for those who know the work of Gianfranco Vanniin art eye dropsAt the time of his association with the magazine Frigidaire It will be cause for no small astonishment that he grapples with philological comic adaptations nosferatu Of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, a cult work of German expressionist cinema. In the late 80s and early 90s, thanks also to his unscrupulous and irreverent style, Collirio was one of the heroes of the revolutionary comic season, whose manifesto was in Frigidaire magazine. a style that winks at the forerunners of so-called “mad punk”, sciantos Of the eccentric antoineDo not leave even after the closure of the monthly magazine directed by Vincent Sparagna, His fiery nature would be a fact that would set even appearances apart on the pages of Celine And Blue,
Instead, we give a more committed turn to their latest production, with a historical/didactic intent, if we must. Ferrara’s history in the comics Or road of a thousand mistakes, dedicated to the murder of Don Minzoni. Works to be followed by people dedicated to their great passion, music and cinema. he dedicates himself to the first pink moonbiography of english composer nick drakewhile they can be traced back to other oedipus the kingPier Paolo Pasolini’s cinematic masterpiece and inspired by the one presented here Nosferatu. symphony of terror,
Coming to the work dedicated to the German director, this must be done A brief historical context of how the vampire Nosferatu was born, establishing itself in the collective imagination, The plot of the story exactly follows the novel Dracula Irish writer’s Bram Stoker, however Murnau modified the names of characters and places so as not to recognize exploitation rights to Widow Stoker while retaining complete material control over her work. Apparently Florence Balcombe Stoker did not like this and she won the case through legal means, demanding that existing copies of the film be destroyed. Fortunately some copies were saved, allowing Murnau’s work to survive to the present day and establish itself as a masterpiece of silent cinema and German expressionism.
Obviously, the differences compared to Stoker’s novel are not limited to names, but are evident above all in the physical characterization of the protagonist “the Count”. In the literary work, Dracula retains a human aspect with no physical deformities, if we leave out precisely sharp teeth, and indeed retains a certain charm of a nobleman given by the mustache and thick hair. white hair only on the temples (a facet it would become thanks to the actor’s interpretation of the 30s handsome lugosi, On the other hand, Count Orlok has a distorted build such as to evoke terror, with vaguely anthropomorphic physical connotations that are reminiscent of wild animals.: very long nails like claws, giant rodent rodent, pointed ears; So we are far from the figure of the nobleman in the cauldron.
However, there are some cinema characters whose shadow-silhouette has become a symbolic representation of the spirit of terror: Nosferatu is certainly among them. and partly credit goes to the incredible graphic work done by albin grau (German artist, architect and esotericist) Murnau is already starting with the film’s promotional material. Illustrations that have become a reference point for anyone in any field who has had access to the figure of Count Orlok on paper or film. Of these we must certainly mention playbills and posters. david palladini that accompanied the theatrical release nosferatu Of werner herzog (Another masterpiece with an excellent interpretation of Count Orlok Klaus Kinski,
If I were to find a cinematographic equivalent to the work done by Grau for Murnau’s Nosferatu, I would have no doubt to quote Hans Ruedi Giger and its contribution to the attainment ofaliens Of ridley scott, and comic reduction by Alfred Castelli And marco baratelli in collaboration with, for the picture Gianni Grugeff published in the magazine Scary In March 1970. This work, composed of eight panels, uses the dotting technique to restore the distressing atmosphere of the original work without in any way betraying its spirit and in fact bending the comic strip to the needs of silent cinema, it Assuming meaning. So here the balloons are disappearing in favor of the classic caption framed on a black background, to underline how the work aspires to be nothing more than faithful to the original frames of the 1922 film as possible. Is.
For the analysis of this new adaptation by Collirio it seems necessary to start with the work of Grugef, Castelli and Baratelli. In interweaving the plot and adopting stylistic features of silent cinema, Ferraris maintains a respectful and faithful approach to the author’s original work. Similar to what Grugeof did. However, the originality of the graphic style adopted for a story with such a dark tone must be recognized. If the use of color would not be an innovation in itself (Herzog had already managed to introduce it into the cinematographic field without disturbing its atmosphere) the insertion of it into the context of cartoonish connotations such as the one proposed here by Collirio is an important innovation. represents. His portraits, which would be better accompanied by works with a lighter and more humorous content, abandon the hard and angular outlines that characterized German Expressionism on a formal level, favoring softer lines of the face more convincing. The contrast given by black and white and shadow and light is betrayed in favor of flat colors that play on shades of blue and thus sacrifice atmosphere in favor of detail.,
In Grugeff’s work, pale faces and figures emerge as disturbing ghosts in black-dominated vignettes, giving a claustrophobic and oppressive feeling. In contrast, Collirio decided to illuminate its tables by hiding nothing: The impression is that the work loses some of its expressionistic strength, which has been put down in favor of clarity in composition. Which seems to be aimed at attracting the attention of very young viewers. There is no intention of wanting to make the reader uncomfortable, no use of perspective changes or distortion of figures to produce the uneasiness of which Murnau’s work was capable and which allowed him to survive the testing season . Collirio becomes didactic and his work from poetry becomes prose rather than poetry being more popular than artistic value. One certainly can’t deny them the ability to master the medium of comics, but the problem with grappling with cult works like Murnau’s Nosferatu is how to deal with the weight of expectation that the cultural roots of the symbols and themes have. are the result of. It has been going on for decades that it has been held that apart from provocative intent, betrayal cannot be committed. And if Collirio’s production certainly isn’t free from the charms of excitement, we’d be inclined to say so. Rather, the work is a heartfelt cinematographic tribute to a beloved film. Filtered by his own artistic sensibility, which proudly returns its charm, despite betraying its sense of humor.
We also recommend reading the indispensable historical excursion on the picture of Nosferatu in the cinema and in the world of talking clouds Roberto Roda present at the end of the work.
we talked about:
Nosferatu. symphony of terror
Gianfranco Vanni – Eye Drops
La Carmelina Edition, December 2022
92 pages, Paperback, Color – €15.00
ISBN: 9791280645142