Some people feel like these kind of scores are an insult to the original silent film because they do not feature music that existed then. I personally disagree because the original films did not have scores at this time. I don't have a problem with people today mixing their art with the art of the original film to create a new experience for the audience. I think that's pretty cool. But you might feel otherwise and will have the chance to articulate such feelings below.Now that you've seen Nosferatu, you might start noticing homages to this film in modern media. For example, this.
When you comment below on Nosferatu, be sure to write a full three paragraphs and to follow these instructions:
1) Answer both of the of the following questions:
- What aspects of German Expressionism did you see in this movie? Please provide three concrete examples from the film to back up your point.
- Did you or did you not enjoy this film? Why?
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| Brandon Arnold—former EHHS teacher and the man who arranged the score of the cut you watched. Look at those eyes and creepy smile. Of course he'd score a German Expressionist vampire movie. |
- Do you think this movie was scary or creepy? Why or why not? Do you think it would have been scary or creepy for its original audience? Why or why not?
- Did you like Brandon Arnold's score for the film? Why or why not?
- What did you make of the acting style of this film? Did you like it or not like it? Why?
- If you were going to show this film to one of your friends, what would you tell them ahead of time to prepare them for it?
- ... or ... respond to a comment someone made above. When you respond, either agree or disagree in a civil and respectful manner. Be sure to back up your opinion with three bits of solid evidence/examples.
The times that I saw geman expressionism in this movie are 1) the whole movie had kind of sinister, eerie sets and backgrounds. 2)Their movements, and reactions to things that happened were definitely exaggerated a lot, like when Jonathan was about to be attacked by the vampire, his wife somehow knew and when she 'called out to warn him' it was very dramatic and exaggerated. 3) This movie hada sort of 'Christ figure' like a lot of German expressionism movies did. The mans wife sacrificed herself to nosforatu for the greater good of everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this film. I've always wanted to see it, and im glad I finally got to see it. It was entertaining and creepy. I did find it creepy, especially when the vampire just kind of stood there intensely staring, with his creepy long thin fingers reaching for his victims. I'm sure this would have been creepy to the original audience, this is what they had horror wise. It would be kind of like us watching our modern day horror films. We even get freaked out by this film. Why wouldn't they?
I don't have a solid answer for if I liked this music to be quite honest. There were certain parts in the movie where I was like "This music with this scene is great! Genius!" But then there were also times where I was like "Dude why is the music like this, its freaking me out." I think because I really am just not used to more modern music with these films, I was just distracted by it and it felt unnatural to me. I still really enjoyed it though.
Erin Allgood
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DeleteI can see where you're coming from with the disjointedness of modern music with old movie. That makes sense that you'd feel that way. And you're not the first.
This overall movie was just really great. I was laughing at almost every scene, the entire cast had such over dramatic movements. Which kinda leads me into German expressionism. There was tons of that all over the movie, scenes with eerie or spooky backgrounds, over dramatic movements and acting. I also saw almost like a Christ figure which I found was German expressionism too.
ReplyDeleteI loved the acting on this film. Trying to act on a silent film with horror is probably the hardest thing to do, it makes movements incredibly over dramatic. I love the acting because its just overall hilarious. All the crazy arm swings and crazy facial expressions definitely helped proof the point of the humor for the entire movie.
I would for sure recommend this film to a friend. Id tell her to be prepared for the root core of a classic. Id also tell her to prepare for lots and lots of laughing. So overall this film was insanely cool, to see such a classic is almost like a really lucky thing. I'm pretty thankful I got to see it.
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DeleteIt's cool that, even though you were laughing at the film, you were still enjoying it for what it is and appreciating its place in film history.
There were lots of times where german expressionism were very prominent in this film and helped make the atmosphere creepier and more ominous. All of the sets were dark and gave the movies an unsettling atmosphere, most of the backdrops in the castle are dark and make it feel much creepier and ominous. The acting in this film was very big and drawn out, like whenever nosferatu was about to suck someones blood, he would put his hands way up in the air so that you would know he was feeding. also, when the girl was having the bad dreams about her husband, she would go out on the balcony and would move her hands a lot so you would know she was calling him.
ReplyDeleteI loved this film a lot because it still made me feel creeped out even though it was old and not as scary. Nosferatu was super creepy because of his makeup and how he acted. he was a very interesting character and I liked how the actor played him. The score of the film helped me feel how the film wanted me too. German expressionism is a really creative film style and i happen to like it.
The score of this film was really cool and it made me more interested in the film. The score sounded modern which helped me feel more accustomed to what i was watching, but sometimes the music didn't click with a part of the film and it made me sad deep down in my heart. The acting in it was very cool and creative. it reminded me of stage acting, and i'm used to that kind of acting, so I didnt see anything wrong with it. All of the moves the actors made were big and that was good for a silent film. As long as the story is well told, I don't care how the actors act.
