Editing Shadow of the Vampire

{{short description|2000 film by E. Elias Merhige}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Shadow of the Vampire
| image = ShadowoftheVampireposter.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[E. Elias Merhige]]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Nicolas Cage]]
* Jeff Levine
}}
| writer = [[Steven A. Katz|Steven Katz]]
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[John Malkovich]]
* [[Willem Dafoe]]
* [[Cary Elwes]]
* [[Aden Gillett|John Aden Gillet]]
* [[Eddie Izzard]]
* [[Udo Kier]]
* [[Catherine McCormack]]
* [[Ronan Vibert]]
}}
| music = [[Dan Jones (composer)|Dan Jones]]
| cinematography = Lou Bogue
| editing = Chris Wyatt
| studio = {{Plainlist|
* [[BBC Film]]s
* [[Saturn Films]]
}}
| distributor = {{plainlist|
* Metrodome Distribution (United Kingdom)
* [[Lionsgate Films|Lions Gate Films]] (United States)
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2000|5|15|[[2000 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|2000|12|29|United States|2001|2|2|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 92 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 91:49--><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bbfc.co.uk/AVF164198 | title=''Shadow of the Vampire'' (15) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=July 31, 2000 | access-date=October 19, 2014}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
| country = {{Plainlist|
* Luxembourg
* United Kingdom
* United States
}}
| language = {{Plainlist|
* English
* German
* Luxembourgish
}}
| budget = $8 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2000/SHADO.php|title=Shadow of the Vampire Box Office Data|work=The Numbers|publisher=Nash Information Services|access-date=October 8, 2011}}</ref>
| gross = $11.2 million<ref>{{cite web | url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=shadowofthevampire.htm | title=''Shadow of the Vampire'' (2000) | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | date=5 April 2001 | access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref>
}}

'''''Shadow of the Vampire''''' is a 2000 [[horror film]] directed by [[E. Elias Merhige]] and written by [[Steven A. Katz|Steven Katz]]. The film stars [[John Malkovich]] and [[Willem Dafoe]]. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic [[vampire film]] ''[[Nosferatu|Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens]]'', directed by [[F. W. Murnau]], during which the film crew begin to have disturbing suspicions about their lead actor.

The film borrows the techniques of [[silent film]]s, including the use of [[intertitle]]s to explain [[Ellipsis (narrative device)|elided]] action, and [[Iris shot|iris lenses]]. The film received positive reviews from critics and received nominations at the [[73rd Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] for Dafoe's performance.

==Plot==
In 1921, German director [[F. W. Murnau]] is shooting ''[[Nosferatu]]'', an unauthorized adaptation of [[Bram Stoker]]'s novel ''[[Dracula]]''. Murnau keeps his team in the dark about their schedule and the actor playing the vampire [[Count Orlok]]. It is left to the film's other main actor, [[Gustav von Wangenheim]], to explain that the lead is an obscure German theater performer named [[Max Schreck]], who is a character actor. To [[method acting|involve himself fully in his role]], Schreck will only appear amongst the cast and crew in makeup, will only be filmed at night, and will never break character.

After filming scenes in a studio with leading actress [[Greta Schröder]], Murnau takes his cast and crew to a remote inn in [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] to film. The landlady becomes distressed at Murnau removing crucifixes around the inn, and the cameraman, Wolfgang Muller, falls into a strange, [[hypnosis|hypnotic]] state. Gustav discovers a bottle of blood amongst the team's food supplies, and someone delivers a caged ferret in the night to a not yet fully revealed Schreck.

One night, Murnau rushes his team to a nearby [[Orava Castle|ancient Slovak castle]] for the first scene featuring Count Orlok. Schreck appears for the first time, and his appearance and behavior impress and disturb them. The film's producer, [[Albin Grau]], is confused when Murnau tells him that he originally found Schreck in the castle. Soon after the completion of the scene, Wolfgang is found collapsed in the tunnel into which Schreck had receded.

