Submitted By: Anonymous on 2008-04-12
About the video: *** PLEASE ALSO WATCH SEGMENT 2 ***

Welcome to the next edition of 1938Superman's Public Domain Theater. Here we feature content, mostly classic films, that are in public domain or otherwise available for viewing and use, free of charge and free of copyright infringement. Things that are in the public domain are creative works with expired copyrights or those that were never copyright protected at all.

On this edition of 1938Superman's Public Domain, we feature the classic 1922 silent film "Nosferatu". This is the first ever on-screen depiction of a vampire in the history of film. The expressionist film was shot in Germany and directed by F.W. Murnau. Murnau had originally wanted to do a film version of Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula", but was unable to obtain the rights to do so. Regardles of this, Murnau decided to make a handful of changes to the script in an attempt to create the required distance from the Bram Stoker story, and then proceeded with the film.

The lead role of Count Orlok was taken up by actor Max Schrek, while Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder and Alexander Granach filled out the rest of the major parts in the cast. Nosferatu was the one and only film ever made by movei company Prana Film. Prana closed down and filed bankruptcy immediately after the release of Nosferatu to avoid paying copyright infringement costs to an irate Florence Stoker, Bram Stoker's widow. The movie was released in Germany on April 4, 1922. It did not hit silver screens in the U.S. until June 3, 1929.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the film. Please share it with others.

Email  Link  Embed  Add to Playlist