Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)

“Your wife has a lovely neck”

Perhaps the most terrifying thing about Nosferatu is how close F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece came to being lost forever — like so many other movies of its era. Producers Prana-Film baldly plagiarized Bram Stoker’s Dracula, switching out names and locations and adding a few details, but essentially — and very obviously — lifting their narrative straight from the novel. Stoker’s widow, Florence, who relied on royalties for her income, was understandably furious and ordered all prints destroyed. Thankfully, copies survived.

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The Golem (1915/1920)

Directors:
Carl Boese, Paul Wegener
Writers:
Henrik Galeen, Paul Wegener

There were several versions of this, dubbed ‘the first monster movie’, based on the Jewish legends about a clay man created by a magically-inclined rabbi. The 1915 version, purportedly about an antiques dealer who discovers a four centuries old golem and uses it as a personal servant, has been lost, but it was so successful that it generated a comedy about an actor in a golem suit (‘The Golem And The Dancing Girl’ made in 1917) and a prequel, made in 1920, which is the only one of the three films to survive.

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