While filming a dinner scene, Gustav accidentally cuts his finger. Schreck reacts wildly and tries drinking from Gustav's wound. Grau orders filming ended for the night, and the crew rushes from the castle, leaving Schreck behind. Alone, Schreck examines the camera equipment, fascinated by footage of a sunrise. With Wolfgang near death, Murnau brings in another cameraman, [[Fritz Arno Wagner]]. Murnau threatens Schreck if he does not control himself in Murnau's absence—a threat that Schreck challenges due to his [[immortality]].

While Murnau returns to [[Berlin]] to calm financiers of the film, Schreck approaches Grau and the screenwriter, [[Henrik Galeen]], who believe he is still in character. Schreck points out [[Count Dracula|Dracula]]'s loneliness and the sadness of him trying to remember how to do otherwise mundane chores that he has not needed to perform for centuries. Schreck snatches a bat and sucks its blood. Grau and Galeen, thanks to their drunkenness on [[schnapps]], are impressed by what they assume is talented acting. Later that night, Schreck kills a crewmember on the film's set.

The production moves to the island of [[Heligoland]] to film the final scenes. Murnau, in a [[laudanum]]-induced stupor, admits to Grau and Fritz that Schreck is an actual vampire, and in return for his cooperation, Murnau has promised him Greta. The two realize they are trapped on the island, leaving no choice but to complete the film that night.

On set, Greta becomes hysterical after noticing that Schreck casts no reflection. Murnau, Grau, and Fritz drug her with laudanum and film as Schreck feeds on Greta, with the laudanum in her blood putting Schreck to sleep. At dawn, the three attempt to open a metal door and let in sunlight to destroy Schreck but discover that the vampire had cut the chain to the mechanism, trapping them. Fritz and Grau attack Schreck, only to be killed. Murnau resumes filming and, crazed, ignores the deaths of his colleagues.

Schreck returns to feed on Greta as Murnau films. Galeen and the crew arrive and lift the door, destroying Schreck with the sunlight. Having become obsessed with the film, Murnau asks for an [[clapperboard|end slate]] from his rattled crew. After they oblige, he stops the camera and calmly states, "I think we have it."

==Cast==
* [[John Malkovich]] as [[F. W. Murnau|Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau]], the director of ''[[Nosferatu]]''
* [[Willem Dafoe]] as [[Max Schreck]], who plays [[Count Orlok]]
* [[Cary Elwes]] as [[Fritz Arno Wagner]], the cinematographer
* [[Aden Gillett|John Aden Gillet]] as [[Henrik Galeen]], the screenwriter
* [[Suzy Eddie Izzard]] as [[Gustav von Wangenheim]], who plays [[Thomas Hutter]]
* [[Udo Kier]] as [[Albin Grau]], occultist; the producer, art director, and costume designer
* [[Catherine McCormack]] as [[Greta Schröder]], who plays Ellen Hutter
* [[Ronan Vibert]] as Wolfgang Muller
* Nicholas Elliott as Paul
* Sophie Langevin as Elke
* [[Myriam Muller]] as Maria

==Production==
The premise of Count Orlok being played by an actual [[Nosferatu (word)|Nosferatu]] in the eponymous film was recorded by [[Adonis A. Kyrou|Ado Kyrou]], who in his 1953 book ''Le Surréalisme au Cinéma'' incorrectly wrote: "The credits name the music hall actor Max Schreck as the vampire's performer, but it is well-known that this information is deliberately untrue. No one has ever been able to reveal the identity of this extraordinary actor whose brilliant face made him forever unrecognizable. [...] What is hidden behind the character of Nosferatu? Could it be Nosferatu himself?" Although ill-informed, Kyrou's notion that the screen monster was also a real-life monster would popularize the mystery around ''Nosferatu''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/halloween-2024-max-schreck-nosferatu|title=The Undying Mystery of Max Schreck—the First Nosferatu|date=2024-10-31|access-date=2025-01-10|website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|last=Breznican|first=Anthony}}</ref>

