Last night Gorgeous Dave and I went to the 100 year anniversary showing of the 1922 classic horror movie Nosferatu over in Chester.
It was shown in its entirety with an improvised score by The Frame Ensemble who had been specially commissioned by the British film Institute to accompany Murnau’s seminal work.
It was a really interesting night . And a different experience enhanced by the fact that it was improvised and a total one off. I studied it at university , and loved the revisit.
Dave and I giggled away when we agreed that we felt very intellectual in a very New York Woody Allen film character kind of way.
"Nosferatu" is the creepiest vampire and horror film ever made, in my opinion. A hundred years later, still going strong!
ReplyDeleteI could not be considered an intellectual. I have never seen Nosferatu. I always meant to. I had no idea that it was 100 years old.
ReplyDeleteOMG that movie makes my skin crawl. So absolutely effective! Good movies, right??
ReplyDeleteXOXO
I remember someone writing about it that 'it is a German film that only Germans would like', obviously he was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI only know the 'shadow creeping up the stairs' bit, and that's enough for me.
ReplyDeleteLon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera will also be celebrating its 100th in the next few years.
ReplyDeleteAs for Woody Allen, rather than silent, or any kind of, horror movies, I get the sense he spends more time watching Ingmar Bergman, though I suppose playing a game of chest with Death can be kind of ghoulish.
I found that film really creepy!
ReplyDeleteI can't watch horror movies - I have enough trouble sleeping! xx
ReplyDeleteI saw your post in the early hours John and it right put the willies up me - I have a similar prescence here which too is breathe holding x 🕸
ReplyDeleteA neurotically (Woody Allen) intellectual night out.
ReplyDeleteHow very hipster of you.
ReplyDeleteLove it and will probably watch it again in the coming week - though I must admit I love Herzog's sort of remake, Nosfertu:The Vampire, even more. My favourite Expressionist film will always be The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, which retains its power to genuinely scare, even after 102 years. An extraordinary achievement.
ReplyDeleteI saw this at a nearby theater on a Sunday afternoon. They had closed the long and heavy window curtains. The vintage organ rose up from under the floor and an organist played the score. Powerful combination. When I came outside again, it was dark and somehow scary. Lynn
ReplyDeleteHow do you find such interesting events to attend? This one was truly creepy! I well remember seeing that film long ago bbut the musical accompaniment last night must have added eerieness.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Hugs!
Quirky, odd, dry whit ... you can't go wrong with Woody Allen...
ReplyDeleteOw 'eck, not for me. Scared witless growing up with the likes of Peter Cushing and Boris Karloff. A friend and l ran home like the wind after watching Ingrid Pitt in Countess Dracular, didn't even stop for a bag of chips on the way home, and we overtook the bus, such was our fear that 'she' might come after us. The innocence of youth eh! Tess x
ReplyDeleteGreat film. Alongside other b&w silent classics - Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Der Mude Tod...and don't get me started on the Film Noir talkies. I don't know if it was the type/quality of the film used, the acting, or the dialogue delivery, but so much more evocative than today's so called 'blockbusters'. As for Nosferatu - who needs colour or sound! Creepiest film ever made!
ReplyDeleteAn improvised score...how does that work? How do the musicians know what to play in concert? If they all just play their own thing it would sound like noise, wouldn't it?
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