A century of classic vampire cinema—in posters, stills and artwork—from Murnau to True Blood and beyond
This visual feast celebrates classic vampire cinema—mainstream and niche—through the many colorful ways in which the key films have been marketed and consumed. F.W. Murnau's haunting film Nosferatu had its premiere in Berlin in March 1922. Bram Stoker's widow, Florence, tried hard to sue the production company for breach of copyright but had to settle in the end for a court order to destroy all prints and negatives. The film kept resurrecting, though, and is now considered the first, and one of the greatest, of all vampire movies—the founder of a dynasty of prints of darkness. The bloodline has spread from Nosferatu to Hollywood's Dracula and progeny (1931–48); from Hammer's Dracula/Horror of Dracula and sequels (1958–74) to versions of Sheridan Le Fanu's story “Carmilla” and other lesbian vampires (1970–2020); from the bestselling novels 'Salem's Lot and Interview with the Vampire to vampires who have shed their capes, hereditary titles and period trappings to become assorted smalltown oddballs, addicts, delinquents, psychopaths, rednecks, fashionistas, gay icons, comedians and even comic-book heroes (1975–2022). This book is dripping with stills, posters, artworks, press books—many of which have not seen the light of day for a very long time—and is authored by cultural historian and connoisseur of the Gothic Christopher Frayling, who has been called “the Van Helsing de nos jours.” Christopher Frayling (born 1946) is a recognized authority on Gothic fiction and horror movies. His study Vampyres (1978, 1990, 2016) and his classic four-part television series Nightmare: The Birth of Horror (1996) have helped to move Gothic horror from margin to mainstream. He is the author of Frankenstein and Once upon a Time in the West.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Guardian
Killian Fox
How filmmakers and marketers have lured us with the threat (or promise) of shadowy figures vying to drink our blood in the dead of night.
Deadline
Robert Lang
Not only a feast for the eyes but also for the mind, delves deep into our fixation with the Vampiric in its many forms, thanks to acclaimed cultural historian and connoisseur of the Gothic Christopher Frayling, who has been called “the Van Helsing de nos jours.”
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Monday, October 31 at 6 PM, Rizzoli Bookstore presents Vampire Cinema author Christopher Frayling on a century of classic vampire cinema—in posters, stills and artwork—from Murnau to True Blood and beyond. Register for this slideshow and book signing here. continue to blog
Featured spreads—showing Max Schreck as Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent film, Nosferatu; poster variations for Tod Browning's 1931 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi; and posters for Freddie Francis's extra-suggestive 1968 Dracula Has Risen from the Grave—are reproduced from new release Vampire Cinema: The First One Hundred Years, our number one Staff Pick for Halloween 2022. Launching Monday, October 31, at Rizzoli Books NYC, this 272-page goldmine by horror authority Christopher Frayling is a deep dive into the gothic, camp, supernatural, erotic, iconic history of the world's favorite bloodsucking monster. "Dracula is not dead," Frayling writes. "Far from it. … The point is that the old story, and its visual representation, flows through the bloodstream of modern culture, and is instantly recognizable worldwide. A modern myth. No longer a guilty pleasure, either in society or in academe." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 10.75 in. / 272 pgs / 220 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $49.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $64.95 ISBN: 9781909526884 PUBLISHER: Reel Art Press AVAILABLE: 10/25/2022 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AFR ME
Published by Reel Art Press. By Christopher Frayling. Edited by Tony Nourmand.
A century of classic vampire cinema—in posters, stills and artwork—from Murnau to True Blood and beyond
This visual feast celebrates classic vampire cinema—mainstream and niche—through the many colorful ways in which the key films have been marketed and consumed.
F.W. Murnau's haunting film Nosferatu had its premiere in Berlin in March 1922. Bram Stoker's widow, Florence, tried hard to sue the production company for breach of copyright but had to settle in the end for a court order to destroy all prints and negatives. The film kept resurrecting, though, and is now considered the first, and one of the greatest, of all vampire movies—the founder of a dynasty of prints of darkness.
The bloodline has spread from Nosferatu to Hollywood's Dracula and progeny (1931–48); from Hammer's Dracula/Horror of Dracula and sequels (1958–74) to versions of Sheridan Le Fanu's story “Carmilla” and other lesbian vampires (1970–2020); from the bestselling novels 'Salem's Lot and Interview with the Vampire to vampires who have shed their capes, hereditary titles and period trappings to become assorted smalltown oddballs, addicts, delinquents, psychopaths, rednecks, fashionistas, gay icons, comedians and even comic-book heroes (1975–2022).
This book is dripping with stills, posters, artworks, press books—many of which have not seen the light of day for a very long time—and is authored by cultural historian and connoisseur of the Gothic Christopher Frayling, who has been called “the Van Helsing de nos jours.”
Christopher Frayling (born 1946) is a recognized authority on Gothic fiction and horror movies. His study Vampyres (1978, 1990, 2016) and his classic four-part television series Nightmare: The Birth of Horror (1996) have helped to move Gothic horror from margin to mainstream. He is the author of Frankenstein and Once upon a Time in the West.
