Silent horror classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror comes to DVD and Blu-ray this October

It's becoming a bit of a dark week here isn't it, as the winter nights begin to slowly draw closer, for the third day in a row we have a title with a dark edge to it. And another from Eureka! Entertainment in their Masters of Cinema collection.

So if you don't fancy modern halloween offerings, then perhaps the silent 1922 classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is screaming out for a purchase on 25th October.

Directed by F. W. Murnau, this stars Max Schreck and comes with a newly remastered and restored transfer, in 1.37:1 1080p for the Blu-ray version, plus the obligatory 56-page booklet with writings and rare imagery.

Extras include two audio commentaries with film historians David Kalat and R. Dixon Smith with critic Brad Stevens, The Language of Shadows documentary on Murnau's early years and the filming of Nosferatu, new video interview with author Kevin Jackson, newly translated English subtitles with original German intertitles, and more.

The recommended retail prices for the three versions are £19.99 for the DVD and Blu-ray editions, with the Steelbook that contains both these retailing for £29.99.

Synopsis and trailer follow...

An iconic film of the German expressionist cinema, and one of the most famous of all silent movies, F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror continues to haunt, and indeed terrify, modern audiences with the unshakable power of its images.

By teasing a host of occult atmospherics out of dilapidated set-pieces and innocuous real-world locations alike, Murnau captured on celluloid the deeply-rooted elements of a waking nightmare, and launched the signature Murnau-style that would change cinema history forever.

In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 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.

As to whether the count’s campaign against the plague-wracked populace erupts from satanic decree, erotic compulsion, or the simple impulse of survival, that remains, perhaps, the greatest mystery of all in this film that’s like a blackout.