Nosferatu

Crossing over in green: in Murnau’s tinted adaption of Dracula, blue colored scenes refer to nighttime or exteriors, yellow dominates interior shots and red symbolizes danger, fire or also love. But it’s above all Murnau’s green-tinged nature scenes over the course of NOSFERATU which Béla Balázs describes as “a cold blast from the other side” and thus a transition into another realm. The deep green tones thus reflect the true nature of the revenant Orlok (Max Schreck), to whom Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) must present a contract of sale in Transylvania. The subject of the contract is the purchase of a house in Hutter’s idyllic little home town. The contact has barely been signed before Orlok travels there by ship and becomes a danger for Hutter’s surroundings, above all for his young wife Ellen. After blue, red and yellow, once again everything points to the color green. (mg)