Written by Old Bluffer 1st Feb 2007
Kindly written by Chris Gray
Orlok sends a magic letter to a realtor in Wisborg on the premise of moving there and purchasing a home. After the realtor, Knock, reads the letter he falls under Orlok's control. He tells an employee, Hutter, (while not revealing the magic letter) of Count Orlock and that he should proceed to visit him in order to seal the deal.
When Hutter travels to meet Orlok, his wife Ellen suddenly becomes ill during the night as if under a spell. This gradual illness increases as Orlok gets closer to Wisborg, as does Knock's madness. In the meantime Hutter finalises the purchase of a property across the river from Hutter - an outright attempt by Orlok to ensnare Ellen. Shortly after, Hutter discovers Orlok's true identity and motive, flees the castle (by horse, naturally) and returns to Wisborg to save his wife.
Orlok makes the entire journey by ship in a coffin alongside others filled with his magical damned dirt. Gradually picking off one sailor after another, he manages to dispense the entire crew before the ship comes into port - the captain's body is the only one left on board.
Arriving in port nobody greets the arrival of the ship, so Orlok sneaks (carrying his coffin under his arm no less) through the town gates and right through town to his new home. The rats stowed on the ship cause a plague threat and the town is shut down.
The iconic 'Nosferatu' silhouette. It may not look especially menacing now, but in the 1920s it would scare the bejeezus out of the audience!
With his new residence Orlok stands by the window at night and compels Ellen toward her window across the river. He crosses the river and enters the house. Ascending the stairs he enters Ellen's bedroom and approaches her bedside. Incapacitated, Ellen is bitten and Orlok begins to suck her blood, yet pauses when he hears a rooster crow in the distance.
You would think a vampire would take basic safety precautions near windows...
Sunlight bathes Orlok's house across the river and he decides to make an escape, but in his hurry he forgets that he has to pass the window on the way out, and is caught by the morning sunlight. Turning to shield himself from the sun, he quickly disappears into a puff of smoke.
His pupil, Knock, senses his master's death and dies in his prison cell.
Orlok strikes a 'Prince Charming' pose as he dies, in a clear tribute to Adam Ant.
Thanks for all the excellent grabs for this film Chris.
Out of interest, did you recolour them, or is that how they came out on DVD? It's strange as some frames are tinted sepia, some red and some blue.
I retouched a few blemishes (so they are digitally remastered grabs no less!) but didn't want to turn them black and white in case they were supposed to be as you sent them.
Do any of our UK visitors remember the Paul Whitehouse's "Fast Show" parody of Orlok I always found it one of the weakest sketches in the show...
No, Nosferatu was always like that, in funny colors.
Like Mr. Briggs already said they were pretty much always like this. They are tinted as to indicate what time of day the scene is set in, so blues are naturally night time (of course!?!) and a mix of browns/oranges/yellows for the many shades of day. The edition I have of this (the somewhat fan-inferior Image Entertainment edition) from what I remember of the commentary explains that during the remastering they recoloured these to reflect the original tint of the transfer.
Considering the immeasurable controversy about the destruction of all the film reels, I'll be surprised if anybody can dispute the tinting job done on the transfer. Compared to the edition available through the Internet Archive, the Image version resembles a late nineties cinemascope film, and until somebody uncovers a perfect copy I don't think there'll be any better any time soon.