Shadow of the Vampire
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Shadow of the Vampire is a movie that opened in America on December 29, 2000. It was directed by E. Elias Merhige and written by Steven Katz, and it starred John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe and Udo Kier.
Story
The movie is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic horror film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, directed by F.W. Murnau. The story takes place in 1922 in Eastern Europe.
Murnau, the director, takes his cast and crew into a faraway place in order to shoot the film, while he keeps assuring them that everything will be fine. The person who is playing the part of the vampire Count Orlok, an obscure German theater performer called Max Schreck, is very professional, and in order to get fully involved in the story he will only appear in full makeup and character.
The main setting is an old castle. Schreck is there waiting for the filming team, and his appearance and behavior are truly disquieting. The cameraman soon starts feeling terrorized and sick, and has to be taken away and replaced. The other main actor is frightened of Schreck but then convinces himself that he is simply a very good actor.
On one occasion, two members of the crew are sharing a drink under the stars, and Schreck approaches. They invite him to join them, and Schreck drinks with them. Jokingly they ask about his vampirism and Schreck replies as if he were a real vampire, centuries old. A bat flies by and Schreck catches it with a quick hand and bites it, ecstatically sucking blood from its body. The others are left impressed.
As it turns out, Murnau has made a deal with a true vampire, in order to make his film absolutely realistic. Schreck has been promised the main actress Greta Schroeder as prize, provided he fulfills his role until the end of the filming. But the vampire is at times uncooperative and seems too anxious to wait. He eventually grabs a member of the crew by surprise and sucks him dry. Murnau is furious and has to threaten him, while reassuring his investors.
In the end, Schreck kills Schroeder and the crew before being exposed to sunlight and dying, all while Murnau continues filming.
Technique
The film includes frames with texts explaining an ellided action as in silent films. The crew uses an iris lenses to turn images to black and white. The image the public sees also becomes monochrome during the shooting.Cast
- John Malkovich .... Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, the director of Nosferatu.
- Willem Dafoe .... Maximillian "Max" Schreck, who plays Nosferatu.
- Udo Kier .... Albin Grau, the producer and art director.
- Cary Elwes .... Fritz Arno 'Fritzy' Wagner.
- Catherine McCormack .... Greta Schröder, who plays Ellen Hutter.
- Eddie Izzard .... Gustav von Wangenheim, who plays Hutter.
- Aden Gillett .... Henrik Galeen.
Awards
Shadow of the Vampire won several awards:
- the Prix Tournage
- the Saturn Award
- the Gran Angular Award
- the International Fantasy Film Award
- the President Award
- the Golden Satellite Award
- the Independent Spirit Award
- the LAFCA Award for Willem Dafoe
- the Bram Stoker Award for Steven Katz
External links
- http://www.angelfire.com/art/zen/malkovich.html (I Shot John Malkovich, filmset photos Bigdowski Robert [link])
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