I haven’t seen anything of Eggers’ Nosferatu yet, because I want to go in blind, but i can think of a few reasons to use the Nosferatu name rather than Dracula: Count Orlok (the Dracula expy) has such an iconic, distinctive design that filmmakers want to use it, rather than the more traditionally suave Dracula. Orlok is more of the vampire as atavistic animal than aristocratic foreigner Murnau’s film was already remade by Werner Herzog with Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani in 1978, and that was pretty good. Very moody and ‘gothic’. So maybe Eggers’s film is a reply to that as well as to the original Nosferatu the movie has its own ‘fandom within a fandom’, due to its status as one of the OG horror movies. There’s a whole (hilarious) movie about the making of it, Shadow Of The Vamprie, with John Malkovich and Willem Defoe as Max Shrek Answer from Deleted User on reddit.com
Reddit
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r/blankies on Reddit: Can anyone explain me Nosferatu in relationship to Dracula?
June 22, 2024 -
I never seen any version. From what I understand the original is just a riff on the Dracula book that used another name due to rights issues. But then, why remake Nosferatu instead of just doing another Dracula adaptation? Rights are public domain and the name recognition is much superior. What am I not getting? What makes Herzog or Eggers’ versions a “Nosferatu” story instead of a Dracula one?
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I haven’t seen anything of Eggers’ Nosferatu yet, because I want to go in blind, but i can think of a few reasons to use the Nosferatu name rather than Dracula: Count Orlok (the Dracula expy) has such an iconic, distinctive design that filmmakers want to use it, rather than the more traditionally suave Dracula. Orlok is more of the vampire as atavistic animal than aristocratic foreigner Murnau’s film was already remade by Werner Herzog with Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani in 1978, and that was pretty good. Very moody and ‘gothic’. So maybe Eggers’s film is a reply to that as well as to the original Nosferatu the movie has its own ‘fandom within a fandom’, due to its status as one of the OG horror movies. There’s a whole (hilarious) movie about the making of it, Shadow Of The Vamprie, with John Malkovich and Willem Defoe as Max Shrek
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Nosferatu (1922) was the first feature-length adaptation of Dracula but was unauthorized and found in court to have infringed Stoker’s copyright. The vampire was named Count Orlok instead of Dracula but the film largely follows the plot of the novel and is more faithful than many subsequent official adaptations. Nosferatu (1922) leaned into the horror and created an iconic design for the main antagonist that differs greatly from the novel. Also, victims die rather than become vampires and references plague. The 1979 Herzog film was the first official Dracula movie to reuse the title Nosferatu and officially credit both the 1922 movie and Bram’s novel. Unlike the 1922 movie, the main vampire is called Dracula instead of Orlok but reproduces the design of the 1922 vampire. I believe the 2024 film called Nosferatu is reverting the main antagonist’s name back to Orlock and riffing on the same character design from the 1922 and 1979 films. And as we are in a post-Covid world, the plague aspect of the Nosferatu movies are once again very very relevant.
CBR
cbr.com › home › movies › nosferatu's connection to dracula, explained
Nosferatu's Connection to Dracula, Explained
March 15, 2025 - Others may say that the characters and movies are the same, which isn't exactly accurate. At the same time, it's undeniable that Dracula was the forefather of Nosferatu, and that without the former, the latter would not exist.
Which one is better Nosferatu (1922) or Dracula (1931)
While I absolutely love both, Nosferatu, at least to me, is the superior film. It is closer to the novel and it holds up extremely well in atmosphere and creepyness 100 years later. As pointed out yesterday on Reddit, where a lot of us may already know this, but it is because of this movie that a vampire can be killed by sunlight has been accepted into vampire mythology. The fact that this movie survived a lawsuit from the Stoker estate after being ordered to be destroyed, just adds to it’s aura. Both films are wonderful, and there is absolutely no denying Bela Lugosi’s greatness in Dracula, so much so that most depictions of Dracula to this day feature his iconic accent. Both are great, but I have the complete film of Nosferatu beating out Dracula. Edit: unfortunately, if it wasn’t for Bela Lugosi, I wouldn’t even put Tod Browning’s version as the best Dracula movie that year, as the Spanish version is superior in atmosphere and cinematography. More on reddit.com
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March 20, 2022Made more than 30 years apart, Nosferatu and Bram Stoker's Dracula tell basically the same story with wildly different styles. What can you say about the movies from just looking at the main casts?
