2 April
The General (Dir. Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1926) + The Immigrant (Dir, Charles Chaplin, US, 1917) (Screening format – not known, 75/22 mins) Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most revered comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s effortless masterpiece sees hapless Southern railroad 
engineer Johnny Gray (Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless, innovative wit and joyful, lighthearted dexterity, to reclaim the train and thereby save the South. Find out more at busterkeaton.com . The Immigrant sees Chaplin newly arrived in New York as he struggles to pay for a meal with his new found lady friend. With live piano accompaniment by Neil Brand. Village Hall, Parbold, Wigan Link
3 April
Sherlock Holmes (Dir. Albert Parker, US, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 109mins) A thrill ride throughout, Sherlock Holmes is one of the landmark titles in the ever-popular adventures of the super sleuth. Its also one of John Barrymore’s most prestigious early roles and this rarely 
seen film also presents screen debuts of William Powell and Roland Young. When a young prince is accused of a crime that could embroil him in international scandal, debonair super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes comes to his aid, and quickly discovers that behind the incident lurks a criminal mastermind eager to reduce Western civilization to anarchy. Find out more at moviessilently.com Presented by South West Silents. With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne. Arnolfini, Bristol Link
Nosferatu (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – digital , 96mins) To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of its original release, Nosferatu gets a nationwide re-release. A German Expressionist horror masterpiece starring Max Shreck as the vampire Count Orlok, the film was an unauthorised adaption of 
Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel. Stoker’s heirs sued over the adaption and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints survived and the film came to be regarded as an inspirational master work of the cinema. In the film, Count Orlok travels across Europe leaving a trail of death in his wake. Brilliantly eerie, with imaginative touches which later adaptions never achieved. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With recorded soundtrack. Picture House: Central, Clapham, Crouch End, East Dulwich, Finsbury Park, Fulham Road, Greenwich, Hackney, Stratford, West Norwood, Ashford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Exeter, Henley, Liverpool and Oxford. Gate Notting Hill, Ritzy Brixton, Little Theatre Bath, Duke Of York’s Brighton, Cinema City Norwich, Harbour Lights Southampton and City Screen York Link
Forbidden Paridise (Dir. Ernst Lubitsch, US, 1924) (Screening format – DCP, 75mins) Young military officer Alexei (Rod La Rocque) rescues Catherine (Pola Negri), the Czarina of a small kingdom in Eastern Europe, from a group of revolutionaries who are plotting against her. The Czarina ‘rewards’ him in the bedroom, causing Alexei to fall head over heels in love with her, only 
to find out that he is far from the only royal consort. Stung, Alexei joins a rebellion against the monarchy, vowing that no harm will come to Catherine. But the rakish Chancellor (Adolphe Menjou) has plans to quash this new threat… Made during the golden era of Hollywood silent cinema, Forbidden Paradise is a wonderful comic drama adapted from a 1922 Broadway play, starring the much-loved Polish performer Pola Negri, alongside an early cameo from Clark Gable. Find out more at imdb.com. Presented as part of the 2022 Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. Accompanied by a live score composed and performed by Marcin Pukaluk. BFI Southbank, London Link
Nosferatu (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – not known, 96mins) A German Expressionist horror masterpiece starring Max Shreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film was an unauthorised adaption of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ with names and other details changed 
because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel. Stoker’s heirs sued over the adaption and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints survived and the film came to be regarded as an inspirational master work of the cinema. In the film, Count Orlok travels across Europe leaving a trail of death in his wake. Brilliantly eerie, with imaginative touches which later adaptions never achieved. Find out more at wikipedia.org With live musical accompaniment by Minima. Bonnington Theare, Nottingham Link
6 April
Edward Everett Horton Although perhaps best known now for his sound film performances, for example as the over eager Messenger 7013 in Here Comes Mr Jordan ( 1941) or as bumbling Mr Witherspoon, the director of the Happydale Sanatorium in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), but he had previously found considerable fame as a a silent comedian. Tonight’s SWS Club Event looks at Horton’s life and screens three of his silent films. Presented by South West Silents. With recorded score. The Lansdown Pub, Clifton, Bristol Link
The General (Dir. Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most revered comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s effortless masterpiece sees hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When 
Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless, innovative wit and joyful, lighthearted dexterity, to reclaim the train and thereby save the South. Find out more at busterkeaton.com . With live musical accompaniment by Haiku Salut. St George’s, Bristol Link
7 April
The General (Dir. Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the most revered comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s effortless masterpiece sees hapless Southern railroad engineer 
Johnny Gray (Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny’s fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton’s boundless, innovative wit and joyful, lighthearted dexterity, to reclaim the train and thereby save the South. Find out more at busterkeaton.com . Presented by the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival. With live musical accompaniment by pianist Jonny Best and percussionist Trevor Bartlett. Link
Early Days of Anime: Shorts Programme. As an introduction to its Anime film season, the BFI is screening a compilation of early precursors to the anime genre, featuring several short films from the silent era including; The Dull Sword (Dir. Junichi 
Kouchi, Jap, 1917) about a samurai who looses every fight due to his worn out sword. Find out more at animation.filmarchives.jp; The Story of Tobacco (Dir. Noburo Ofuji, Jap, 1926) a live action/animation combination about a fight over a 
cigarette. Find out more at animation.filmarchives.jp; and The Lump (Dir. Yasuji Murata, Jap, 1929) about two men who each have a lump growing on their faces. Find out more at animation.filmarchives.jp. With live piano accompaniment. BFI Southbank, London No link yet
10 April
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Dir.Wallace Worsley, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 117mins) A classic silent film, full of drama, frights, romance, and excitement – Quasimodo’s story is told with the thrilling addition of a live score – bringing this extraordinary movie to life like never before. Quasimodo is ordered to kidnap a gypsy girl, Esmerelda, by his wicked master, and an unlikely friendship forms between them. 
However, the reclusive hunchback is tested to his limits when Esmerelda is framed for attempted murder, and must fight back against the powers that have subjugated him. Victor Hugo’s tragic tale of the deformed bellringer and his love for Esmeralda, a doomed gypsy girl, has been filmed so many times and it’s not hard to see the film’s ageless appeal. While some movie lovers who cite the 1939 Charles Laughton version as their favorite interpretation, the general consensus is that Chaney remains the definitive Quasimodo. Find out more at wikipedia.org. With live organ accompaniment by Nicholas Miller. St Margaret’s Church, Putney Link
Cafe Elektric (Dir. Gustav Ucicky, Aust, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 80mins) Many paths lead into the demi-monde of Café Elektric, but only a few lead out again. It is one of those places where all kinds of shadowy lives converge, as the rich go slumming – and the poor sell their 
bodies. Although framed as a moral tale, Gustav Ucicky’s atmospheric film offers an accurate and unsentimental portrayal of the Vienna of the inter-war years. For good reasons, it paved the way for the careers of Marlene Dietrich and Willi Forst, who can both be seen here in their first leading roles. Find out more at silentmovie.fandom.com. With live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney. Institut Francais, London Link
The Fall of The House of Usher (Dir. Jean Epstein, Fr, 1928) (Screening format – not known, 63 mins) An unnamed man pays a visit to the decaying, aristocratic mansion of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher. He finds Usher to be demented… obsessed by death, consumed with fear that his beloved wife Madeline will die, and no less fearful that she will be buried alive. He spends his days painting an eerily lifelike portrait of 
Madeline, but with each brushstroke the life seems to drain from her. Director Jean Epstein and screenwriter Luis Buñuel studiously avoided cheap shocks and opted for a controlled, spookily subtle technique, in this tale of hereditary madness. Epstein’s version changes the relationship of Madeline and Roderick from brother and sister to husband and wife but matches the horror and menace of Poe’s story, with weird, surreal images and an insidious atmosphere conveyed by the glowering halls, fluttering curtains, and nightmarish suggestiveness of the veil and coffin. Look out for French director Abel Gance, fresh from directing Napoleon (1927) in a minor role while his then wife, Marguerite, stars as Madeline. Find out more at rogerebert.com. With live musical accompaniment from Stephen Horne (piano, accordian, flute) and Elizabeth Jane Baldry (harp). Barbican, London Link
13 April
Old Heidelberg (Dir. John Emerson, US, 1915) {Screening format – 16mm, 60mins) Prince Karl Heinrich (Wallace Reid), heir to the throne of Rutania, is isolated and lonely throughout his childhood and teenage years. The King, his father, denies him the companionship of other children who are considered 
below his station. His only companion and comfort is his faithful tutor, Dr. Juttner (Karl Formes Jr.). The film is based on an 1899 novel, Karl Heinrich, by Wilheim Meyer-Forster and on theatrical versions of the book. In 1924, a musical version, The Student Prince, was written by Dorothy Donnelly and Sigmund Romberg. Ernst Lubitsch directed a further silent film version in 1926, The Student Prince of Old Heidelberg, with Ramon Navarro and Norma Shearer. Wallace Reid and Dorothy Gish had been in films several years and were established with film audiences. 
