Nosferatu

Silent classic

Max Schreck gives the central performance as Vampire Count Orlok, not entirely dissimilar to a certain 'Dracula', but as German director F.W.Mernau could not secure the rights to Bram Stoker's vampire-classic, he decided to tell his own version of the story instead. Despite similarities, the film is distinct from Dracula in several key ways, although it was almost destroyed by Stoker's widow for copyright infringement. While the film is almost a century old, it is rightly held up to be a genuine classic, and still has the ability to captivate – and scare – modern audiences. Still given public screenings, often with the performance of a live soundtrack, Nosferatu contains several famous scenes – check the shot featuring the shadow of the vampire as he climbs the stairs – and has influenced countless films made since.

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