Just one word today:
Nosferatu!
We're screening it on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre in Wilton N.H.
More details in the press release below.
And remember—in silent film, no one can hear you scream!
* * *
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18, 2023 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com
Creepy classic thriller 'Nosferatu' to screen at Town Hall Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 22
Prepare for Halloween with silent horror movie and live music—see it if you dare!
WILTON, N.H.— Get into the Halloween spirit with a classic silent film thriller.
'Nosferatu'
(1922), the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel 'Dracula,'
will be shown with live music on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. at the Town
Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H.
Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10 per person suggested to defray expenses.
The screening will feature live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film musician.
'Nosferatu'
(1922), directed by German filmmaker F.W. Murnau, remains a landmark of
the cinematic horror genre. It was among the first movies to use visual
design to convey unease and terror.
To modern viewers, the passage of time has made 'Nosferatu' seem even more strange and otherworldly.
It's
an atmosphere that silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis will enhance by
improvising live music on the spot for the screening.
"The
original 'Nosferatu' is a film that seems to get creepier as more time
goes by," said Rapsis, a resident of Bedford, N.H. who accompanies
silent film screenings at venues across the nation.
"It's a great
way to celebrate Halloween and the power of silent film to transport
audiences to strange and unusual places," Rapsis said.
In
'Nosferatu,' actor Max Schreck portrays the title character, a
mysterious count from Transylvania who travels to the German city of
Bremen to take up residence.
In the town, a rise in deaths from
the plague is attributed to the count's arrival. Only when a young woman
reads "The Book of Vampires" does it become clear how to rid the town
of this frightening menace.
Director Murnau told the story with
strange camera angles, weird lighting, and special effects that include
sequences deliberately speeded up.
Although 'Nosferatu' is
suitable for all family members, the overall program may be too intense
for very young children to enjoy.
Modern critics say the original 'Nosferatu' still packs a powerful cinematic punch.
“Early film version of Dracula is brilliantly eerie, full of imaginative touches that none of the later films quite recaptured,” Leonard Maltin wrote recently.
Critic Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader called 'Nosferatu' "...a masterpiece of German silent cinema and easily the most effective version of Dracula on record.”
Despite the status of 'Nosferatu' as a landmark of early cinema, another scary aspect of the film is that it was almost lost forever.
The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Stoker's novel, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain rights to the novel.
Thus "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok." After the film was released, Stoker's widow filed a copyright infringement lawsuit and won; all known prints and negatives were destroyed under the terms of settlement.
However, intact copies of the film would surface later, allowing 'Nosferatu' to be restored and screened today as audiences originally saw it. The image of actor Max Schreck as the vampire has become so well known that it appeared in a recent 'Sponge Bob Squarepants' episode.
In
screening silent films at the Town Hall Theater, organizers aim to
show early cinema as it was meant to be seen—in restored prints, on a
large screen, with live music, and with an audience.
"All those
elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said
Rapsis, who will accompany the film. "Recreate those conditions, and
classics of early cinema such as 'Nosferatu' leap back to life in ways
that audiences still find entertaining."
Rapsis performs on a
digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra,
creating a traditional "movie score" sound. He improvises the complete
score in real time during the screening.
"Creating a movie score
on the fly is kind of a high-wire act, but it can often make for more
excitement than if everything is planned out in advance," Rapsis said.
The
classic early horror thriller ‘Nosferatu’ will be shown with live music
on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St.,
Wilton, N.H.
Admission is free; donations are accepted, with $10
per person suggested to defray expenses. For more information, call the
theater at (603) 654-3456.
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