Albin Grau (December 22, 1884 in Leipzig-Schönefeld – March 27, 1971) was a German artist, architect and occultist, and the ♠ producer and production designer for F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922). He was largely responsible for the look and spirit of the ♠ film, including the sets, costumes, storyboards and promotional materials.
Nosferatu
A lifelong student of the occult and member of Fraternitas Saturni, under ♠ the magical name of Master Pacitius, Grau was able to imbue Nosferatu with hermetic and mystical undertones.[1] One example in ♠ particular was the cryptic contract that Count Orlok and Knock exchanged, which was filled in Enochian, hermetic and alchemical symbols. ♠ Grau was also a strong influence on Orlok's verminous and emaciated look. Grau claimed to had originally gotten the idea ♠ of shooting a vampire film while serving in the German Army during World War I, when a Serbian farmer told ♠ him that his father was a vampire and one of the Undead, though this story may have been fabricated to ♠ promote the film.[2]
Before Grau and Murnau collaborated on Nosferatu, which was shot in 1921, Grau was planning to create several ♠ movies devoted to the occult and supernatural through his studio, Prana Film. Since Nosferatu was a loose and unauthorized translation ♠ of Bram Stoker's Dracula Prana had to declare bankruptcy in order to evade infringement lawsuits. This made Nosferatu its one ♠ and only release.
The Weida Conference [ edit ]