Robert Eggers on why F.W. Murnau is “responsible for some of the best images in cinema”
In the shape of Robert Eggers, horror cinema has its new master. With careful attention to detail, glorious visuals, intense atmospheric storytelling and a focus on the darker sides of history and mythology, Eggers has emerged as perhaps the single most significant name on the modern horror circuit.
His debut feature film, The Witch, announced Eggers as a promising talent, a consideration that his remarkable film The Lighthouse doubled down on. Adding The Northman to his increasingly brilliant filmography, Eggers has been well-deserving of the widespread acclaim that has come his way since his arrival on the scene.
Perhaps the most exciting of all of Eggers’ films, though, is his remake of the 1922 German Expressionist film Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau. With Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe, Eggers pays tribute to one of his favourite filmmakers of all time, as revealed in a one-time feature with Rotten Tomatoes.
“I’ve seen the Herzog one a good many times too, but the Murnau film… Murnau is neck to neck with Bergman as my favorite director,” Eggers said. “He’s responsible for some of the best images in cinema of all time, from Nosferatu to Faust to Sunset. His work was so influential that filmmakers generations later can be referencing Murnau without knowing it.”
Murnau was one of the most influential silent film era directors of all time. The German movie icon earned international acclaim for 1922’s Nosferatu but was further praised for the likes of The Last Laugh, Tabu and three films he made in Hollywood at the Fox Studio – Sunrise, 4 Devils and City Girl.
However, it’s hard to think of Murnau and not simultaneously conjure up his wildly influential silent horror film Nosferatu, telling the classic tale of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, even though several names and details were changed from the novel. Count Orlok is Dracula, in this instance, and Murnau’s film is a genuine classic of the cinematic medium.
“Nosferatu is an interesting movie,” Eggers continued. “It was produced by Albin Grau, an occultist who started an independent film studio to make occult-themed movies. Nosferatu was his first endeavour. And he hired the screenwriter, and he hired Murnau, and he was the production designer and did a lot of concept art. Very much part of the authorship of this film.”
“And Max Schreck, as much as he is a folk vampire and a reinterpretation of Stoker’s literary gothic vampire, he’s also influenced by Albin Grau’s early 20th-century occultist views on vampirism,” Eggers added. “But in many ways — there are horror movies before it, obviously — Nosferatu invents horror movies. The editing of the parallel story together in some ways invents cinema.”
Evidently, Eggers feels indebted to Murnau for creating the kind of artistic horror landscapes in cinema on which he himself can thrive. It’s no surprise to learn that Eggers has been keen to deliver his own version of Nosferatu, which will serve as an opportunity to pay homage to his favourite director of all time.
