Nosferatu

Endlessly parodied and plagiarised, the first ever vampire film remains one of the best, and ninety years on it retains the power to chill you to the bone.

Endlessly parodied and plagiarised, the first ever vampire film remains one of the best, and ninety years on it retains the power to chill you to the bone. Summoned to the remote castle of Count Orlok, estate agent Hutter finds a shadowy, nocturnal creature who gets extremely animated at the sight of blood. Before long, Orlok is steaming towards Hutter’s home-town in a boat-load of coffins, with Hutter’s own wife Ellen firmly in his sights…

An expressionist fever-dream with moments of surprising tenderness, Murnau’s Nosferatu could so easily have been lost forever. After facing its own (fully justified) charges of plagiarism from the Bram Stoker estate all copies were ordered to be destroyed, but happily one stray print turned up in the USA many years later. The version screening here is from a recent restoration that has done the film full justice at last. Although we’ll grant you it isn’t a silent movie that has suffered from under-exposure, you will see it in a different light tonight thanks to a terrific live score from a Birmingham ensemble made up of Matt Eaton (Pram, Micronormous), Grandmaster Gareth and other members of Misty’s Big Adventure. Please note: The event will start half an hour later than advertised, at 8:30pm, with doors open from 8pm.

Part of Film Bug, across Colmore Business District from 20-23 March.