Rating: 
Summary: Dark, terrifying, beautiful
Review: The original Dracula movie, Nosferatu is quite possibly the most frightening film of its genre. This film is also the most intelligent of the vampire movies. It does not rely on gore and sex to intrigue the viewer, but instead presents the audience with a sense of darkness and fear that can only be attained through the exploitation of our own fears, however irrational those may be. It reawakens our childhood aversions to dark scary castles, bats and other things that go bump in the night. In short it is the ultimate gothic film: dark, sombre, and beautifully terrifying. Anyone who enjoys intelligently frightening movies should most certainly take the time to see this one. You wont be disappointed
Rating:
Summary: The original Dracula film
Review: This movie is the greatest vampire flick of them of them all, not to mention the scariest. My sister, who has sat through everything from the Bela Lugosi version to Christopher Lee right through Gary Oldman, absolutely refuses to watch this movie a second time. It freaked her out that much!!!
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Summary: The most frightening Count Dracula...
Review: I viewed this film for my love of Isabella Adjiani, and to my delight discovered a most authentically horrifying story of Count Dracula. This is by far the most visually terrifying and realistic vampire films I have seen. You must, however, suspend your 1990's hunger for quick scene changes, decadent costumes and special effects. The beauty, suspense and horror of this film are found in the pauses, the silence, the shadows--not so much the speed, noise and stunning visuals we have become so accustomed to. Watch it twice--and yes, watch it in the dark, or perhaps, by candlelight.
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Summary: This movie is a gothis horror classic
Review: This is the only true movie to due the horror of the Vampire justice it is a beautifully rendered film with wonderful balck and white tones this movie is a classic for the vampire lover. Its powerful and frightening display of the Vampire is amazing and striking. This is truly a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Yikes
Review: Unlike the later Universal horror masterpieces, which were more tragic than scary, this one is really creepy. Some of it is downright frightening in a way no other film has been. The use of natural settings and lack of dialogue only heightens the sense of unease. Of course, don't watch it with the lights on.
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Summary: Nosferatu! That name alone can chill the blood!
Review: Loosely based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" novel, "Nosferatu" is one of the earliest vampire movies ever made. Directed by F.W. Murnau at the height of the German Expressionist movement, this film is an eerie time capsule that introduced audiences to stage actor Max Schreck, who stars as the ghastly Count himself. Bearing a bone-white complexion, sunken eyes, rodent ears, and a sharp chin, Schreck's version of Dracula leers with the hunger and claws of a predatory animal. Indeed, Max's version of the character is unique, for future actors like Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee portrayed the vampire as an rich and attractive man, not as a pallid gargoyle.
Set in the lush streets of Bremen, the story of "Nosferatu" is told from a historian's diary written in 1838. It all starts when Johnathan Harker (Gustav von Wangenheim) is offered a golden opportunity. He works as a clark to his estate agent, Reinfield (Alexander Granach), a crazed old man who sports a toothy grin. Obviously tormented by the vampire's curse, Reinfield convinces Johnathan to have the aristocrat purchase a house in the village. To make things more interesting, that property would be right across the street from where Johnathan and his wife Nina (Greta Schroeder) live. Shortly after, the excited young man travels to Transylvania, despite the fact that Nina is concerned about his abrupt decision. Soon, the audience is led into the Count's cold castle, where Nosferatu slowly terrorizes Johnathan by sampling blood from his jugular vein. All the while, Nina is connected to her love by unseen nightmares, sleepwalking and calling out his name. Realizing the true horror of the situation, both she and Johnathan are determined to escape Dracula's supernatural trap. Later on, poor Reinfield is locked up in an insane asylum and Nosferatu comes to Bremen by hiding in the "Demeter" vessel, where his coffin lies among several boxes of unhallowed earth and diseased rats. Throughout the trip, the ship's crew members are quickly drained of their blood and mistaken by doctors as victims of the plague. Eventually, it's Nina who willfully offers her throat to the vampire, sacrificing herself in a final attempt to save her husband.
Although this movie somewhat lacks its spine-tingling suspense, viewers will still be impressed by F.A. Wagner's early experimentation with photo negativity and stop-motion animation. The latter of the two gives several chilling illusions of the vampire's power. The Count can appear and disappear at will and force doors to open and close unaided. In the end of the film, he vanishes in the sunlight. It must also be noted that some of the camera shots seem to make Max Schreck's character bigger and stronger than he really is. In the one scene when the vampire walks through an arched doorway, he suddenly looks like an 8-foot-tall giant! Indeed, such simple cinematic tricks were astounding achievements back in the 1920's. Other important moments happen when Johnathan rests in an inn; as he starts reading the pages of the Book of Vampires, the film repeatedly cuts to stock footage of horses running out of a field and a ravenous hyena climbing down a hill. Such scenes provide an omen that was commonly used since the works of Shakespeare; beasts sense a danger that's ignored by men.
If you are interested in early cinematic horror, I recommend you purchase this DVD as well as "Phantom of the Opera" and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
Rating: 
Summary: It's the DVD not the movie.