Josh Payne Film History
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DeleteI'm so glad you discovered a style you like! I recommend checking out more German Expressionist films then! If you do a google search for "German Expressionist film", you will find a bunch. Metropolis and The Last Laugh are two that come to mind immediately.
And you might even want to try making a German Expressionist film. One student who took film history two years ago liked German Expressionism so much that he went out and made this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0IVdyaprgA
Nosferatu!
ReplyDeleteNosferatu had all the elements of a German expressionist film. There’s large acting; like when Nina caress the flowers Jonathan gave her. Darkness and Shadows are very prominent throughout the movie. My favorite use of the shadow is when Jonathan is leaving to go to Transylvania and he climbs on the horse and rides from the bright sunny courtyard to under the large shady tree symbolising his journey into the scary world of the Nosferatu’s.
I did not find this film to be scary, although it did make me rather uncomfortable. I think a majority of the discomfort came from the unnatural and very theatrical acting. I didn’t like the over dramatic expressions and odd body language. I understand and appreciate what they were attempting to accomplish by this very stylized way of filmmaking. And I suppose because I’m an actor it’s bothersome to me because you can betray the same emotions without being so unnatural, but I know it’s a stylistic choice made by the director. And I’m sure F.W. Murnau wanted people to feel uncomfortable, but more from fear than just general discomfort. If we (speaking in general terms) weren’t so desensitized to horror films this probably would have terrified me.
Although I didn’t like the acting, and found it rather comical, I enjoyed and appreciated the film as a whole. I loved the high contrast lighting the very stylistic set design. And I really enjoyed the story of the film I just had a hard time taking it seriously because of the acting. But the hidden symbolisms (like the Jonathan walking from the sun light into the shadows or Nina being the Christ figure) is really beautiful and for being made in the early 1920’s was really well executed.
Taylor Jo Conder
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I hear you on the point of how this acting style can pull you out of it. I think you should do the extra credit assignment and watch Murnau's masterpiece, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. It also has exaggerated acting but in a little different way. I want to know what you think of that one.
NOSFERATU! So that's what they said in the end of that Spongebob episode.
ReplyDeleteGerman expressionism, this stuff is too good. a) The whole movie had a very dark tone to it, the score played with it really well! b)We also got quite a few moments where we would see Nosferatu's shadow. My favorite scene they used this in was when he creeped on Jonathan while he was sleeping, we only saw the very long shadow of his hand. Loved it. c) I'm not sure if I'm right or wrong, but I'd say that there was a "christ figure". When Ellen read the book and understood what she had to do to relieve the world of Nosferatu. She did it, No one noticed.
I really enjoyed this movie. I have not listened to other scores for this but the version that we saw kept me intrigued. I enjoyed the darkness tone and the use of shadows. The overall tone of this film was great.
For me, this movie was creepy. I remember trying to make out some parts of the movie because it was very dark. The slow movements of Nosferatu that they showed, there is no way that no one felt more creeped out than me. I guess that the audience back then would think this movie was scary. Nosferatu's overall look could've caused nightmares. I wanna say that he might have been to them, what Slenderman was to us. The score fits with our modern look on things. Like I responded earlier, it kept me intrigued.
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I like the comparison to Slenderman. Good work making connections to your own experience. And I'm glad you were sufficiently creeped out.
this was a great movie full of german expression with over dramatic reactions and creepy music that sometimes was high pitched or low pitched just to make it seem really dramatic and it was filmed in a creepy place i think most of it was in a castle that the guy wanted to buy but I'm not really sure
ReplyDeletei did enjoy this film because i can picture how that was scary back then compared to the horror movies we have now and how even though you can't hear what they are saying it still gets the point across and we can understand whats going on in the movie i mean i didn't think it was scary but it was creepy just because not the environment they were in and the music in the movie was really creepy too
This is Isaiah Burnett: if i was gonna show this movie too my friends i would help them prepare by telling them that they have too get used to the the fact that there won't be any talking in it there will be words on the screen sometimes and they will act out the scenes a little more dramatically then they need too but thats just too get the point across
PS Just saying again, that was written by Isaiah Burnett.
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I like how you are able to imagine yourself in the shoes of people who first watched the movie when you think about the creepiness.
Thanks for clarifying who you are :)
I was absent when we talked about german expressionism so i can’t really answer the first question, but I have seen this movie. I personally don’t like this movie. I understand its importance and its contributions to scary/horror films, but it really isn’t for me. I didn’t think things were expressed well and there were too many words per slide when they used them. I also didn’t get emotionally invested in the story or characters.
