With Nosferatu, Robert Eggers has already made two stealth adaptations of literary classics in a row

Director Robert Eggers has four feature films to date: The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northmanand 2024 Nosferatus. While he hasn’t been in the public eye as long as some other established directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott or Steven Spielberg, audiences are already getting a clear picture of the types of films that appeal to Eggers.

All four of Robert Eggers’ feature films are period pieces. They all also have a folkloric quality or feel as if they could be a legend passed down from generation to generation. This is especially true for The Northman and unanimously praised Nosferatusas Both films are based on literary classics — Village and Dracularespectively. However, nor are they direct adaptations for a few reasons.

Nosferatu and The Northman are stealth remakes of classic literature

Robert Eggers adapts Dracula and Hamlet in unconventional ways

Robert Eggers’ last two films are adaptations of classic literature; although, are indirect adaptations to varying degrees. The Northman has many similarities with that of William Shakespeare Village for good reason. Not directly adapting the piece Village to the big screen. Instead of, The Northman adapts the Scandinavian legend of Amleth, the inspiration for Village.

Instead of another Village adaptation, Eggers offers something different for the big screen, bringing the popular revenge story back to its Scandinavian source, something that has been explored to a lesser extent on screen. By directly adapting the myth of Amleth, the connections and counterparts with Shakespeare Village are still prominent The Northman.

As for Nosferatus, is technically an adaptation of Draculaor at least, the original 1922 film is. However, this adaptation was not authorized, as Plagiarism today reports. The producers behind the original Nosferatus I wanted to adapt Dracula but failed to obtain the rights to it. This did not stop production, and the filmmakers made some changes to the source material to get around the copyright issue.

This attempt was unsuccessful as it was clear to the Bram Stoker Estate and the German courts that Nosferatus was adapting Dracula illegally, leading to the destruction of almost all copies of the film. A copy escaped this fate and arrived in the United States, maintaining Nosferatus alive, thus serving as inspiration for Eggers’ 2024 remake, which industry professionals like Fede Àlvarez proclaim to be the “horror film of the year.”

Will Nosferatu be as authentic to the source material as The Northman?

Robert Egger’s two recent films are indirect adaptations

The Northman may have its differences Villagebut that’s because is directly adapting the source material it inspired Villagedon’t play it itself. The difficulty with adapting a legend that dates back to medieval times is the fact that there can be multiple iterations of that legend, therefore more liberties can be taken.

Nosferatuson the other hand, it is based on a more concrete source material. The original Nosferatus illegally adapted Draculawhich, at the time, had a definitive iteration, the novel. Although some changes were made, the original Nosferatus is close enough to the source material not to escape legal copyright issues.

With Robert Eggers Nosferatus remaking the 1922 film, its foundation is inherently more rooted in a definitive source, whereas The Northman takes on the challenge of adapting the legend of one of the best-known literary classics. Furthermore, with Dracula now in the public domain, 2024 Nosferatus could be more faithful to Dracula than the original. Robert Egger’s Count Orlok may also be scarier than the original, but only time will tell when the film will be released in Christmas 2024.

Source: Plagiarism today