03 November, 2014

LATE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: NOSFERATU, EINE SYMPHONIE DES GRAUENS

Naughty Nosferatu
 Switching jobs so not much time for Chopping Logic. Figured a bit of Nosferatu would be fitting for the season, though. Watched it a week or so ago. I love German expressionist stuff, for whatever reason. Think the first film in the category that I saw was Mabuse der Spieler. Kind of proto-noir aesthetic. Nosferatu's the quintessence of trippy creepiness (the whole Teutonic acting diva-ness, the exaggerated silentfilm pantomiming, plus the Stoker-derived material). But I love how the shots look like graphic-design work: lots of contrast, shadows, all very bold and striking (= proto-noir). One of the many simple things that makes Nosferatu fantastic is the color palette: shots alternate between a sort of feverish yellow and sickly/sad blue-green (see screencaps).

Transylvania Waterworld
Unfortunately Blogspot has the world's worst photo-display set up for posts, so sorry.

Any mention of noir immediately brings to mind Night of the Hunter though, which features one of the most uncanny villain-performances ever by Robert Mitchum. Also has the shot at bottom.


Pollen season









Night of the Hunter

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