An iconic film of the German expressionist cinema, and one of the most famous of all silent movies, F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror continues to haunt - and, indeed, terrify - modern audiences with the unshakable power of its images. By teasing a host of occult atmospherics out of dilapidated set-pieces and innocuous real-world locations alike, Murnau captured on celluloid the deeply-rooted elements of a waking nightmare, and launched the signature "Murnau-style" that would change cinema history forever.
In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok - portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck, in a performance the very backstory of which has spawned its own mythology - who soon after embarks upon a crosscontinental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land... and establish his ambiguous dominion. As to whether the count's campaign against the plague-wracked populace erupts from satanic decree, erotic compulsion, or the simple impulse of survival - that remains, perhaps, the greatest mystery of all in this film that's like a blackout...
Directed by
F.W. Murnau
Written by
Henrik Galeen; Bram Stoker (novel "Dracula" (uncredited)).
Starring
Max Schreck (Graf Orlok); Gustav von Wangenheim (Hutter (as Gustav v. Wangenheim)); Greta Schröder (Ellen Hutter, seine Frau (as Greta Schroeder)); Alexander Granach (Knock, ein Häusermakler); Georg H. Schnell (Westenra, Harkers Freund (as G.H. Schnell)); Ruth Landshoff (Lucy, Westenras Frau); John Gottowt (Professor Bulwer, ein Paracelsianer); Gustav Botz (Professor Sievers, der Stadtartzt); Max Nemetz (Käpitän der Demeter). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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