Citizendia
Your Ad Here

F. W. Murnau

Born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe
December 28, 1888(1888-12-28)
Flag of German Empire Bielefeld, Germany
Died March 11, 1931 (aged 42)
Santa Barbara, California, USA
Years active 1919 - 1931

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, better known as F. Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Bielefeld (ˈbiːləfɛlt is a district-free town in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. W. Murnau (December 28, 1888 – March 11, 1931), was one of the most influential German film directors of the silent era. Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A figure in the expressionist movement in German cinema during the 1920s, some of Murnau's films from the silent era have been lost, but most still survive. German Expressionism is the term used to refer to a number of related creative movements which emerged in Germany before the first world war which reached a peak in Berlin The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada A lost film is a Feature film or Short film that no longer exists in either studio archives or private collections

Contents

Career

Birth and early years

He was born as Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe in Bielefeld, Province of Westphalia. Bielefeld (ˈbiːləfɛlt is a district-free town in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Province of Westphalia (Provinz Westfalen was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815-1946 He attended the University of Heidelberg and studied art history. The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg ( University of Heidelberg, Ruperto Carola, Heidelberg University, or simply Heidelberg) is a Art history is the Academic study of objects of Art in their Historical development and stylistic contexts i He took the name "Murnau" from the town in Germany named Murnau am Staffelsee. Murnau am Staffelsee is a market town in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region of Bavaria, Germany. He was a combat pilot during World War I and directed his first film Der Knabe in Blau ('The Boy in Blue') in 1919. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

German Films

Murnau's most famous film is Nosferatu, a 1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula that caused Stoker's estate to sue for copyright infringement. Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912 was an Irish writer of novels and short stories who is best known today for his 1897 horror Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary Antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. Murnau lost the lawsuit and all prints of the film were ordered destroyed, but bootleg prints were stored and preserved over time, so that Nosferatu is widely available in the present era. Werner Herzog remade the film in 1979. Werner Herzog (born Werner H Stipetić; September 5 1942 is a German Film director, Screenwriter, actor and Opera director Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Nosferatu, subtextually, depicted demoralized Germany post World War I. Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F The vampire, played by German stage actor Max Schreck, resembled a rat which was known to carry the plague. Maximilian "Max" Schreck ( September 6, 1879 &ndash February 20, 1936) was a German Actor. The origins of the word are from Bram Stoker's novel where it is used by the Romanian townsfolk to refer to Dracula and presumably, other undead. "Nosferatu" is similar sounding to the Greek "nosophoros", roughly translating to "plague-bearer", which may be a possible root of it.

Nearly as important as Nosferatu in Murnau's filmography was The Last Laugh ("Der Letzte Mann", German "The Last Man") (1925), written by Carl Mayer (a very prominent figure of the Kammerspiel film movement) and starring Emil Jannings. The Last Laugh ( Der letzte Mann) is a German 1924 Silent film directed by German director F Carl Mayer ( 20 November 1894, Graz Austria - 1 July 1944, London) was a Austrian screenplay writer who wrote Kammerspiel was a German film movement of the 1920s Silent film period that was developed around the same time as the more commonly known German Expressionism Emil Jannings ( July 23, 1884 &ndash January 3, 1950) was a German Actor and the first winner of the Academy The film introduced the subjective point of view camera, where the camera "sees" from the eyes of a character and uses visual style to convey a character's psychological state. It also anticipated the cinéma vérité movement in its subject matter. Cinéma Vérité is the first Album by an Alternative rock group Dramarama, released in November 1985 An important innovation was also utilized in this film called the "Unchained Camera Technique", an intense mix of tracking shots, pans, tilts, and zooms. The "unchained camera technique" was an innovation by filmmaker F Also, unlike the majority of Murnau's other works, The Last Laugh, is technically considered a Kammerspiel film rather than expressionist. The Last Laugh ( Der letzte Mann) is a German 1924 Silent film directed by German director F Unlike expressionist films, Kammerspiel films are categorized by their chamber play influence involving a lack of intricate set designs and story lines / themes regarding social injustice towards the working classes.

Murnau's last German film was the big budget Faust (1926) with Gösta Ekman as the title character, Emil Jannings as Mephisto and Camilla Horn as Gretchen. Faust is a classic Silent film produced in 1926 by UFA, directed by F Gösta Ekman, Sr ( December 28, 1890 &ndash January 12, 1938) born Frans Gösta Viktor Ekman, was a Swedish actor Camilla Horn ( 25 April 1903 - 14 August 1996) was a former German dancer and a film star of the silent and sound era Murnau's film draws on older traditions of the legendary tale of Faust as well as on Goethe's classic version. Faust or Faustus ( Latin for "auspicious" or "lucky" is the protagonist of a classic German Legend in which he makes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 's Faust is a tragic play. It was published in two parts de Faust der Tragödie erster Teil (translated This carefully composed and innovative feature contains many memorable images and startling special effects, with careful attention paid to contrasts of light and dark. Particularly striking is the sequence in which the giant, horned and black winged figure of Mephisto (Jannings) hovers over a town sowing the seeds of plague. The acting by Ekman (who miraculously transforms, in the course of the film, from a bearded old man to a handsome youth) and the sinister, scowling, demonic Jannings is first rate and the virtually unknown actress Camilla Horn gives a memorable performance as the tragic figure of Gretchen.

