E X T E N S I O N DRACULA AT THE CINEMA AND THEATRE The following selected filmography does not attempt to be exhaustive1, however it presents the most interesting vampire films. Nosferatu (or A Symphony of Horror) (1922). Directed by the German expressionist F. W. Murnau, it is one of the most appreciated horror films. Max Shreck s appearance in the film is perhaps one of the most memorable in all cinema history: pale and thin, he a shaven head with two elongated front teeth, sunken2 cheeks, wide bulging3 eyes and fingernails which are extremely long, curved and pointed like claws. Because Murnau did not have the literary rights to the novel, he changed the setting and the Count s name to Orlock. Nosferatu, the first vampire film, is the standard of comparison for all subsequent vampire films. Dracula (1931). Directed by the Edgar Allan Poe of the cinema,Tod Browning.This film is the first vampire sound film and still one of the most popular ones. Its popularity is probably due to Bela Lugosi s Dracula, who, with his authentic Hungarian accent and satanic appearance, captured the popular audience s imagination as an authentic vampire. The script of the film was not based on Stoker s Dracula, but on a popular play by John Balderston and Hamilton Deane. The Horror of Dracula (1957). This is the first British vampire film and a true classic of the genre. It was directed by Terence Fischer and written by Jimmy Sangster, who based the film on Stoker s novel. Sangster managed to put the Count in the tradition of the English gothic villain: he is a charming and intelligent aristocrat who transforms his female victims into carnal, lascivious4 creatures. The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). This is Roman Polanski s much appreciated vampire film, an attempt to parody the genre. Polanski got the mythology right, but the humour is rather juvenile. 1. exhaustive: complete. 2. sunken: hollow and deep. 3. bulging: sticking out. 102 4. lascivious: showing strong sexual desire.