Sondheim shows silent vampire movie ‘Nosferatu’ to organ accompaniment

The Fairfield Arts & Convention Center hosted a free showing of the silent vampire film 'Nosferatu” with live organ accompaniment by Jay Warren on Oct. 15.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens), or simply Nosferatu, is a 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897); the Stoker Estate had refused permission. Various names and other details were changed from the novel. For instance, vampire became Nosferatu, and Count Dracula became Count Orlok.

Stoker's heirs sued over the adaptation, and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints of Nosferatu survived, and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema. The film was released in the United States on 3 June 1929, seven years after its original premiere in Germany.

Chicago's foremost photoplay organist, Jay Warren, brings all the color, excitement, and glamour of the silent film era back to life with his original scores for the silver screen. As a regularly featured photoplay organist for the Silent Film Society of Chicago, he has accompanied most of the great silent films throughout his career in his famous rousing style. He has been featured annually for the SFSC's highly regarded SILENT SUMMER Film Festival since its inception in 2000.