Shadow of the Vampire
Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 independent period vampire Gothic mystery film directed by E. Elias Merhige and written by Steven Katz. The film stars John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, directed by F. W. Murnau, during which the film crew begin to have disturbing suspicions about their lead actor.
Plot
In 1921, German director F. W. Murnau is shooting Nosferatu, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Murnau keeps his team in the dark about their schedule and the actor playing the vampire Count Orlok. It is left to the film's other main actor, Gustav von Wangenheim, to explain that the lead is an obscure Russian theater performer named Max Schreck, who is a character actor. To involve himself fully in his role, Schreck will only appear amongst the cast and crew in makeup, will only be filmed at night and will never break character.
More details
| author | Steven A. Katz |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Poland |
| director | E. Elias Merhige |
| editor | Chris Wyatt |
| genre | historical horror mystery |
| keywords | act albin grau ancient slovak castle berlin bram stoker cast and crew clapperboard count dracula count orlok czechoslovakia dracula drink end slate f. w. murnau film first czechoslovak republic first time force fritz arno wagner greta schröder gustav von wangenheim heligoland henrik galeen how to hypnosis hypnotic immortality involve himself fully in his role kill laudanum max schreck method acting nosferatu obsess orava castle schnapps shoot to remember trap |
| musicBy | Dan Jones |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| producer | Jeff Levine Nicolas Cage |
| productionCompany | BBC Films Saturn Films |
| publisher | Lions Gate Films Metrodome Distribution |
| recordedAt | Luxembourg |
| theme | biographical filmmaking independent snuff urban vampire |