Friday One Sheet: 100 Years of NOSFERATU
The above German poster from 1922 by Albin Grau (scanned from trade magazine Der Film: Zeitschrift für die Gesamt-Interessen der Kinematographie) sold for $21,000 in July 2014. A jack of all trades, Grau was largely responsible for not only the key art, but also the set design, costumes, storyboards and other promotional materials of the first significant vampire feature length film in cinema history: F. W. Murnau's copyright skirting, Weimar-era expressionist icon, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.
In 1979, Werner Herzog directed an homage of sorts to Max Schreck's look and performance, Nosferatu the Vampyre, featuring his craziest collaborator, and 'best fiend,' Klaus Kinski. And being released on Christmas, 2024, a chiaroscuro-heavy remake of Murnau's original, using a shorter title, Nosferatu, from Robert Eggers makes this very particular look of vampire now a century old.
No horror villain has more films devoted to its lore, not zombies, knife (or chainsaw) wielding serial killers, lycanthropes, or ghosts appear onscreen as much as the Eastern European (and sometimes East Asian) Vampire.
Nearly a decade before Hollywood, and Bela Lugosi, imagined the blood sucker as a more suave, and better tailored, Dracula, the look that F.W. Murnau established over a century ago for Count Orlok - the bald pate, the extended fingers, the jagged teeth, and creeping shadows, makes for some fine key art.
Below are several from each of the 1922, 1979 and 2024 versions.
The official poster by Albin Grau, feature Orlok in all his toothy glory under the midnight sun.
Or this Black & White nautical set image also from Albin Grau.
And then this spectacular charcoal sketch, also by Grau which makes heavy use of fire and shadow (and terror of the peasant folk).
This is a lovely Italian design riff of the main design for the release of Werner Herzog's film.
And this one has a clear reference to Albin Grau's boat set image.
But I am kind of partial to this more modern design with its triptych of triptyches of typeface on top of a renaissance style painting. Albeit, I had trouble tracking down the designer of this image, or even if it was in fact used to advertise Herzog's 1979 film, then or now.
And my three favourites from the many many posters already available for Robert Eggers' Christmas releasing remake. All feature those wonderful fingers.
Oh, and as a bonus, given Willem Dafoe appearing as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz in Robert Egger's film, it is worth noting the fun little fantasia on the shooting of Murnau's film, from director E. Elias Merhige, where Dafoe plays Max Schreck, and by extension, Count Orlok in 2000's Shadow of the Vampire. With Udo Kier (who playes artist Albin Grau!), Carey Elwes (who is also in Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, where this column did a feature on that film during its 2022 re-release) and John Malkovich as F. W. Murnau. It is a hidden little gem.
