The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy

by Rolf Giesen

Director F.W. Murnau's A Symphony of Horror , made in 1921, right after the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic, has become the ultimate cult classic among horror film buffs around the world. For years there was much speculation about the production background, the filmmakers, and their star, the German actor Max Schreck. This book tells the complete story drawing on rare sources. This book tells the complete story, drawing on rare sources. The trail leads to a group of occultists with a plan to establish a leading film company that would produce a momentous series of horror movies. Along the way, the author touches upon other classic German fantasy silents, such as The Golem , The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Metropolis .

Genres: Nonfiction

231 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2019

About the author

German movie historian and journalist nicknamed "Dr. Horror" for his speciality "horror movies"

Reviews

[Jim Dooley]

I've read comments that referred to this book as being "too academic." I must admit that I've often taken issue with that statement. My assumption is that the term means the work is too pedantic, like a text book that is filled with facts. However, I can think of several classes from my college years when the "academic" professor brought the subject to life. Yes, there were facts, but there were also perspectives offered of surrounding influences that added sense to the material.

That is the case with THE NOSFERATU STORY. Reading it, I felt as if I was in a highly prized college course filled with stories and drawing parallels that really opened my eyes to classic German cinema. I thought that I had an extensive experience as a film collector, but I had only scratched the surface. Rolf Giesen took me on an exploration of the artistic perspectives, historical events, and internal emotional struggles that produced the experiences that still haunt my mind. It is so much more than the recounting of "Nosferatu." It gave me the backstory of Germany's place in film history.

The details about the producers, the writers, the directors and the performers kept me intrigued. Especially illuminating was the varied life histories, particularly of the "mysterious" rumors regarding Max Schreck! More photographs would have made this even better, but what was there was a delight.

Although most of the book is dedicated to Germany's silent era, an overview is provided that takes the telling of "Nosferatu" and "Dracula" stories right up to the recent "Nosferatu" film release from Robert Eggers. I also appreciated the Interviews section which included fuller texts of comments made throughout the book. The differences of opinions were fascinating.

However, my top reason for this being one of my "Must Own" books is the extended section called "Filmography II: The Silent Era of German Expressionist, Fantasy and Alchemical Films." Acknowledging that it is unlikely that it is complete because so many films are missing, this section is jam-packed with reference quality information for students of film history. Listings include Production company information, the Cast, Locations, Length, Remakes and Re-Releases, and a description of the story. I've shown this to four film collecting friends and they were amazed. None had ever seen anything so extensive about the subject.

THE NOSFERATU STORY is not written in the wonderful narrative style of Gregory William Mank. Yet, I thought it was compelling. I expect to be revisiting sections of it often.

[Geff Ratcheson]

Lots of good information on the Weimar era films. In some ways, too much information. The one thing missing is which films are lost, which are available, & which exist but are not on commercial release. The book is also a few years out of date. It does give useful plot summaries of many Weimar films & a long list of Weimar films & related known to the author. On the other hand, does anyone reading this really need several chapters of Nosferatu plot summaries?

I disagree regarding Shadow Of the Vampire, I loved that film, the author seems to despise it. I also hold Metropolis in much higher regard than the author.

[Bill Wallace]

I picked this book up to reshelve it and ended up absorbed in it. I’ve read Eisner and Kracauer and a bunch of other books that include the history of Murnau’s film but this account was full of stuff I didn’t know. Heavily sourced from contemporary accounts; Giesen weaves the fragments into an illuminating picture.

More than just a history of Nosferatu, this is a good account of most of the early, weird German films and the men and women who made them. Side trips into the occult occur often. Later chapters cover the movie’s influence and its remakes and spin-offs, always with an intelligent appraisal of their quality and relationship to the original film.

I first saw Nosferatu in college -- one of the prints that use the names from Stoker's novel -- and have seen it since in many different versions and cuts. Along with Dreyer's Vampyr, Nosferatu contains scenes that are true nightmares on film. This book's best feature for me was to convey the history of its making in the context of the German film business and the spirit of its time.

[Donald]

Disappointing. Of the 136 pages of actual content (the rest of the 225 pages are appendices, filmographies, chapter notes, the index, and a tedious scene-by-scene description of the movie), I count only about 30 pages about "Nosferatu" itself, with the rest being, admittedly, a fairly good overview of the German film industry in the early 1900s.

[Camilla Zahn]

3,75 ⭐️

This book has the biggest research on Nosferatu I have ever seen, but the rhythm it’s very academic. It takes a long time to get to Nosferatu because the idea is to paint you a picture of how movies were made at this time. I had a really pleasant reading as a filmmaker and Nosferatu lover!