Their acting, natural and tender, is emotionally correct. Erich von Stroheim, recently arrived from Austria and 
billed fourth, plays the valet energetically and ramrod stiff; the role fits him perfectly. Von Stroheim provided advice on the details of military dress and comportment. Reid’s stardom was tragically short. He became addicted to morphine, prescribed to treat an injury; his attempts to break his addiction were unsuccessful. Late in 1922, his health declining, Reid entered a sanatorium where he died January 18, 1923, age 31 yrs. Find out more at obscurehollywood.net Presented by the Kennington Bioscope. With live musical accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
16 April
The Blinking Buzzards – The quarterly meeting of The UK Buster Keaton Society. After a selection of Keaton shorts the second half will be a screening of Go West (Dir. Buster Keaton, US, 1925) (68 mins) In an unusual twist on the romantic comedy formula, Buster 
Keaton stars opposite an affectionate cow in this Western Comedy. Friendless Homer Holiday drifts west eventually finding employment on the Thompson ranch. He soon befriends Brown Eyes, a cow that he bonds with after she saves his life. When Brown Eyes is included in a shipment of cattle bound for the slaughterhouse, Homer goes along in hopes of rescuing her. But when the herd escapes from the cattle cars, causing chaos through downtown L.A.; it is then up to Friendless to round them up and save the day. Look closely during the hilarious stampede scene to see Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle playing a part in drag. Find out more at silentfilm.org The Cinema Museum, London Link
23 April
Laurel & Hardy Triple Bill First up is the long-lost, recently re-discovered and restored Duck Soup(later remade with sound as Another Fine Mess, and not to be confused with the 1933 Marx Brothers film). Stan and Ollie are a couple of vagrants who masquerade 
as owner and housemaid of a fancy mansion. Stan in a dress is always a joy! Next up is Two Tars– a comedy classic in which The Boys play sailors on leave. The gallant pair score a date with two girls but wind up stalled in a very long traffic jam… and a whole lot of trouble. Finally, Liberty in which Laurel and Hardy are escaped convicts trying to reclaim their trousers… atop the girders of an unfinished skyscraper! ( Dir. Fred Guiol | James Parrott | Leo McCarey | US | 1927/8/9) With live piano accompaniment by Forrester Pyke. Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’ness Link
Would You Believe It? (Dir. Walter Forde, UK, 1929) British silent star Walter Forde as an inventor who develops a remote control tank and is pursued by dastardly foreign agents after the plans. A chase in the London Underground is one of the highlights. Forde’s best feature, co-starring Pauline Johnson. Find out more at screenonline.org.uk. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Introduced by Geoff Brown, the author of the only book on Walter Forde. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
Rediscovering Roscoe Silent comedy buff Steve Massa hosts a presentation on Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, based on his recent book of the same name. Once as acclaimed as Chaplin, Arbuckle rose to fame at Keystone with Mabel Normand, starred in and directed shorts films and features, helping Buster Keaton and Bob Hope en route, but is sadly remembered today mainly for the scandal which destroyed his career. Plus His Wife’s Mistake (1916) – one of Arbuckle’s best starring shorts, with Al St John. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
My Best Girl (Dir. Sam Taylor, US,1927) (Screening format – not known, 79 mins) Mary Pickford falls for co worker Buddy Rogers in this rom com with real chemistry – she later married her co-star! Proving she could be just as adept at comedy as drama, director Sam Taylor and a great supporting cast including comedy veteran Mack Swain ensure a “symphony of laughter, adventure and thrilling suspense” (to quote the original advertising). Find out more at moviessilently.com. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Introduced by film editor and director, Christopher Bird. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
Almost Lost Laughs A selection of gems long thought lost. Included will be Charley Chase, Larry Semon (in the rail chase climax from Stop, Look and Listen (1926) – the first showing since its discovery in Japan), Edward Everett Horton (forgotten until recently as a silent star) at his best in Dad’s Choice (1928) and Charley Bowers at his most surreal, struggling to invent a non–slip banana peel in Many a Slip (1927). Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
The Strong Man (Dir. Frank Capra, US, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 75mins) A meek Belgian soldier (Harry Langdon) fighting in World War I receives pen-pal letters and a photo from “Mary Brown”, an American girl he has never met. He becomes infatuated with her by long distance. After the war, the young Belgian journeys to America as assistant to a theatrical “strong man”, Zandow the Great (Arthur Thalasso). While in America, he searches for Mary Brown… and he 
