having to make all his future films under Gœbbels and Riefenstahl before ending up in a prison with a purple triangle sewn onto his uniform.
@@DistractedGlobeGuy He had moved to America and lived there for around four years prior to his untimely death. Like director Ernst Lubitsch and actor Conrad Veigt, who also moved to America in the 1920s, F. W. Murnau wasn't under any obligation to move back to Germany, especially if he felt that they'd be in physical danger from the Nazis. Lots of German and Jewish European actors and other film-industry people swarmed to America to escape from Nazi tyranny.
So, there's no reason to feel like his death was something fortunate because he would have otherwise suffered under Nazi rule. He could have lived an otherwise healthy and successful life away from Hitler and his goons.
This is an exceptional retrospective. But, then again, it's what I have come to expect from your efforts. Not only are these longer presentations filled with extraordinary in-depth information, they also present exceptional insight into the motivations of those involved with these various film productions. To wit, I can only say; "Well done, gentlemen". Your work serves to seriously enhance our enjoyment of these film masterpieces.
I was so engaged in this that I loudly clapped my hands while shouting "Bravo" at the end. Well done sir! This was a fantastic TH-cam experience for me!
Thank you for your kind words.
@Dark Corners Reviews THANK YOU so much for all the superb videos you've made. They have a enchanting depth of passion. Because of you, and many others, new people are being educated and introduced to cinema treasures.
The videos I've watched for the last few days are: Christopher Lee & Hammer, the Frankenstein series & Hammer, Lon Chaney Jr & the Wolfman films and finally, the Golem and of course, this video about Murnau's films.
I still remember watching "Nosferatu" in the 80s, as a little boy, in the afternoon. My beloved Grandma said "That's a very scary film". She was born in 1907, so she would've been a young lady when it appeared on the silver screen.
The films themselves, are priceless. The fact (as you said) 80% of films made before 1930 are gone forever IS simply heart breaking. Just IMAGINE what we could've learned about the films and the people who made them?
As a Doctor Who fan, I am very aware of how episodes were junked or have been discovered in the most unlikely places. But of course, when something long lost IS found? It is both an eye opening experience as it is a great tribute to the amazing people who created the magic.
Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year 2023,
David
An amazing tribute to F.W. Murnau. Robin's narration is very good and the amount of research that you guys must have done definitely shows in the final product. It's too bad that so many of Murnau's films have been lost, but we can at least enjoy the ones that were saved.
This review vid is simply amazing. Discovering Marnau has been a great joy. I'm a horror connoisseur but even 'Sunrise' blew me away.
Nosferatu is a stunning work of art. Beautiful.
Very nice documentary!
Attention: the director of Caligari is Robert Wiene, not Weine.
I nominate this video for an award.
Which award?
"All of them!" 😊
Robin, this is wonderful. I know you spent a lot of time on this-it shows. Thank you for this ‘long form’ video, it was worth the wait.
It has been a long wait for this one - thanks for you patience. I'm really glad people have enjoyed it.
I have watched this movie multiple times and still love it thank God that some of the copies survived destruction (truly an un-dead film) from an upset widow Ms. Stoker who had the copyright association order the film destroyed
This channel is still so underrated
Murnau's "Nosferatu" as well as Lang's "Der müde Tod" introduced me to the work of Fritz Arno Wagner, who by the way died during work in my hometown. Wagner has been a genius and I wonder if a film like "Nosferatu" would have been as brillant as it became without him.
His camera work at films like "Nosferatu", "Der müde Tod" and also Lang's "M" is pure piece of art.
Outstanding documentary. Murnau was an artistic genius and this video is a more than fitting homage.
Thanks for a tremendous, informative (and lovingly presented) mini-documentary!
Possibly the best of your video essays, as it unearths the hidden gems and themes of a director both internationally known and yet so mysterious. It was a great watch, truly.
I really appreciated the comparison between NOSFERATU and FAUST. Never thought of it this way before. But it shows really well how unique both of these movies are, especially NOSFERATU.
