7. Nosferatu
Nosferatu at the Usher Hall – 30th October 2005.
I decided to go to the Usher Halls performance of F.W.Murnau’s silent movie classic “Nosferatu” with organ accompliament by Donald McKenzie. The movie was projected onto a large screen where the fire curtain would normally rest above the stage. It was the colourized version with the print in a sepia tint with blue and red scenes. This single performance was well attended and by the confused search for seats, I suspect many were not familiar with the lay out of the hall. Despite the closeness to the Witching Hour and Halloween, there were few Goths in the ensemble although the crowd was good natured. I think some were drawn by the reputation of the film but the cheapness of the tickets no doubt was an added attractant to the crowd.
I will not rehash all the information about the movie – such background notes are easily to be found on the Internet or as part of some DVD added documentary. I am still surprised by the depth of research that is so readily available. It seemed not so long ago that my old video copy of Un Chien Andalou or koyaanisqatsi was heavily in demand due to their absolute rarity. Now anyone can get such movies either by doing a simple Boolean “google” search or walking into a non-descript high street store.
One such special copy had a very detailed history about the film and the various references. There is also the myth about a longer copy since one of the actresses was adamant that there was a beach seane which is credible as all contemporary version was destroyed for legal reasons. It should be noted that Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926) was popular when it came out but sadly only the heavily edited version survives. We are familiar with Chapman and Buster Keaton but Theda Bara (the stage name of Theodosia Burr Goodman) was just as popular in her own time and probably more iconic but since most of her film archive has since been lost she really is only known to die hard film enthusiasts. Such might have been the fate of Nosferatu so we should consider ourselves fortunate that it survives in any form at all.
The movie itself was very good – I have seen in a number of times on television but never on the big screen. I still feel bad that I missed the Philip Glass screening of “Dracula” but I have listened to his musical score which I liked. This performance had musical orchestration by a Mr. McKenzie. It was obviously not on a par with Glass but his efforts were conducive to the movie and the resonance from the Usher Halls organ really brought the movie to life – if you get what I mean.
The movie itself, “Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens”, was produced in 1922 and despite its iconic position in Western cinema. Most are familiar with certain scenes and images but few actually have watched the whole performance. I think everyone is accustomed with the notion of Vampires and fanged actors emerging from coffins and lusting after maidens. The image of the creeping shadow slowly moving across the wall, the door opening of its own volition to reveal the frightening menace and the coming sunrise to dispel the terror –are all clichéd motifs of the horror genre. But in this instance they are used for the first time. Nosferatu is an old movie treat and so it should come as no surprise to find the acting highly stylised and the special effects a far cry from today’s computer generated graphics bonanzas. Yet despite that the film still can hold a modern audience and is worth seeing again – it is far better than many a recent vampire or horror flick.
When I said the audience was “good natured” perhaps I was giving them the benefit of the doubt. As I mentioned above many aspects of this movie are parochial and so I could understand the occasional titter or derision at the over earnest performances or the speeded up camera projection but I could not fathom how this remained so humorous throughout the film. The entire movie showing was punctuated by raucous laughter which I found both annoying and rude to the organist and his musical performance.
I decided to go to the Usher Halls performance of F.W.Murnau’s silent movie classic “Nosferatu” with organ accompliament by Donald McKenzie. The movie was projected onto a large screen where the fire curtain would normally rest above the stage. It was the colourized version with the print in a sepia tint with blue and red scenes. This single performance was well attended and by the confused search for seats, I suspect many were not familiar with the lay out of the hall. Despite the closeness to the Witching Hour and Halloween, there were few Goths in the ensemble although the crowd was good natured. I think some were drawn by the reputation of the film but the cheapness of the tickets no doubt was an added attractant to the crowd.
I will not rehash all the information about the movie – such background notes are easily to be found on the Internet or as part of some DVD added documentary. I am still surprised by the depth of research that is so readily available. It seemed not so long ago that my old video copy of Un Chien Andalou or koyaanisqatsi was heavily in demand due to their absolute rarity. Now anyone can get such movies either by doing a simple Boolean “google” search or walking into a non-descript high street store.
One such special copy had a very detailed history about the film and the various references. There is also the myth about a longer copy since one of the actresses was adamant that there was a beach seane which is credible as all contemporary version was destroyed for legal reasons. It should be noted that Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926) was popular when it came out but sadly only the heavily edited version survives. We are familiar with Chapman and Buster Keaton but Theda Bara (the stage name of Theodosia Burr Goodman) was just as popular in her own time and probably more iconic but since most of her film archive has since been lost she really is only known to die hard film enthusiasts. Such might have been the fate of Nosferatu so we should consider ourselves fortunate that it survives in any form at all.
The movie itself was very good – I have seen in a number of times on television but never on the big screen. I still feel bad that I missed the Philip Glass screening of “Dracula” but I have listened to his musical score which I liked. This performance had musical orchestration by a Mr. McKenzie. It was obviously not on a par with Glass but his efforts were conducive to the movie and the resonance from the Usher Halls organ really brought the movie to life – if you get what I mean.
The movie itself, “Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens”, was produced in 1922 and despite its iconic position in Western cinema. Most are familiar with certain scenes and images but few actually have watched the whole performance. I think everyone is accustomed with the notion of Vampires and fanged actors emerging from coffins and lusting after maidens. The image of the creeping shadow slowly moving across the wall, the door opening of its own volition to reveal the frightening menace and the coming sunrise to dispel the terror –are all clichéd motifs of the horror genre. But in this instance they are used for the first time. Nosferatu is an old movie treat and so it should come as no surprise to find the acting highly stylised and the special effects a far cry from today’s computer generated graphics bonanzas. Yet despite that the film still can hold a modern audience and is worth seeing again – it is far better than many a recent vampire or horror flick.
When I said the audience was “good natured” perhaps I was giving them the benefit of the doubt. As I mentioned above many aspects of this movie are parochial and so I could understand the occasional titter or derision at the over earnest performances or the speeded up camera projection but I could not fathom how this remained so humorous throughout the film. The entire movie showing was punctuated by raucous laughter which I found both annoying and rude to the organist and his musical performance.
Sleep well.
posted by Laclos at 7:03 pm
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