Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (Nosferatu the Vampire)

Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (Nosferatu the Vampire) (1922)

  • 98% of critics liked it
    (48 reviews)

  • 85% of users liked it
    (42,711 ratings)

F. W. Murnau's landmark vampire film Nosferatu isn't merely a variation on Bram Stoker's Dracula: it's a direct steal, so much so that Stoker's widow went to court, demanding in vain that the Murnau film be suppressed and destroyed. The character names have been changed to protect the guilty (in the… More

Unrated, 1 hr. 3 min.
Directed By
F.W. Murnau
Genres
Horror, Art House & International, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy
In Theaters
Mar 4, 1922 Wide
On DVD
Oct 22, 1997
Film Arts Guild

Critic Reviews

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Murnau proved his directorial artistry in Sunrise for Fox about three years earlier, but in this picture he's a master artisan demonstrating not only a knowledge of the subtler side of directing but in photography.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    The film shows Murnau's uncanny mixture of expressionism and location shooting at its finest.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    A masterpiece of the German silent cinema and easily the most effective version of Dracula on record.

  • James Berardinelli, ReelViews

    As vampire movies go, few are more memorable than Nosferatu, which is not only the first screen version of Dracula, but, in some ways, remains the best.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    It doesn't scare us, but it haunts us. It shows not that vampires can jump out of shadows, but that evil can grow there, nourished on death.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Alexander D


    Oft-homaged silent horror film from 1922 Germany is fantastically eerie, relevantly creepy, even in the 21st century. Somewhat based on Bram Stoker's late-19th century literary horror classic Dracula, it tells the story of Thomas Hutter, who travels to Transylvania and is… More

  • Graham J


    Images from this film will be forever burned into my mind.

  • Zach B


    You know, I do review films in my spare time because I love to express my love for cinema, but this if a film that I have no idea why I am even bothering to review. The reason why is because this film has been around for almost ninety years, still hailed as a masterpiece of German… More

  • Melvin W


    Nosferatu is definitely an eerie film and a good adaption of the book, but since I'm not a huge fan of silent films it's not really for me. It's a classic and Max Schreck is good and looks great as Count Orlok. The poor picture quality at times does make the movie… More

  • Lee ?


    It's 90 years old but it still has that eerie and creepy feel to it all. Max Schrek makes for one hell of a scary vampire, probably the most chilling vampire in movie history. It's very much a film of its own era and it's odd and outdated methods only add to its… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

See full cast