Greetings from Germany! :-)
I’ve been watching your programs for a couple of years now and am very impressed with your historical retrospects. The Frankenstein Series, Lon Chaney, King Kong.....keep it up!
Many thanks, our next look at Horror will be Christopher Lee and Hammer's Dracula franchise.
By far one of my favourites! Can't wait to watch this! ❤
The sped up photography and negative shot ARE GENIUS!!!!!
One of the best things I've ever seen and heard about those movies!
Great work here. Many thanks 😊
I now know why Murnau's Faust is as celebrated as Nosferatu in cinema's history. And thanks to you, my friend, I know I MUST see Faust. Murnau's images are so powerful. I know Nosferatu by heart. It's time to chase after Faust. I hope it's not too hard to find....
This is a beautiful retrospective, perhaps your finest work to date. Given the scattered and incomplete nature of his back-catalogue, this really helped me to understand the journey of Murnau's work. I have loved Nosferatu for many years and now I know which other films to seek out, so thank you for that. No-one has used shadows like Murnau in nearly 100 years since. Personally, I think Orlok is the greatest cinematic vampire of all time, and not just for pre-dating most. Lugosi and Lee come close, but it's that sense of a monster straining to appear human that makes Orlok so compelling.
"The style suits the story" brilliantly put. This video is fantastic!! subscribed.
I really enjoyed this excellent mini-doc. I've seen a couple of Murnau's films ("Nosferatu" and "Sunrise") and I want to see even more. Thanks for making this!
I'm in awe of him! I get everything of his I can, & it has all been worth it. Sunrise is something to worship. 🎥
I highly suggest watching Faust!
That video is diferent because instead of just goong trough the chronology of the films releases, you go back and forth telling a history about the rhymes in the visuals and the scrypts, linking them. I like it.
This brief documentary is an outstanding production. Well done on every level!
This was an excellent analysis. I'm generally not into horror movies, but Murnau is one of my favourite directors, and the way you brought attention to the details and the fineness of his genius is truly meritorious. Thank you for this.
I really loved this and appreciate the work you did...and continue to do in all your videos. Despite the film now being over 100 years old,Nosferatu's Count Orlock remains the creepiest and most chilling vampire ever put to screen.
"This film is no longer available due to a copyright claim by the Stoker family."
Get the blu-ray
I had my then 12 year old son watch this a few years ago. It still plays hell on the imagination!! He didn't sleep that night!! Lol
Thats rather irresponsible 🤓
EXCELLENT review of one of my favorite filmmakers! Thank you!
I saw Nosferatu with a live orchestra playing about 5 years ago. Amazing. This is a bitter/sweet video. I hate hearing about lost films, but a great deconstruction of this film in its era.
Nosferatu is probably the most artistic version of Dracula ever created. Unfortunately, Bram Stoker's widow sued and forced all prints to be destroyed. Luckily, a few prints survived, so we still have decent copies of this great film.
I agree. Hollywood films are nothing compared to this one.
Yeah thank god too to be honest bram stokers family are just a bunch of petty little goblins trying to destroy all of the copies of the film because it’s slightly similar is just plain ridiculous
Great episode. Well done!!!!!
A very fine overview of the most memorable and well known films of F W Murnau.
7:00 Oh but to be able to See the filmography of Conrad. Such a versatile and wonderful actor. I would have DVDs.
I saw this film for the first time in 2007 and it has been my favorite silent film since. Great video, very insightful 👍👍
Thank you for the information about one of my favorite films. I never really knew very much about Murnau's other work, and now I am eager to see them. Thank you for the excellent presentation.
Amazing short documentary! I totally forgot I was subscribed to this channel and now, in my hour of need (i.e. when I have an analytical paper on Murnau’s Nosferatu due in 9 hours), you come to give me fresh inspiration. Thank you!
I love all the old expressionist films
It's great to finally see this. You guys did a fantastic job. This made me even more interested in Murnau than I was before. Nosferatu is one of my favorite films of all time, but his other work also looks brilliant, especially Faust.
