Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 horror film directed by E. Elias Merhige, written by Steven Katz, and starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), directed by F. W. Murnau, during which the film crew begin to have disturbing suspicions about their lead actor, Max Schreck. The film's premise is based on an urban legend which suggests that Schreck was not an actor, but in fact a vampire himself.
The film was produced by Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films. Cage originally intended to play Schreck, but later cast Dafoe when he expressed interest in the role. Cage stated he always wanted Malkovich as Murnau. Cage has previously acted with Malkovich in Con Air (1997) and Dafoe in Wild at Heart (1990). Members of the online game the Hollywood Stock Exchange were able to donate a small sum towards the film's production in exchange for listing their names on the DVD release of the film as "virtual producers". E. Elias Merhige was hired to direct as Cage had wanted to work with him ever since watching a tape of his previous film, Begotten (1989), given to him by Crispin Glover.
The film's working title was Burned to Light, but Merhige decided to change the name of the film when Dafoe asked, "Who's Ed?"; the actor thought the title was Burn Ed to Light. To create the aesthetic of old film, cinematographer Lou Bogue shot much of the film with Kodak Vision 800T film stock – a high speed specialty stock with very coarse grain – in Super 35mm format, which further enhanced the effect when cropped and enlarged to anamorphic.
Release
Shadow of the Vampire had its world premiere at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. It was given a limited release in the United States on 29 December 2000. On 5 January 2010, In2Film released the film on Region 2 DVD.
Reception
Critical reaction has been mostly positive with Dafoe's performance as Schreck/Orlok receiving particular praise. The film holds an 82% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 140 reviews, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Shadow of the Vampire is frightening, compelling, and funny, and features an excellent performance by Willem Dafoe." On Metacritic, the film has a 71 out of 100 rating, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, writing that "director E. Elias Merhige and his writer, Steven Katz, do two things at the same time. They make a vampire movie of their own, and they tell a backstage story about the measures that a director will take to realize his vision", and that Dafoe "embodies the Schreck of Nosferatu so uncannily that when real scenes from the silent classic are slipped into the frame, we don't notice a difference." Ebert later awarded the film his Special Jury Prize on his list of "The Best 10 Movies of 2000", writing of Dafoe's "astonishing performance" and of the film, "Avoiding the pitfall of irony; it plays the material straight, which is truly scary."
A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "You can find diversion in an improbable blend of behind-the-scenes satire and art-house fright-fest, anchored by Willem Dafoe's creepy, comical and oddly moving performance as the blood-sucking Schreck."
Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+
!Award
!Year
!Category
!Nominee(s)
!Result
! class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" |Academy Awards
| rowspan="2"| 2001
|Best Supporting Actor
|Willem Dafoe
|
| rowspan="2" align="center" |
|-
|Best Makeup and Hairstyling
|Ann Buchanan, Amber Sibley
|
|-
! scope="row" | Bram Stoker Award
| 2001
|Best Screenplay
|Steven Katz
|
|align="center" |
|-
! scope="row" | Golden Globe Awards
| 2002
|Best Supporting Actor
| rowspan="2" | Willem Dafoe
|
| align="center" |
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" |Independent Spirit Awards
| rowspan="2"| 2001
| Best Supporting Male
|
| rowspan="2" align="center" |
|-
| Best Cinematography
|Lou Bogue
|
|-
! scope="row" | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
| 2001
|Best Supporting Actor
| Willem Dafoe
|
| align="center" |
|-
! scope="row" | Satellite Awards
| 2001
|Best Supporting Actor, Comedy or Musical
| rowspan="2"| Willem Dafoe
|
| align="center" |
|-
! scope="row" | Screen Actors Guild Awards
| 2001
|Best Supporting Actor
|
| align="center" |
|}
See also
- Vampire films
- "I, the Vampire", a 1937 short story by Henry Kuttner about an ancient European vampire employed as a horror film actor in Hollywood.
- "Flicker", an episode of American Horror Story: Hotel in which Murnau was actually a vampire while filming Nosferatu.
- Nosferatu (2024 film), a remake of Murnau's film directed by Robert Eggers, also starring Willem Dafoe.