Nosferatu (1922)

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) is a 1922 German expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and produced by Albin Grau and Enrico Dieckmann. It is an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with names and details changed after the studio was unable to obtain the rights — "Dracula" became "Nosferatu", and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok".

Stoker's estate sued for copyright infringement and a court ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed. However, several prints survived in private collections around the world, and the film is now in the public domain worldwide. Max Schreck's portrayal of the rat-like Count Orlok remains one of cinema's most haunting performances, and the film is widely considered a landmark of German Expressionism and horror cinema.

Watch

Video source: Internet Archive — Nosferatu1922 · Public domain

Chapters

Click any timestamp to jump to that point in the film.

1. 00:00 Title cards and credits
2. 02:00 Hutter receives an assignment from Knock to visit Count Orlok in Transylvania
3. 08:00 Hutter's journey through the Carpathian mountains
4. 12:00 Arrival at Count Orlok's castle
5. 20:00 Orlok signs the deeds and Hutter discovers his true nature
6. 30:00 Orlok travels by sea to Wisborg aboard the Demeter
7. 40:00 Orlok arrives in Wisborg — plague follows
8. 50:00 Ellen's sacrifice to destroy Orlok

References

1. Eisner, Lotte H. Murnau. University of California Press, 1973.
2. Skal, David J. Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen. Faber and Faber, 2004.