F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu is one of my favorite all-time films, and perhaps my fave silent film; although Metropolis and a few Chaplin shorts come close.
While not as psychologically complex as The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu is a more political film, as well as a blatant ripoff of the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, in his 1979 redo, Werner Herzog restored his count's name to Dracula, vs. this one's Orlock.
There is something a bit more eerie and touching about this vampire than any of the vampires played by Bela Lugosi, or even Christopher Lee. There's also a bit more scariness and 'realism,' of a sort.
Max Schreck's portrayal of Orlock has also become legendary; as in the film Shadow Of The Vampire it was posited that Schreck (as played by Willem Dafoe) was a vampire in real life, and the name was referenced in the 1990s film Batman Returns.