ReplyDeleteI think that Nosferatu’s character looked creepy, but that is about it. The film didn’t have a creepy or scary vibe to it. I just found it very underwhelming the whole time. I would assume it would be pretty scary to an audience that hasn’t built a tolerance to things that are creepy/disturbing so they would think it was much more real to them.
If i had a friend that was going to watch it i would tell them not to expect to much and to prepare read a lot. I think i set my expectations too high and it ruined the film for me and i didn’t expect to read as much on one slide in such a short time. I think it was just the time of release and they didn’t have movies as perfected as later years.
Tigger Payne 2nd
Expectations are a big deal. Two summers ago, I was super excited for a bunch of movies that came out because their trailers looked so good and I ended up hating all of them. I think I would have enjoyed them more had my expectations not been so ridiculously high.
DeleteI have a personal challenge for you: do some research into German Expressionism. You admitted that you were unprepared to answer that particular question but you could be if you look it up. It'll be way empowering to figure it out and take ownership in that way. And it might even help you appreciate the film more (not that you need to like it—you did an excellent job here of stating good reasons why you didn't—I applaud you for that.)
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I did enjoy this movie, it was pretty weird and creepy. I also liked the music in the movie to. I liked how the movie just like, made the movie more creepy and more intense and more watchable even. Some of the German expressionism is with all the over exaggeration they have in this movie. The girl and all her weird “moments”. Another part was with the Nosferatu shadow on the girl. And the Nosferatu costume they had.
ReplyDeleteI think this movie was pretty creepy, with the story it was telling, i liked the small book the guy had about the vampire. I think it would be scary for the original audience because it was new for them and they had to experience something scary like that. And i found the movie pretty scary and creepy my self. i don’t know if they had the music back then but i think the music made it better and i think it went along.
If i was going to show this film to a friend then i would tell them that this movie is really creepy and to try and pay attention to the story its telling. i would explain to them what the German expressionism is and where it shows in the movie. I would tell them to keep an eye out for the German expressionism, just so they would now. I would tell them to listen to the music to because it makes the whole story a lot creepier, well to me it did...
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I also found the whole concept of the forbidden book to be quite awesome and terrible. It reminds me of the forbidden fruit or pandora's box.
I loved Nosferatu. Even though it's in black and white, the color temperature of the film was joyously cold when he got to Transylvania. It was warmer to begin with before he made his travel, but gets cold as goes and returns. The modern-ish time music is more than appropriate for the film, the tone is wonderful and it draws you in ever so exotically.
ReplyDeleteThe examples of German expressionism I saw in this film were the facial expressions and just their exaggerated actions in general. But also the architecture seen in the film has some qualities. Exaggerated expressions with the furniture and lighting. The room in the in that the man stays in, it's small and the bed is up high with a step stool. Exaggerated forms of either great wealth or poverty.
I did not find this creepy nor scary, however that's just me. I loved how dark it was. The music score that was paired with it did an amazing job to help that.
The original score and audience, I'm sure they were very frightened. In that time, this kind of thing was scary.
The acting style just resembles German expressionism to me, nothing more. But, it was very enjoyable. They did their jobs very well and I was pleased.
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DeleteThree full paragraphs: check.
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Very good job following all of the instructions. And I love that you went above and beyond the required questions and also talked about the color temperature of the film. I hadn't noticed how it got colder in Transylvania. How appropriate. Thanks for teaching me something!
German expressionism I seen was how they exaggerated there actions and the faces they made during the movie. The guys room he slept in was an example of exaggeration. Just like the faces that his wife made when she was asleep but knew something bad was going to happen to her husband.
ReplyDeleteI think that the acting in this movie was good. Because this was there first scary movie that anyone had ever made. So they didn't really know how to act in a creepy movie but they did a really good job. The actor's who played the husband, Nosferatu, and the actress who played the wife did a really good job for there first scary movie.
Personally I didn't think that the movie was creepy or scary. Because the people back in the early 1900's didn't make their movies scary like the movies that are out today because they didn't have the technology that we have today. But the people who saw this movie back then probably thought it was scary and creepy because the never seen anything like it.
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I'm not certain if this was the VERY FIRST horror movie but it was definitely one of the first. This would be something good for you to research and report to us on....
Patience Montoya
ReplyDeleteSome aspects of German expressionism that I noticed was that was a lot of darkness and shadows. There was also exaggerated acting and sets. Like the castle.
I thought this movie was okay. It wasn't my favorite but I would probably watch it again. I did not think this movie was scary because it wasn't as real as movies are as of now. But I think that when it first came out, if I would have been in the audience, it would have been a lot more frightening because it would have been something different for them something new and amazing.
