This book is the first study of the vampires in silent cinema, presenting a detailed academic yet accessible discussion of the films themselves and their sources. For the very first time, The Fire Elemental from the Wharton brothers The Mysteries of Myra (1916) is identified as cinemas original vampire, his appearance initiating a rich and variegated period of film production that is currently missing from studies of horror cinema. Exciting and ground-breaking, Vampires on the Silent Screen also discusses Drakula Halįla / Draculas death (1920), the first ever filmic female vampire in Erich Kobers Lilith and Ly (1919), and the Dracula lookalike, Count Merlin in Alexander Kordas Magic (1917) as well as many other productions. A socio-cultural framework with critical highlighting of eco-horror theory is used throughout to draw these unique discoveries together. This project is a must read for any horror enthusiasts out there.
Recenzijas
Both are well written and open up what I recognise as a frustrating subject in a way that casts a light on the films and enables the student to expand their knowledge. The difference in definitions, the distinctive lenses the two use, means the books enhance each other rather than detract from them, enabling critical examination. Both authors bring new things to the table, and both should be commended. (Andrew M. Boylan, Journal of Vampire Studies, Vol. 4, 2024)
1 From Times Beginnings.- 2 The Cinematic Vampire 18961922: Vampire
Bats and Vamps and Thieves.- 3 The Vampire as Spirit of Fire: Leopold and
Theodore Whartons The Mysteries of Myra (1916).- 4 Count Merlin and the
Alchemy of Blood Lust: Alexander Kordas Mįgia/Magic (1917).- 5 The
Blood-Demon and the Scientist: Erich Kobers Lilith und Ly / Lilith and Ly
(1919).- 6 Dreaming in the Madhouse Kįroly Lajthays Drakula halįla /
Draculas Death (1921).- 7 Counterfeits and Genuine.- 8 F. W. Murnaus
Nosferatu.
David Annwn Jones is author of Gothic Machine (2011), Sexuality and the Gothic Magic Lantern (2014), Gothic Effigy (2018), Re-Envisaging the First Age of Cinematic Horror (2018) and Green Trends in Euro-Horror Films of the 1960s and 1970s in The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Gothic (2020) The Art of Ghostly Projections (2021) in The Palgrave Handbook of Gothic Origins and Cinematic Darkness, in The Palgrave Handbook of Steam Age Gothic (2021).
