The F.W. Murnau Collection

Nosferatu
An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu is the quintessential silent vampire film, crafted by legendary German director F.W. Murnau (Sunrise).

Rather than depicting Dracula as a shape-shifting monster or debonair gentleman, Murnau's Graf Orlok (as portrayed by Max Schreck) is a nightmarish, spidery creature of bulbous head and taloned claws - perhaps the most genuinely disturbing incarnation of vampirism yet envisioned.

The Last Laugh
The crowning achievement of the German expressionist movement and one of the most notable artworks to arise from the Weimar Republic is Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's The Last Laugh. Emil Jannings stars in the bleak fable of an aging doorman whose happiness crumbles when he is relieved of the duties and uniform which had for years been the foundation of his happiness and pride. Through Janning's colossal performance, The Last Laugh becomes more than the plight of a single doorman but a mournful dramatization of the frustration and anguish of the universal working class, a phenomenon that was further enhanced by the contribution of the director and cinematographer Karl Freund.

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Tartuffe
In Tartuffe, Murnau revisits Moliere's fable of religious hypocrisy, in which a faithful wife (Lil Dagover) tries to convince her husband (Werner Krauss) that their morally superior guest, Tartuffe (Emil Jannings), is in fact a lecherous hypocrite with a taste for the grape. To endow the story with contemporary relevance, Murnau frames Moliere's tale with a modern-day plot concerning a housekeeper's stealthy efforts to poison her elderly master and take control of his estate.

Faust
Utilizing the full resources of the UFA Studios, Faust captures the intensity of a medieval universe steeped in religious fanaticism and pagan alchemy. Black-hooded pallbearers lead a torch-lit procession through a plague-stricken village literally cloaked by the wings of Satan. Crowded landscapes materialize and vanish in wisps of smoke, daemonic creatures soar through the heavens and earthly beings are tormented by the vaporous spirits that permeate the dungeon-like homes and Caligari-esque rooftops of this shadow world.

Tabu
Filmed entirely in Tahiti, Tabu represented an unusual collaboration between legendary directors F.W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty (Nanook of the North). Two lovers are doomed by a tribal edict decreeing that the girl is "tabu" to all men. While the lovers' flight from judgment and the ultimate power of the tabu are reminiscent of Murnau's expressionistic films, Tabu is all open air and sunlight - the brilliant tropical light sparkles on the ocean and glistens on the beautiful young bodies of the native men and women.