Nosferatu

Nosferatu is a 1922 German silent horror film directed by F. W. Murnau. It is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, renaming the characters and altering details to avoid copyright issues, most notably presenting the vampire as Count Orlok. The film stars Max Schreck as Orlok, whose gaunt, bald appearance and extended fingers have become iconic in vampire imagery. The story follows a real estate agent, Thomas Hutter, who travels to Transylvania to meet Orlok; Orlok travels to the town of Wisborg, spreading fear and a plague as he preys on the townspeople, particularly Hutter's wife, Ellen. Ellen's sacrifice and the community's vigilance lead to Orlok's defeat and the lifting of the threat.

The production by Prana-Film faced legal trouble when Bram Stoker's estate sued for copyright infringement; after the suit, the film's rights were contested and prints were suppressed, though copies were saved and the film was revived in later decades. The film is renowned for its German Expressionist style: stark set design, dramatic lighting, and inventive use of shadows to convey mood and menace. It influenced generations of horror cinema and contributed to the enduring visual archetype of the vampire as a pale, otherworldly figure.

Nosferatu has been the subject of numerous remakes and references, including Werner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre. The 1922 version remains a central work in the history of silent film and vampire fiction.