nosferatu (murnau 1922)

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Style and Form

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An introduction to the style and form of Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Style and Form

Page 2: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Sets and location

“The uncanny atmosphere of the film derives from the

way that the naturalistic is subverted

by the surreal.”An excessive visual style and a focus

on the morbid side of human life

Page 3: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Arches The repeated use of arches

and curves of the arches adds visual intensity to scenes by framing them and guiding our eyes towards the characters.

The bridges and doorways symbolically emphasise that a character is passing from one psychological state to another – passing in and out of the subconscious

Page 4: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Stairs

Stairs involve transitions in space and visually highlight important narrative moments; they dramatise psychological ‘ascents’ and ‘descents’

Consider how many ‘ascents’ and ‘descents’ we see in the film...

Page 5: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Costume, make-up and performance

Expressionist use of make up on Knock and Nosferatu to suggest the uncanny.

Their movements seem to obey secret forces.

All performances of all characters are exaggerated to relate to the subjective emotions of the characters.

Page 6: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Cinematography

Camera does not move – rather Murnau relied on different camera set ups, varying shot size and angles, lighting and the careful staging of the action in space.

Scenes are constructed from relatively short shots – edited together so actions flow smoothly

How do these techniques compare to those displayed in ‘Cabinet’?

Page 7: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Expressive camera angles

Many extreme low angle shots are used to give characters (Nosferatu/Orlok) and settings (castle) intimidating providence. The angle highlights the ship’s rigging, echoing the spider web in which we have seen Knock’s cell shortly before.

Page 8: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Expressive camera angles... High angle shots are

also to expressive effect

When Ellen looks from her window the angle accentuates the narrowness of the streets and the inhabitants are victims of the plague

Page 9: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Composition

Space seems to breath (open and close) as there is an oscillation between shallow scenes and scenes of depth.

Sometimes shots have obstacles, frames, recesses, windows etc. To make the composition multi-layered = film is a labyrinth.

Page 10: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Lighting

Film begins in sunlight and enters in a sinister shadow world as the coachman takes Hutter to Orlok.

Murnau’s semiotic use of light and shadow is demonstrated throughout the film.

The shadow is expressive of Nosferatu’s power over the characters and his embodiment of Jung’s shadow archetype – the darker/evil side of the human personality.

Page 11: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Editing and montage

Straight cuts and fade to black to show a transition to another place or time

Widely used technique of iris-in iris-out Parallel editing is used to great effect –

to show a psychic connection between characters Can you describe several instances in

which this technique was used? Are there examples of intellectual

montage – where A+B=C and not AB

Page 12: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Effects

Accelerated motion Superimposition Stop motion Use of negative

What was the purpose of these techniques?

Page 13: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Inter-titles / sound

75 inter-titles in total Important to our understanding of

the narrative The absence of diegetic sound

contributes to the film’s other-worldly atmosphere

Interesting to note that the film does evoke sounds – the chiming of the clock, the breaking of the waves

Page 14: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Influence

Regarded as a horror classic Salem’s Lot (Tobe Hooper) In Scream 2, Casey watches Nosferatu on

a late-night TV. Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula

developed in the way in which the Count’s shadow takes on independent life

The odd angles and unusual compositions became known as the German style and were widely imitated

Page 15: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Sociological readings

Did the films pave the way for Nazism?

Kracauer saw German films of the Weimar era as dark anticipations of the horrors to come – the ‘zietgeist’ in 1920s Germany.

An exercise in zenophobia – as anti-semitic Ellen represents the German soul at

the mercy of the property acquiring Jew vampire

Page 16: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Kracauer

Kracauer never allowed for the possibility that a film might have an alternative reading or that audiences might read films in different ways.

It is too simplistic to relate the films to the anti-semitism that brought Hitler to power as there were so many other factors.

In addition – expressionist films were targeted at an intellectual elite rather than the German public who enjoyed romantic comedies, crime thrillers etc.

Page 17: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Themes

The film does, however, portray a threat from outside, a threat from the East.

Death, disease, social instability and disrupted relationships were rife.

The streets and hospitals of Berlin must have contained figures as hocking as Orlok with ruined faces and near death looks.

Page 18: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Themes

Marx used the figure of the vampire to dramatise exploitation.

Nosferatu can be seen as a critical metaphor for how humanity had been bled dry by war and an aristocratic military elite

Page 19: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Psychological readings

Horror conventions – concerned with repressed sexual desires and obsession with death

Descent myth – characters who journey from innocence to a terrible underlying reality which either destroys them or leaves them wiser.

Nosferatu as ‘Id’ – the unconscious side. The arches as trying to invoke the forces of repression but fail to contain the ‘under-nature’ of mankind.

Page 20: Nosferatu (Murnau 1922)

Psychoanalytical

Nosferatu = phallic Arches = vagina Shadow travels up Ellen’s body and

she clutches her breast – orgasm = ‘little death’ in French

The film is considered darkly erotic – but we must not let such interpretations spiral out of control