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 (film)|Wild at Heart]]'' (1990).<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|title=Con Air (1997) Signs and Symbols on a Thrill Ride|date=6 June 1997|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F01E1D81E3DF935A35755C0A961958260|access-date=6 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|title=Wild At Heart (1990) Review/Film; In the Eerie Cosmos of David Lynch, Reality Is Reeling|date=17 August 1990|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE5D7123EF934A2575BC0A966958260|access-date=6 July 2015}}</ref> 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".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Swanson |first=Tim |date=2000-10-04 |title=Hollywood Stock Exchange bows pic view |url=https://variety.com/2000/digital/news/hollywood-stock-exchange-bows-pic-view-1117787251/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

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''.<ref>Bonus features on ''Shadow of the Vampire'' DVD - Interview with [[E. Elias Merhige]].</ref> 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 35|Super 35mm]] format, which further enhanced the effect when cropped and enlarged to anamorphic.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Magid |first=Ron |date=December 2000 |title=Dark Shadows |url=https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200012/index.php?startid=73#/p/70 |magazine=[[American Cinematographer]] |volume=81 |issue=12 |pages=68–75 |access-date=January 10, 2022}}</ref>

==Release==
''Shadow of the Vampire'' had its world premiere at the [[2000 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Koehler |first1=Robert |title=Shadow of the Vampire |url=https://variety.com/2000/film/awards/shadow-of-the-vampire-1117790447/ |access-date=10 January 2023 |date=December 12, 2000 |work=Variety}}</ref> It was given a limited release in the United States on December 29, 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DiOrio |first=Carl |date=2001-06-29 |title=Lions Gate homing in on profits |url=https://variety.com/2001/biz/news/lions-gate-homing-in-on-profits-1117802109/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> It was released on DVD in [[widescreen]] format on March 29, 2001.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shadow of the Vampire - Releases |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/shadow-of-the-vampire-v201815/releases |website=AllMovie |access-date=10 January 2023}}</ref> On January 5, 2010, In2Film released the film on Region 2 DVD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shadow of a Vampire |url=https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Vampire-Cary-Elwes/dp/B000TR6BEI/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= |website=Amazon | date=January 5, 2010 |access-date=10 January 2023}}</ref>

==Reception==
Critical reaction has been mostly positive with Dafoe's performance as Schreck/Orlok receiving particular praise.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Todd |date=2000-05-30 |title=Shadow of the Vampire |url=https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/shadow-of-the-vampire-2-1200461980/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cho |first=Seongyong |date=November 4, 2021 |title=Vampire's Twist: A Look Back at Shadow of the Vampire |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/shadow-of-the-vampire-willem-dafoe-john-malkovich-nosferatu |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=rogerebert.com |language=en}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shadow_of_the_vampire/ | title=''Shadow of the Vampire'' (2000) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Flixster]] | access-date=January 17, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a 71 out of 100 rating, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/shadow-of-the-vampire | title=''Shadow of the Vampire'' reviews | work=[[Metacritic]] | publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] | access-date=January 17, 2023}}</ref>

[[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."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shadow-of-the-vampire-2001 |title=Shadow Of The Vampire |work=rogerebert.com |access-date=April 8, 2020|date=January 26, 2001|first=Roger |last=Ebert}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=December 31, 2000 |title=The Best Movies of 2000 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/the-best-10-movies-of-2000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230122618/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20001231/COMMENTARY/40305002/1023 |archive-date=2009-12-30 |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=RogerEbert.com}}</ref>

[[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."<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/29/movies/film-review-son-of-nosferatu-with-a-real-life-monster.html|title=FILM REVIEW; Son of 'Nosferatu,' With a Real-Life Monster|author=Scott, A. O.|author-link=A. O. Scott|date=December 29, 2000}}</ref>

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Award
!Category
!Nominee(s)
!Result
!{{Abbreviation|Ref.|References}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[73rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
|[[Willem Dafoe]]
|{{nom}}
| rowspan="2" align="center" |<ref name="f">{{cite web |date=5 October 2014 |title=''The 73rd Academy Awards - 2001'' |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2001 |access-date=24 September 2020 |publisher=[[Oscars.org]]}}</ref>
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup and Hairstyling]]
|[[Ann Buchanan]], [[Amber Sibley]] 
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Bram Stoker Award]]
|Best Screenplay
|[[Steven A. Katz|Steven Katz]]
|{{won}}
|align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Horror Writers Association - Past Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners |url=http://horror.org/awards/stokerwinnom.htm#2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202142043/http://horror.org/awards/stokerwinnom.htm#2000 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |access-date=2017-11-14 |website=horror.org}}</ref>
|-
|[[59th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor]]
| rowspan="3" |Willem Dafoe
|{{nom}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners & Nominees 2001 |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/2001 |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Golden Globes |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[5th Golden Satellite Awards|Golden Satellite Awards]]
|[[Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor, Comedy or Musical]]
|{{won}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=2001 5th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards |url=http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2001.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118184239/http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2001.shtml |archive-date=2008-01-18 |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=International Press Academy}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[16th Independent Spirit Awards|Independent Spirit Awards]]
|[[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male|Best Supporting Male]]
|{{won}}
| rowspan="2" align="center" |<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2001 |title='Tiger' grabs 3 Independent Spirit awards |url=https://old.post-gazette.com/movies/20010326spirit4.asp |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]}}</ref>
|-
|[[Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] 
|Lou Bogue
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[2000 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]
|[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| rowspan="2" |Willem Dafoe
|{{won}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-12-17 |title='Crouching Tiger' Wins Top Prize from L.A. Critics |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-17-me-1258-story.html |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|[[7th Screen Actors Guild Awards|Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
|[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Supporting Actor]]
|{{nom}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards |url=https://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/7th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=sagawards.org}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[Vampire films]]
* "[[wikisource:Weird_Tales/Volume_29/Issue_2/I,_the_Vampire|I, the Vampire]]", a 1937 [[short story]] by [[Henry Kuttner]] about an ancient European vampire employed as a horror film actor in Hollywood. 
* "[[Flicker (American Horror Story)|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.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0189998|Shadow of the Vampire}}
* {{Mojo title|shadowofthevampire|Shadow of the Vampire}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|shadow_of_the_vampire|Shadow of the Vampire}}

{{Nosferatu}}
{{Dracula}}
{{E. Elias Merhige}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shadow Of The Vampire}}
[[Category:2000 horror films]]
[[Category:2000 independent films]]
[[Category:2000 films]]
[[Category:American multilingual films]]
[[Category:American supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:American vampire films]]
[[Category:BBC Film films]]
[[Category:Biographical films about actors]]
[[Category:British supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:British vampire films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of actors]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of film directors]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of German people]]
[[Category:English-language Luxembourgian films]]
[[Category:F. W. Murnau]]
[[Category:Films about filmmaking]]
[[Category:Films about films]]
[[Category:Films about snuff films]]
[[Category:Films based on urban legends]]
[[Category:Films directed by E. Elias Merhige]]
[[Category:Films produced by Nicolas Cage]]
[[Category:Films set in 1921]]
[[Category:Films set in Berlin]]
[[Category:Films set in castles]]
[[Category:Films set in Czechoslovakia]]
[[Category:Films set in Poland]]
[[Category:Films set in Slovakia]]
[[Category:Films shot in Luxembourg]]
[[Category:2000s German-language films]]
[[Category:Gothic horror films]]
[[Category:Lionsgate films]]
[[Category:Luxembourgian horror films]]
[[Category:Luxembourgish-language films]]
[[Category:Nosferatu films]]
[[Category:21st-century historical horror films]]
[[Category:American historical horror films]]
[[Category:British historical horror films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Saturn Films films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s British films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Dan Jones (composer)]]
[[Category:Films based on adaptations]]
[[Category:German-language American films]]