It’s been pointed out before so… The original 1922 Nosferatu was the very first adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. It was also made without the approval of the Stoker estate and I guess the movie’s producers hoped they could slide it by and not have it noticed. SPOILERS: Bram Stoker’s widow noticed and sued the production company for making the film. Not only that, she won the lawsuit and it was ordered all prints of Nosferatu be destroyed. Many of them were but not all and that’s why we can see the film today. So, yeah, there’s very much a reason why the new Nosferatu film has a plot and features characters that are very similar to Dracula. They are essentially the same story! More on reddit.com
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January 29, 2025Do we know for sure Nosferatu had sunlight kill Orlok and not Ellen's seduction itself? : Dracula
We may be getting a Dracula Lego set! ... Do we know for sure Nosferatu had sunlight kill Orlok and not Ellen's seduction itself? More on old.reddit.com
Why do you think he chose to do Nosferatu over Dracula?
Eggers loves Nosferatu. Every film he’s made, with the exception of Northman, is stylistically similar to the original Nosferatu If Eggers were to adapt Dracula, it would look too much like Nosferatu because Eggers has absorbed Nosferatu like a child absorbs its mother’s milk More on reddit.com
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September 19, 2024I haven’t seen anything of Eggers’ Nosferatu yet, because I want to go in blind, but i can think of a few reasons to use the Nosferatu name rather than Dracula: Count Orlok (the Dracula expy) has such an iconic, distinctive design that filmmakers want to use it, rather than the more traditionally suave Dracula. Orlok is more of the vampire as atavistic animal than aristocratic foreigner Murnau’s film was already remade by Werner Herzog with Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani in 1978, and that was pretty good. Very moody and ‘gothic’. So maybe Eggers’s film is a reply to that as well as to the original Nosferatu the movie has its own ‘fandom within a fandom’, due to its status as one of the OG horror movies. There’s a whole (hilarious) movie about the making of it, Shadow Of The Vamprie, with John Malkovich and Willem Defoe as Max Shrek Answer from Deleted User on reddit.com
Videos
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Nosferatu
Nosferatu - Wikipedia
1 week ago - Nosferatu was produced by Prana Film and is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Various names and other details were changed from the novel, including Count Dracula being renamed Count Orlok. Although those changes are often represented as a defense against copyright ...
Literary Hub
lithub.com › what-does-it-mean-to-remake-nosferatu-instead-of-simply-dracula
Literary Hub » What Does It Mean to Remake Nosferatu Instead of Simply Dracula?
January 6, 2025 - Dracula is back. ... Dracula hasn’t been away for very long (last year saw two reinterpretations: the corny comic misfire Renfield and genuinely innovative horror film The Last Voyage of the Demeter), but he’s back again—in Robert Eggers’s long-awaited Nosferatu remake.
Quora
quora.com › What-are-the-differences-between-Count-Dracula-and-Nosferatu-Who-is-more-powerful-and-why
What are the differences between Count Dracula and Nosferatu? Who is more powerful and why? - Quora
Answer (1 of 8): The latter part of your question is pointless, as these characters cannot be ranked like the villains in your favorite videogame. Nosferatu is a verson of Dracula, created by German film writer Henrik Galeen and director F. ...
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Robert Eggers Explains Why He Chose Nosferatu Over Dracula For His Fourth Movie - YouTube
Nosferatu writer and director Robert Eggers details why he chose to adapt Count Orlok instead of Dracula and raves about his incredible cast.Nosferatu comes ...
Published December 20, 2024
Collider
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What Is the Difference Between Nosferatu and Dracula?
December 27, 2024 - The biggest difference between Dracula and Nosferatu is how both stories approach the concept of vampirism. For Dracula, the seductiveness of immortal life is depicted not just in Bram Stoker's original novel but the dozens of adaptations that've ...
TheWrap
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Why the Story of Nosferatu Is So Similar to Dracula
December 26, 2024 - Robert Eggers' "Nosferatu" is very similar to Bram Stoker's classic "Dracula," but also differs in a number of ways.
MovieWeb
movieweb.com › home › features › how ‘nosferatu’ connects to ‘dracula’, explained
Here's How the Complicated, Symbiotic Relationship Between 'Nosferatu' and 'Dracula' Works
December 23, 2024 - 'Nosferatu' is the latest retelling of 'Dracula,' but it's much more. 'Nosferatu' is part of the 'Dracula' story itself.
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
ripleys.com › stories › nosferatu-vs-dracula
Dracula vs. Count Orlok: Unmasking the Legends of the Night | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Aquariums, Attractions, Museums
January 20, 2025 - There’s a seductive quality to Dracula’s curse—an eternal life of both pleasure and pain. Nosferatu , on the other hand, is a pure nightmare. The original 1922 silent film is filled with eerie shadows and feels like a dark fairy tale brought ...
