Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

Directed by F. W. Murnau. Starring Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder, Alexander Granach, Max Schreck, John Gottowt, Georg H. Schnell, Ruth Landshoff, Gustav Botz.

First film version of Bram Stoker’s classic novel “Dracula” was unauthorized, names changed from Count Dracula to Count Orlok, Harker to Hutter, etc. (though some prints have revised intertitles that correct these names), but the story is fairly similar. Rich with atmosphere and dread, circulating expressionistic visions of an unearthly presence and lurking danger; it’s not a movie that will make the average viewer jump with fright, but the texture of the production and the alien nature of Schreck’s vampire can still cast an eerie spell. Wisely used sparingly, there’s hardly a moment when Schreck is onscreen (or, at least, the shadow of Schreck) that isn’t some form of mesmerizing or unsettling. Other pieces are more dated or creaky (aside from Schreck, the performances rarely fare better than adequate), but there’s a purity and straight-to-the-poisoned-heart sincerity of chilly, instinctual malice here that hasn’t been replicated in the dozen or so direct adaptations since, including the 1979 remake from Werner Herzog. See also: Shadow of the Vampire from 2000, a meta-fictionalized account of the making of this film.

88/100