Review: I have loved this film since I was a child but this DVD has a HUGE problem, I cant hear the dialogue. All you can hear is this dopy piano music. The people that made this DVD tried to make up for the lack of spoken dialogue by putting these stupid black cards in between scenes (the cards had text on them). Hello if I wanted to read I would be looking at my issue of PLAYBOY. Remember Nosferatu is great, its this DVD that sucks.
Rating: 
Summary: Film varies depending on who publishes
Review: A 1922 Dracula knockoff that became a benchmark. Directed by FW Maurnau and starring an actor using the assumed name "Max Shreck".Originally titled "Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie Des Grauens",(but subsequently availible under a slew of psuedonyms, including "horror of dracula") and possibly no longer availible in its original edit, this 1922 silent masterpiece ironically came closest to matching the context of Stoker's novel, even while it tried to change character names and plot details to prevent copyright infirngement (a sebsequent lawsuit almost saw the destruction of every existing copy, and henceforth it has been almost impossible to track down the original version.) The origins of some of the video released versions of Nosferatu are dubious. Most do not use the dark-tinting filter that the film was supposed to be shown with (hence, many scenes of Orlok creeping down alleys in the moonlight are revealed to be shot in broad daylight, and look absolutely ridiculous), and the questionable Republic Pictures version has altered narrative screens that refer to the vampire Orlok as "Dracula", and to the hero as "Jonathon"). The Film's greatest asset is shady actor Max Shreck's nightmare incarnation of the rat-faced Count Graf Orlok, with his long claws and piercing eyes, who remains one of the creepiest screen incarnation of Dracula ever. Almost any of the few scenes that feature him are directed with a magnificent omninence, and have been a benchmark for all film vampires to follow since. Early uses of special effects (including, in some versions, negative film and stop motion effects), and of course the classic rigid-as-a-pole-rise-up-from-the-coffin scene that was copied directly in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There are some laughable filming errors, and alot of silly overacting that ruins a few scenes. The dubbed soundtrack to the Republic Pictures release is truly awful, and probably not part of the original film. Classic creepiness, but those without patience or an open mind will find this masterpiece dated.
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Summary: Everlasting Life and Greta Schroeder
Review: I bought "Nosferatu" on Halloween night, to screen a double-feature with "Shadow of the Vampire". This turned out to be a terrific idea and caused me to wish, for the first time since childhood and my array of Star Wars costumes, that Halloween came eleven or twelve times a year. "Nosferatu" may be 80 years old, but its influence is, amusingly enough, going to be eternal. The "Symphony of Horror" special edition DVD is absolutely a must-have, with three audio tracks that basically create three different versions of the film, and with three excellent mini-features. The basic audio track is an organ score derived from early-19th-century Romantic composers. Married to the film's flickering tinted images, this makes ideal Halloween (or, indeed, any post-midnight) viewing. The second audio score is more experimental, more modern, and much, much more fun. Whereas the organ track basically lies underneath the movie and provides a traditional (if static) experience, the "Silent Orchestra" compositions give the undead film a new life. This rock-jazz-classical track positively breathes in the way that Dracula never could. The final audio track is the commentary by German film expert Lokke Heiss. Don't be fooled by the man's voice and delivery, which is about as dynamic as balsa wood and interesting as an American cheese sandwich on white bread. He cites both scholarly film treatises and Stephen King as he discusses Murnau's influences, the film's light-dark composition, and the use of mirrors and windows within the movie. This is a terrific commentary track in that it increased my understanding of the move ten-fold. Pity they couldn't have had someone with an actual voice (like Christopher Lee) read Mr. Heiss's words. The featurettes range from cute to weird. Weirdest is the "Nosfera-Tour", ten minutes worth of home movies narrated once more by Heiss (oy vey) as he presents pictures of what the film's "Wisborg" looks like in the year 2000. The "Phantom Carriage Ride" is very eerie, spotlighting as it does one of the truly *bizarre* moments in the film. Finally, the art/photo gallery is splendid, one of the best galleries I've seen on a DVD. The real treasure comes at the beginnng -- the charcoal drawings that were producer Albin Grau's original renderings of Nosferatu. The DVD packaging -- cardboard case with plastic snap -- may be cheap, but it contains within one of filmdom's finest moments, and provides far more than just 81 minutes of enjoyment. Highly, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy Atmospheric Classic
Review: I recall seeing this film as a child, around the age of 9 or so, and being scared witless by Max Schreck's Count Orlok. Schreck's vampyre still remains ultra creepy ~ those long, clawlike hands, those deepset eyes, those scraggly sharp teeth ~ and perhaps my favorite incarnation of the bloodsucking undead. The photography of the Carpathian countryside is breathtaking, adding authentic atmosphere to the setting. You are, actually, 'there'. The special effects are also impressive for the time, and the tinting of the film, I believe, is original. Many silent films were tinted: blue for night, red for danger, sepia or orange for bright day, green for other effects. I make a plug for Greta Schroeder, who did an admirable job of pacing distractedly, filled with awful foreboding. I was quite satisified with the choice of soundtracks on the DVD, and my 17-year-old son had a blast switching between them as the mood struck. You ought to see this at least once ~ it's the one that started them all.
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