Nosferatu Analysis
F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Classic Example of German Expressionism
After World War I Germany’s film industry surprisingly flourished “due largely to the isolation created by the government’s 1916 ban on most foreign films” (101). The five-year long ban caused the German film industry to increase their creation and production of films for audiences luckily without the conflict of competition. Also with the ban of foreign films “producing companies rose from twenty-five in 1914 to one hundred thirty in 1918” (101). The German government was in favor of film production at this time which also caused an increase in film production. Another major reason for German film production after World War I was the problem of inflation. Money in Germany was …show more content…
There is a medium-long shot of Thomas and Nosferatu sitting at a dining table and in the background you can get a sense of how grand the castle is. The chairs the two are sitting in are very tall and the table they are sitting at, even though you cannot see the entire thing, is very long. Also you can see the tall walls, high ceilings, and grand archways. This makes it seem like Thomas is this small entity in unfamiliar territory. There are many dark shadows giving this scene an eerie feeling. At one point in the scene there is a medium shot where you see Thomas eating and Nosferatu reading something. Thomas accidently cuts himself and then there is a close up of Nosferatu who quickly looks up but the paper he was reading is covering all of his face but his dark wide eyes giving off this mysterious feeling. Nosferatu then gets up and walks over to Thomas to see his cut finger. Here you get a full shot of Nosferatu hunched over and in very dark clothing with his long fingers slowly reaching for Thomas’s finger. The whole depiction of Nosferatu is chilling and creepy. Thomas is defiantly uneasy about Nosferatu so he stands up and begins backing away from Nosferatu and there is a close up on Thomas and his facial expression is pure fear.
The mise en scène in Nosferatu is a very important aspect because
After World War I Germany’s film industry surprisingly flourished “due largely to the isolation created by the government’s 1916 ban on most foreign films” (101). The five-year long ban caused the German film industry to increase their creation and production of films for audiences luckily without the conflict of competition. Also with the ban of foreign films “producing companies rose from twenty-five in 1914 to one hundred thirty in 1918” (101). The German government was in favor of film production at this time which also caused an increase in film production. Another major reason for German film production after World War I was the problem of inflation. Money in Germany was …show more content…
There is a medium-long shot of Thomas and Nosferatu sitting at a dining table and in the background you can get a sense of how grand the castle is. The chairs the two are sitting in are very tall and the table they are sitting at, even though you cannot see the entire thing, is very long. Also you can see the tall walls, high ceilings, and grand archways. This makes it seem like Thomas is this small entity in unfamiliar territory. There are many dark shadows giving this scene an eerie feeling. At one point in the scene there is a medium shot where you see Thomas eating and Nosferatu reading something. Thomas accidently cuts himself and then there is a close up of Nosferatu who quickly looks up but the paper he was reading is covering all of his face but his dark wide eyes giving off this mysterious feeling. Nosferatu then gets up and walks over to Thomas to see his cut finger. Here you get a full shot of Nosferatu hunched over and in very dark clothing with his long fingers slowly reaching for Thomas’s finger. The whole depiction of Nosferatu is chilling and creepy. Thomas is defiantly uneasy about Nosferatu so he stands up and begins backing away from Nosferatu and there is a close up on Thomas and his facial expression is pure fear.
The mise en scène in Nosferatu is a very important aspect because