This video is a Godsend! I'm about to start studying German Expressionism at college and wow this has helped so much. Thank you for taking the time to make this video you don't even know how much this helped me out.
Great to hear. If you have any questions, give us a shout and we will try to help.
I happened to stumble upon this documentary quite accidentally, and I’m so glad I did! I’ve watched it probably four different times maybe even five... showing it to other people and I think it was very well done…it not only gave me an appreciation for Murnau the man and additionally his works, and of course Nosferatu (which I only decided to watch after seeing this documentary), but also an extreme appreciation for the evolution of film.. well done and good on ya!
Your channel is one of the most informative on you tube. You do a great job in every video. Murray was brilliant and his death, like Paul Leni's, was a major loss to film.
"Sunrise" is a fascinating Murnau film, too. There's horror in it, certainly... but the supernatural lurks somewhere else, leaving its audience to ponder love and redemption rather than death and danger.
One of my favourite films of all time.
Another good one is The Last Laugh (1924). I love most of Murnau though.
0:00 It's interesting how Werner Herzog got rid of the staircase shot in his remake of Nosferatu - perhaps, because it was such a powerful image that he didn't want to screw it up, or maybe he just needed an easy way to distinguish between his version and the original.
Great Review!!!! Nosferatu is one of 2 silent horror movies that i enjoy to watch every halloween!!
Been a fan of Nosferatu for 13 years. Still learned something new from this video. Thank you so much! I simply adore the horror classics. I even wrote a book about the history of horror cinema)
Dark Corners Reviews, I value this in depth study. Your short humorous reviews are so well thought out, written, produced and performed. Been watching for a while. Subscribed.
Only just got round to watching this now and it was well worth waiting for. As usual this is fantastically put together. Your passion and knowledge always shines in these specials and it’s fascinating to watch. Taught me a lot and shows there’s more to Murnau than just Nosferatu :)
6:08 - 6:13 "...but the film is lost anyway." I don't know why, but I always laugh the many, MANY times I've rewatched this Retrospective and here that line.
One thing I got from the film was that the location of Graf Orlock's castle seemed closer than that of Count Dracula's. Hutter packs his things in a couple bags that he carries over his shoulder and walks most of the distance when he's not on horseback. Then there's the final stretch of his journey from the village to the castle in Orlock's carriage.
This was so well researched and beautifully put together. As a lover of the silent era as well as horror films, I'm really impressed with this presentation. High art on TH-cam! ! Who would have believed it? Well done. 👍😎
Thanks. It means a lot that silent film fans are enjoying it.
Just watched Nosferatu! Didn't realize the original was color graded, the one I watched was in a single color grade. I was really impressed with it, especially Shreck and Schröder's performances. Absolute classic!
Can you do a video like this on the horror film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"
I think there is a good chance of this.
Dark Corners Reviews I’d like that, Caligari is a film that I still find unnerving especially in it’s distorted perspective and use of shadows and angles.
with the well it's not a remake but a companion piece "Dr. Caligari" from the early '90s.
I remember stumbling across the Salt storage warehouse in Lübeck in Northern Germany. We are yet to visit other location that were used but that build is used for one of the most famous images in an Horror film . As for Conrad Veidt he was an amazing actor who was fearless in the roles he played he played a Gay male in one German silent movie along with his now famed Horror roles and basically giving Batmans Joker his face. He was also also was a stauch anti Nazi to the point of taking on his wifes Jewish status and the risks that led to . He and his family moved to London were he was said to have given all his wealth to the UK war effort . He became a good friend of the next Horror legend and actor of Vampire Christpher Lee they played golf together whole Lee pick his brain for acting advice . He later moved to the USA we he made the Man who laugh ( the Joker look ) and moved from silent films into sound movies and helping with war effort before saddly dieing before he saw the Nazi's defeated or went onto a greater film roles. All these German films are great in one way or another and both the influence they left along with those escaped to tye USA and all went on to help create and develope the ways film were shot and made. Along with developing the whole Horror movie formate with the now classic Universal series of Horror movies. Even the master if suspence Alfred Hitchcock spent time in Germany at the UFA studio's and picked up many idea and methard he would later put to such good effects. These films are a gold mine for ideas many that challegen the polotics of the time through the medium of film.