Hollywood

Murnau emigrated to Hollywood in 1926, where he joined the Fox Studio and made Sunrise (1927), a movie often cited by film scholars as one of the greatest films of all time. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sunrise A Song of Two Humans (also known as Sunrise) is an American Film from 1927 directed by F [1] Filmed in the Fox Movietone sound-on-film system (music and sound effects only), Sunrise was not a financial success but received several Oscars at the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929. Sound-on-film refers to a class of Sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film usually but not always the same "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In winning the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production it shared what is now the Best Picture award with the movie Wings. The Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production has also been known as “Best Artistic Quality of Production The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to artists working Wings ( is a silent movie about World War I fighter pilots directed by William A

On the DVD version of the film one can see Murnau in a couple of the outtake shots. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

Murnau's next two pictures, Four Devils (1928) and City Girl (1930), were modified to adapt to the new era of sound film and were not well received. 4 Devils (also known as Four Devils) is a 1928 silent Drama film directed by German Film director City Girl is an American 1930 Silent film directed by FW Murnau. A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image as opposed to a Silent film. No copy of Four Devils now exists. 4 Devils (also known as Four Devils) is a 1928 silent Drama film directed by German Film director Their poor receptions disillusioned Murnau, and he quit Fox to journey for a while in the South Pacific.

Together with documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty, Murnau travelled abroad to Bora Bora to realize the film Tabu in 1931. Robert Joseph Flaherty (16 February 1884 Iron Mountain Michigan - 23 July 1951 Dummerston Vermont) was an American Filmmaker who directed and produced Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Tabu (also called Tabu a Story of the South Seas) is a 1931 film which tells the story of two lovers in the South Seas who must escape their But Flaherty left after artistic disputes with Murnau who had to finish the movie on his own. Because of images of bare-breasted "native" Polynesian women the movie was censored in the United States. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The film was originally shot as half-talkie, half-silent, before being fully restored as a silent film - Murnau's preferred medium.

Death

Murnau did not live to see the premiere of his last film; he died in an automobile accident in Santa Barbara, California on March 11, 1931. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The car was driven by Murnau's fourteen-year old Filipino valet Garcia Stevenson, who was also killed in the accident. Filipinos or the Filipino people are the citizens of the Philippines. Murnau, who was gay,[1] was entombed on Southwest Cemetery (Südwest-Kirchhof Stahnsdorf) in Stahnsdorf near Berlin. Stahnsdorf is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district in Brandenburg, Germany. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. It was widely rumored (as written by Kenneth Anger in Hollywood Babylon) that Murnau was performing fellatio on the young driver at the time of the accident. Only 11 people showed up for the funeral. Among them were Robert Flaherty, Emil Jannings, Greta Garbo and Fritz Lang who delivered the funeral speech. Robert Joseph Flaherty (16 February 1884 Iron Mountain Michigan - 23 July 1951 Dummerston Vermont) was an American Filmmaker who directed and produced Emil Jannings ( July 23, 1884 &ndash January 3, 1950) was a German Actor and the first winner of the Academy Greta Garbo ( 18 September 1905 &ndash 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress during Hollywood 's Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang ( December 5, 1890 &ndash August 2, 1976) was an Austrian German - American Garbo also commissioned a deathmask of Murnau which she kept on her desk during her years in Hollywood.


Legacy

A fictionalized account of the making of the film Nosferatu was Shadow of the Vampire by director E. Elias Merhige. Shadow of the Vampire is a movie that opened in the United States on December 29, 2000. Edmund Elias Merhige, known as E Elias Merhige, (b 1964 is an American film director born in Brooklyn. Murnau is portrayed by John Malkovich. John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an Emmy Award -winning two-time Academy Award -nominated American Actor In the film, Murnau is so dedicated to making the film genuine that he actually hires a real vampire (Max Schreck) to play Orlok. Maximilian "Max" Schreck ( September 6, 1879 &ndash February 20, 1936) was a German Actor. Profile In Nosferatu, Count Orlok is a Vampire who poses as a nobleman from the Carpathian Mountains who moves to the fictional city of

Filmography:

References

  1. ^ Waugh, Thomas (2000), The Fruit Machine: Twenty Years of Writings on Queer Cinema, Duke University Press, p. Sehnsucht (German for "Longing" was a 1920 Silent film directed by F The Haunted Castle (also known as Schloß Vogelöd and Vogelod Castle) is a silent chamber drama directed by F Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F Phantom ( 1922) is a Silent film that was directed by F W Murnau the same year Murnau directed Nosferatu. The Last Laugh ( Der letzte Mann) is a German 1924 Silent film directed by German director F Tartuffe ( Herr Tartüff) is a German Silent film produced by Erich Pommer for UFA and released in 1926 Faust is a classic Silent film produced in 1926 by UFA, directed by F Sunrise A Song of Two Humans (also known as Sunrise) is an American Film from 1927 directed by F "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. 4 Devils (also known as Four Devils) is a 1928 silent Drama film directed by German Film director A lost film is a Feature film or Short film that no longer exists in either studio archives or private collections City Girl is an American 1930 Silent film directed by FW Murnau. Tabu (also called Tabu a Story of the South Seas) is a 1931 film which tells the story of two lovers in the South Seas who must escape their 75, ISBN 0822324687 

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic