Nosferatu the Book

THIS IS is a very curious novel, masquerading as a biography, about the German film director, F. W. Murnau, remembered for his legendary horror film, Nosferatu and his American classic, Sunrise. The author describes his book as "a work of imagination" and "an original life" and this leaves the reader wondering just what is true and what is invented. This is not without interest as we wander the streets and the UFA studios of Berlin during the twenties but how much is Murnau, and what is not, in conversations rendered and behaviour described, is open to question. In tones somewhat impressionistic in the German film tradition, Murnau remains shadowy and elusive...