Director Robert Eggers has four feature films under his belt so far: The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and 2024's Nosferatu. While he has not 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 sorts of films that attract Eggers.

All four of unanimously praised Nosferatu, as both of these films are based on literary classics -- Hamlet and Dracula, respectively. However, neither are direct adaptations for a few reasons.

Nosferatu & The Northman Are Both Stealth Remakes of Classic Literature

Robert Eggers Adapts Dracula and Hamlet In Unconventional Ways

Robert Eggers' latest two films are both adaptations of classic literature; although, they are indirect adaptations to varying degrees. The Northman has a lot of similarities to William Shakespeare's Hamlet for good reason. It is not directly adapting the play Hamlet for the big screen. Instead, The Northman adapts the Scandinavian legend of Amleth, the inspiration for Hamlet.

Instead of another Hamlet adaptation, Eggers delivers something different for the big screen by bringing the popular revenge story back around to its Scandinavian source, something that has been explored to a lesser extent on screen. While directly adapting the Amleth myth, the connections and counterparts to Shakespeare's Hamlet are still prominent in The Northman.

As for Nosferatu, it is technically an adaptation of Dracula, or at least, the original 1922 film is. However, that adaptation was unauthorized, as Plagiarism Today reports. The producers behind the original Nosferatu wanted to adapt Dracula but could not obtain the rights to it. This couldn't stop the production, and the filmmakers made a few changes from the source material to work around their copyright problem.

This attempt was unsuccessful, as it was clear to the Bram Stoker Estate and the German courts that Nosferatu was adapting Dracula illegally, thus leading to the destruction of almost every copy of the film. One copy escaped this fate and made it stateside, keeping Nosferatu alive, thus serving as the inspiration for the 2024 remake by Eggers, which industry professionals like Fede Àlvarez are proclaiming is the "horror movie 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 from Hamlet, but that is because it is directly adapting the source material that inspired Hamlet, not the play itself. The difficult thing about adapting a legend that goes back to Medieval times is the fact there can be multiple iterations of said legend, so more liberties can be taken.

Nosferatu, on the other hand, is based on a more concrete source material. The original Nosferatu illegally adapted Dracula, which, at the time, had one definitive iteration, the novel. While some changes were made, the original Nosferatu is close enough to the source material that it could not escape its legal troubles over copyright.

Robert Egger's Count Orlok may also be scarier than the original.

With Robert Eggers' Nosferatu remaking the 1922 film, its foundation is inherently more rooted in a definitive source, while The Northman takes on the challenge of adapting the legend behind one of the most well-known literary classics. Furthermore, with Dracula now being public domain, 2024's Nosferatu 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 movie comes out in Christmas 2024.

Source: Plagiarism Today