Wednesday, April 16, 2014

A-Z: Classic Monsters: N is for Nosferatu

"N" is the letter for the A-Z Challenge today.  I'm back in the classic monster mode and almost posted about some classics like Nymphs and the Night Monster.  Instead, I decided to stick with one sick (not sexy) monster, Nosferatu.  He's definitely a classic and *shivers* gives me the heebie jeebies.

About the film Nosferatu

Released in 1922, this black and white horror film was an "unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula."  Because the film makers couldn't purchase rights to the original classic, they made some changes to the script like switching the words "vampire" to "nosferatu," which means vampire in old Romanian.  Long story short, Stoker's heirs sued and all copies of the film were deleted.  All except one survived and has since immortalized it's way through the last century as an iconic masterpiece.  Read more about the film here.

I've never watched this film in it's entirety, only bits and pieces.  I think what made this film a classic was the suspense and the utter horror of the inevitable blood sucking.  I know we've seen enough of vamp films over the years, but I swear I can still watch parts of this and it gives me the creeps.  That's kind of cool for being a 90+ old film.




12 comments:

Sophie Duncan said...

Nosferatu is one movie where being black and white and very old helped its appeal, I think, because it adds a mystery to it that would be lost in a CGI'd monster fest.
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Scary to think the film was almost lost forever. It is indeed creepy, and many vampires have since been based on Nosferatu. (Like King's Salem's Lot vampire.)

Heather R. Holden said...

I remember watching Nosferatu! (It's been years, though...heh.) But wow, never knew about it being deleted like that. Hard to imagine this movie not existing!

Anstice Brown said...

I've never seen this film before, but it certainly does sound creepy!

~Tizzy @ Creative Therapy

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

This film is on my Amazon Prime Watchlist and I have been meaning to take a look. I've only seen the remake and I have to say, not one of my fav vampire movies, but I'm intrigued to see the original.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings - AtoZ (Vampires)
FB3X - AtoZ (Erotic Drabbles)

N J Magas said...

Nosferatu scared me so badly as a child that for two years I slept with the covers pulled tight around my neck, even in the dog days of summer, for fear that a vampire would come in and bite me if I didn't.

The Happy Whisk said...

Why haven't you seen it all the way through, yet?

S. L. Hennessy said...

I love that old Nosferatu movie. It's a creepy classic.

Timothy S. Brannan said...

One of my most favorite movies ever!

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Timothy S. Brannan
The Other Side, April Blog Challenge: The A to Z of Witches

djinnia said...

i loved this movie! i didn't know that it was nearly destroyed. i'm glad it survived. iconic vampire image.

mshatch said...

Very creepy movie.

Sonia Lal said...

I haven't seen this one at all!