The acting was good for the film. It was kind of exaggerated like german expressionism films were. If i were to show this to one of my friends i would tell them to remember that it's old and they didnt have the technology we have today and to keep an open mind about the movie because it isnt bad just because its really old.
Graded.
DeleteIn this movie I saw that the acting was very lively and big, elaborate sets, and it was really dark. I really enjoyed this movie! As a really big horror movie fan I saw how it inspired many vampire movies, and other horror flicks. It was also very cool to see a new take on the classic tale of Dracula, because I grew up watching the Bella Lugosi Dracula, and I thought it was really cool seeing it told in a different way.
ReplyDeleteI thought this movie was scary and creepy. When I watch a movie I like to kinda Forget it's a movie and live in it because then I will be able to share the feelings and thoughts as the people in the movie. This movie just had this eerie feeling just how Nosferatu walked like his legs didn't move or how he'd would just stare was scary to me. I just thought this movie over all was scary.
I did really like the score in this movie. I thought it was creepy and at time not creepy (sorry it was kind of a confused feeling that I will talk about later). It fit the movie very well too, like the music was just synced perfectly and it never seemed to fast or slow paced. At the end I got confused the music was not scary, and it made me feel like the women wanted to love Nosferatu. she was looking out the window because she loved him not because she was scared, or at least that's how the score made me feel.
Graded.
DeleteNosferatu has lots German expressionism in it, from the exaggerated movements of the actors i.e when the guy is leaving to get the house sold had he's girlfriend used very exaggerated movements showing how much she didn't want him the go, to the way the set was for the castle. This movie has been one of my all time favorite silent film, before watching these silent films in class i had a hard time enjoying these kind of movies because its not what I'm used to. There really is an art to being in a silent film and i've really leaned to appreciate it, you've really got to have talent to be in a film like this one and it's just incredible to me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy horror film but this one wasn't really scary to me, it was move interesting. I just think that the old horror movies are really cheesy, because im used to the special effects of the modern ones. I think that it could have been scary for its time, only because it is a very well made movie and peoples ideas of horror had changed a lot throughout the years. I thought the score for the movie was okay but I got kind of confused throughout the movie, not knowing how to feel about it. I would like to watch this movie with a different score to see if it would give me a different experience.
If I was to show this film to a friend I would talk to them about what german expressionism was before hand, just to make sure that they could understand and appreciate the movie more. I would make sure they knew a little about the time period of the movie, and tell them to at least give the movie a chance before they got confused about it.
Graded.
DeleteIn the movie Nosferatu, three examples of German expressionism are the sharp pointed roof tops on the homes, the dark makeup on the characters and the exaggerated movements of the actors. Count Orlok's mansion is a great example of the rooftops. His heavily shadowed eyes are great for the dark makeup. The scene where Johnathan Harker cuts himself is also a great example of the exaggerated movement.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I didn't enjoy the movie all that much. It was blatantly a rip off of Dracula with a weak loop hole to avoid lawsuits and it had the classic horror film slow pace. I've never been a big fan of movies that have a 20 minute work up before you even get to see one of the most important characters in the film. (Of course I may be biased as I grew up with vampires like Lestat from queen of the damned, Blade from Blade, and Spike and Angel from Buffy.)
I do not think this movie was scary because I grew up with gory gods as vampires and I know far more terrifying beasts in human form exist in this world of today than a slow, long nailed, buck toothed, goofy dressed prince of darkness with an allergy to sunlight and an inability to use his brain enough to stay out of it. However, I can definitely see how it would have been terrifying to the population that it was made for. They would have never really been exposed to anything like it and people are almost always scared of the new and bizarre.
If I were to tell someone one thing to help them appreciate the movie I would tell them to lower their expectations of vampires because at the time the movie was made they didn't have near as much god-like powerful evil villians but, rather incompetent losers who would never amount to anything because being evil automatically meant you were stupid and good always triumphed over evil.
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DeleteSense I was absent the day this film was watch as a class. I do not know what German expressionism is. Therefore I am unable to answer the first question. The second question asks if I like this film. No I do not like this film. I do not find it entertaining at all. I had to force myself to actually watch the whole film.
ReplyDeleteI also do not find this film scary or creepy. If I was younger it might have scared me, but if I was younger I wouldn’t have been able to read what was going making me confused not scared. I am s used to 21st century scary movies that this movie just did not compare. I wish I could say more on the topic, but I have nothing else to add it simply was not scary.
It’s nice to know that someone that worked at my school arranged the music score for this film, but it I was not very impressed. The music does not go with the time period at all. When I first started watching it I thought something was wrong with my computer. I wish he would have used something that sounded like it was from the same time period as this film.
I hate being this negative about a film, but this is one of the worse films I have seen. At least its not SpongeBob
Graded.
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