finds her, just as word comes that Zandow is incapacitated and he must go on stage in his place…… Langdon didn’t make his screen debut until he was 40. After two successful years with Mack Sennett he moved to First National Pictures. His first feature Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926), featuring Joan Crawford in an early role, was followed by The Strong Man (1926) and Long Pants (1927), both directed by Frank Capra. The success of these films earned Langdon a reputation as one of the best comedians in Hollywood. But after he split with Capra, Langdon’s career went into decline and he still remains the least recognised of the ‘big four’ comedians of the silent era. Find out more at moviessilently.com Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Introduced by Matthew Ross, editor of The Lost Laugh online vintage comedy magazine. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
Safety Last (Dir. Fred C Newmeyer/Sam Taylor, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 73mins) A boy (Harold Lloyd) moves to New York City to make enough money to support his loving girlfriend (Mildred Davis), but soon discovers that making it in the big city is harder than it looks. When he hears that a store manager will pay $1,000 to anyone who can draw people to his store, he convinces his friend, the “human fly,” (Bill Strother) to climb the building and split the profit with him. But when his pal gets in trouble with the law, he must complete the crazy stunt on his own. The image of Harold Lloyd hanging desperately from the hands of a skyscraper clock during Safety Last! is one of the great icons of film history (although it was achieved with a certain amount of film trickery) and this remains one of the best and best loved comedies of the silent era. Find out more at rogerebert.com. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
24 April
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1927) (Screening format – not known, 91 mins ) In The Lodger, a serial killer known as “The Avenger” is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man (Ivor Novello) arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting’s daughter (June Tripp) is a blonde 
model and is seeing one of the detectives (Malcolm Keen) assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger. Based on a best-selling novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, first published in 1913, loosely based on the Jack the Ripper murders, The Lodger was Hitchcock’s first thriller, and his first critical and commercial success. Made shortly after his return from Germany, the film betrays the influence of the German expressionist tradition established in such films as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) and Nosferatu (1922). Find out more at silentfilm.org With live piano accompaniment by Lillian Henley. Palace Cinema, Broadstairs Link
The Wright Idea (Dir. Charles Hines, US, 1928) (Screening format – 16mm, 70mins)
Johnny Hines was known for light comedy dramas throughout the twenties, but this, his swansong, is an out and out comedy involving (amongst others) a formula for blotter-less luminous ink, a stolen yacht full of rum runners, and a rubber octopus. Not seen since its original release, this is the premiere of the only surviving print – a first for the Silent Laughter Weekend. Find out more at moviessilently.com Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Introduced by Christopher Bird. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
Mack Sennett Madness Of all Mack Sennett’s 1920’s stars, walrus moustached Billy Bevan was probably the best known (next to Ben Turpin) and starred in some of the most memorable short comedies. But they’ve been unseen for years, or at best only shown in extracts on TV – until now. This is a compilation of some restorations just completed for release on BluRay. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Introduced by Dave Glass. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
What Happened To Jones (Dir. William A Seiter, US, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 70 mins) You might recognise Reginald Denny from his part as the personable estate manager in Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) or as Algy in the 1930s Bulldog Drummond series, but in his youth this dashing actor from Richmond, Surrey was the toast of silent Hollywood, probably best remembered today for his performance alongside Laura La Plante in the delightful comedy Skinner’s Dress Suit, also made in 1926. What Happened To Jones is another cracking comedy, on a ‘night before the wedding’ theme, scripted by Melville W Brown, and once again showcasing both Denny’s gift for comedy and his likeable personality. Find out more at giornatedelcinemamuto.it. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
Lupino Lane Sara Lupino Lane, the British star’s grand daughter, in conversation with Mathew Ross. Lane’s long career encompassed not 
only stage and screen successes, notably the hit musical Me and My Girl, but also some comedy shorts made in America. Newly restored examples will include Joyland (1929) – a dream of toys come to life featuring Lane at his most acrobatic – plus never–before-seen home movies and scrapbook photos courtesy of our special guest. Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Cinema Museum, London Link
The Marriage Circle (Dir. Ernst Lubitsch, US, 1924) (Screening format – not known, 85mins) A newly-married man (Monte Blue) loves his wife (Florence Vidor), but finds himself lured into the web of her best friend, Mizzi (Marie Prevost). When Mizzi’s husband (Adolphe Menjou) finds out 