I'm a big fan of visual storytelling, this was very inspiring to see!
I have read about Germanies film break throughs but, I have only seen Nosferatu. Too bad so many of Murnau's films have been lost.That being said,the film Metropolis was missing scenes. A few years ago a complete version was found in Argentina.(?) Maybe some some missing films will be found? Great video.Educational too.
I have been studying these movies for 30+ yeard and saw parts of film on this video I have never seen before. Very well done guys! Also informative. Imagine if he would have directed Frankenstein or Dracula for Universal. That would have been awesome.
This is, like, my 5th time watching this video....
It's soooo well made!
This was exquisite! Words can't describe how much I enjoyed it.
@Robin. WOW. This review was awesome.
I love all the fun reviews on the B-movies with the dialog audio clips and scenes and your funny observations' great fun but this serious review just blew me away. I totally enjoyed the background information and all the history and in depth look at the movies , their comparisons and about the actors and film makers. You offered such great background information and history that totally held my interest which is rare for my attention span.
Great to know that we're doing good work on both sides of the channel. Thanks for watching.
An erudite analysis of a great director and his films. Thank you.
Brilliant. You, my friend, are criminally underrated.
Indelibly critical assessment. Great work and analysis.
R.I.P F.W. Marnau
Really really enjoying your longer more in-depth videos of these wonderful movies!
while every Horror movies tries to scare you Nosferatu sits in the back and says : hah... Noobs . I love this movie.
Very nice I haven’t seen many of these films
Absolutely BRILLIANT !!! You guys are amazing !
We do our best. Thanks for watching.
I love all of your reviews and this is one of the most exceptional! Absolutely brilliant!!!
A true artist and a visionary....
Goes to show you all most contemporary directors have is visual effects while lacking the imagination and inventive of masters like Murnau. Great Video, Thanx!!!
PD Zombie an the badassery of Griffith for that matter.
Thanks his was excellent. Very interesting. Awesome job. Been really enjoying these “history” videos. Lon Chaney, hammer Dracula, etc.. keep up the great work.
I always love the fight that Carl Freud, two time academy award winner, created the three camera film shoot used by I LOVE LUCY
Oh dang those background smiling actors in Faust look terrifying, those headwraps completely change the look of their faces
Every one of these types of videos are always amazing
That very slow motion creepiness.It disturbs one.Exceedingly. 😗
To me this is one of only films that genuinely scares me long after i watch it
Sepulchral excellence, as per usual. Great vid, guys. This is up there with the Chaney retrospective. It's also reminded me that i've never seen 'Phantom'. I'll have to remedy that at some point.
Very well done, interesting compariasons, highly informative. I had never seen fragments of Satanas, before. The digression on the screenwriters and the "who influenced who" logic is very interesting. Quality content, not at all easy to find on YT.
The appearance of Mephisto in Faust, which frankly I think is amomg the very best 10 films ever made, is one of the most chilling moments I have seen in cinema. A true masterpiece.
Wonderful video and very informative. Well done!
Thanks!
Happy birthday Mr. Murnau!
My favorite films that Mr. Murnau made are The Haunted Castle (1921), Nosferatu (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), Faust (1926), and Sunrise (1927).
I have just discovered your channel. What a masterful retrospective. I enjoy watching the rest of your back catalogue and what is to come. Thank you for the efforts!
I knew Murnau was important, but there was so much more to know! What a great video.
Sunrise is such a great and simple movie
Yep, you sure did make a Nosferatu video already. Thanks. 😉
Nice overview and thanks!
Excellent. Keep up the great work. ☺
Had to have all these silent films on BRD. These, Die Nibelungen... Beyond Masterpieces.