Pajiba
pajiba.com › film_reviews › the-parallels-between-nosferatu-and-bram-stokers-dracula.php
The Parallels Between 'Nosferatu' and 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'
January 13, 2025 - It was inevitable that these two films would have some similarity baked into their crusts. The original Nosferatu from 1922 was essentially a legally distinct spin on Dracula because Bram Stoker’s estate denied the production company the rights ...
Public Books
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Blood Brothers: Dracula vs. Nosferatu - Public Books
June 23, 2020 - W. Murnau’s 1922 silent vampire film, begins with a declaration that it is adapted from Stoker’s Dracula. But while Murnau borrowed the bones of Stoker’s plot, he also made major changes. He gave all of the characters new names. His vampire dies not from a stake through the heart, but—fittingly for a film—from exposure to sunlight. In Stoker’s novel the vampire is vanquished by a group of men, but in Murnau’s film only a woman can defeat him. Most importantly, Nosferatu’s villain is not the chatty, bookish Count of Stoker’s story; Marnau’s vampire, Orlok, is a skeletal, bat-eared goblin with needle fangs and wide, nocturnal eyes.
HISTORY
history.com › home › articles › how ‘nosferatu’ reinvented the vampire | history
How ‘Nosferatu’ Reinvented the Vampire | HISTORY
No, it isn’t Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. It’s Count Orlok—the pale, bald, pointy-eared vampire from the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which was itself an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula.
Published May 28, 2025
BBC
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Nosferatu: The Shadowy Tale that Cannot Die - BBC
January 2, 2025 - With his frequent collaborator Klaus Kinski in the title role, Herzog's vision was one of death, disease and the loneliness of eternity as a monster. ... The short answer is Dracula, the quintessential 1897 vampire novel by Irishman Bram Stoker.
MovieWeb
movieweb.com › home › features › how nosferatu forged its own legacy separate from dracula
Are Nosferatu and Dracula the Same Character?
October 5, 2024 - He's also believed to have once been a dark sorcerer, who summoned Satan's lieutenant demon and was turned into a vampire. Dracula, on the other hand, was a military leader who was killed in battle and revived as a vampire. Perhaps the most significant difference is their reaction to sunlight. Sunlight merely weakens Dracula, but for Nosferatu, it's fatal.
Mental Floss
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What’s the Difference Between Dracula and Nosferatu?
December 23, 2024 - Although Dracula is basically immortal—drinking blood serves to de-age him and replenish his power—there are three known ways to kill him: Cut off his head, run a stake through his heart, or shoot him with a sacred bullet. In Nosferatu, Orlok’s strengths and weaknesses aren’t laid out with quite the same clarity (the barely-there Van Helsing character, Professor Bulwer, merely likens the vampire to a Venus flytrap).
Copyright Alliance
copyrightalliance.org › home › blogs › dracula vs. nosferatu: a true copyright horror story
Dracula vs. Nosferatu: A True Copyright Horror Story | Copyright Alliance
December 16, 2022 - In Nosferatu, Count Orlok is burned up by the sunlight. However, in Bram Stoker’s version, sunlight was harmless to vampires, it just weakened them slightly. However, this idea of vampires being killed by sunlight has been used over and over again in various movies, including many carrying the Dracula name.
Pocket-lint
pocket-lint.com › home › movies and tv › how is nosferatu related to dracula?
How is Nosferatu related to Dracula?
September 20, 2024 - Nosferatu was indeed meant to be an unofficial adaptation of Stoker's novel, only swapping out the character names, such as Jonathan Harker with Thomas Hutter, and, of course, Count Dracula with Count Orlok.
Director Robert Eggers
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Count_Orlok
Count Orlok - Wikipedia
4 days ago - The character is nevertheless referred to as "Nosferatu" in the film's publicity material and in director F. W. Murnau's annotated copy of the script. The character is referred to as Dracula in some rereleases of the film.
ScreenRant
screenrant.com › home › nosferatu › 10 biggest differences between count dracula & nosferatu's count orlok
10 Biggest Differences Between Count Dracula & Nosferatu's Count Orlok
December 29, 2024 - Warning: Major spoilers ahead for NosferatuRobert Eggers' Gothic horror movie Nosferatu revived one of cinema's oldest and most iconic monsters, which is itself an interpretation of the classic vampire Dracula, and in doing so invited comparisons ...