what is happening, he views this indiscretion as an opportunity to get out of his marriage. And when the newly married man’s lecherous colleague also makes a play for his wife, things really get complicated. The first of Lubitsch’s sophisticated sex farces, The Marriage Circle was reportedly his favorite film. Find out more at brightlightsfilm.com Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. Introduced by Michelle Facey. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
An Evening with Laurel and Hardy Broadcaster, writer and musician Neil Brand presents the premiere of a programme later to be seen at the Dundee Film Festival. Neil wrote the play Stan for radio and TV, scored Laurel & Hardy’s You’re Darn Tootin’ (1928), and has performed it (with audience participation) amongst other venues, at a previous Silent Laughter Weekend. His take on the famous duo, illustrated both with clips and complete silent comedies, will be a finale not to be missed! Presented as part of the Kennington Bioscope Silent Comedy Weekend. With live piano accompaniment. Cinema Museum, London Link
29 April
Alim (Dir. Heorhii (or Georgi) Tasin, Ukr, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 61mins) Alim is an adventure film reminiscent of an American western. It is based on a Crimean Tatar legend, turned into a play by the repressed Crimean Tatar writer Ipchi Ümer and adapted for screen by a famous Soviet Ukrainian writer Mykola Bazhan. It tells a story of a nineteenth-century Crimean Tatar Robin Hood, Alim, fighting against rich people. Shooting of the film began in the autumn of 1925 in line 
with the Soviet indigenisation (korenizatsiia) policy, which called for more cultural products with national plots. It was produced by the famous All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration (VUFKU), widely known as ‘Ukrainian Hollywood’, a film studio which during 1922-1930 released over 140 films, among which are Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929) and Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s Earth (1930). The film gained popularity abroad and was presented in Berlin and Paris. Nonetheless, by 1937 the film had fallen foul of changing
political circumstances and was banned with all copies supposedly destroyed. The premier of this restored version of film took place in 2014 as a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars. This screening is a rare opportunity to discover a little-known example of the Soviet Ukrainian cinematic avant-garde, previously unknown to the western audience. Find out more at vufku.org Presented by Birkbeck Institute of the Moving Image. Introduced by Dr Olena Palko (History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck). With live musical accompaniment from Crimean Tatar folk and jazz guitarist Enver Izmaylov. BIMI, London Link
Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde (Dir. John S. Robertson ,US, 1920) (Screening format – not known, 79mins) Not the first cinematic version of Stevenson’s famous story but one of the most memorable with John Barrymore’s classic transformation scenes, a mixture of facial and bodily contortions as well as make–up. He tends to be hammy as the leering beast of a thug but brings a tortured struggle 
to the repressed doctor, horrified at the demon he’s unleashed, guilty that he enjoys Hyde’s unrestrained life of drinking and whoring and terrified that he can no longer control the transformations. Martha Mansfield co-stars as his pure and innocent sweetheart, and Nita Naldi (the vamp of Blood and Sand) has a small but memorable role as the world-weary dance-hall darling who first “wakens” Jekyll’s “baser nature”. The film uses elements from a 1887 stage version of Stevenson’s original novella by Thomas Russell Sullivan. A huge box office success on its release. Find out more at moviessilently.com With live musical accompaniment and the world premiere of a brand new live score by Stephen Horne and Meg Morley. Coventry Cathedral, Coventry Link
30 April
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (Dir. F W Murnau, 1922) (Screening format – digital, 96mins) 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the release of F W Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922), one of the most iconic films not just of the German expressionist era ,but of cinema itself. In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok (portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck, in a performance the very backstory of which has spawned its own mythology) who soon after embarks upon a 
cross-continental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land… and establish his ambiguous dominion. The film was an unauthorised adaption of Stoker’s ‘novel with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the story. Stoker’s heirs sued over the adaption and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints survived and the film came to be regarded as an inspirational master work of the cinema. Brilliantly eerie, with imaginative touches which later adaptions never achieved and featuring some of the most iconic images in cinema history, Nosferatu continues to haunt modern audiences with its unshakable power of gothic imagery and blood curdling suspense.. Find out more at www.rogerebert.comWith live musical accompaniment by L’arsenale Ensemble from Treviso, Italy performing a score composed by instrumental inventor Filippo Perocco. King’s Place, Kings Cross, London Link
Silentfilmcalendar.org 