F. W. Murnau

Biography

Friedrich Wilhelm “F. W.” Murnau (December 28, 1888 – March 11, 1931) was one of the most influential German film directors of the silent era, and a prominent figure in the expressionist movement in German cinema during the 1920s. Although some of Murnau’s films have been lost, most still survive. While the horror film Nosferatu (1922) is his most famous work, the romantic melodrama Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) is his critically most acclaimed; the British Film Institute's 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll named it the fifth-best film in the history of motion pictures. Murnau's characteristics are an atmospheric imagery and an innovative use of camera movement. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.

Directed

1. Nosferatu (1922) — Director
2. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) — Director
3. Faust (1926) — Director
4. The Last Laugh (1924) — Director
5. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931) — Director
6. City Girl (1930) — Director
7. Tartuffe (1926) — Director
8. The Haunted Castle (1921) — Director
9. Phantom (1922) — Director
10. The Finances of the Grand Duke (1924) — Director
11. The Burning Soil (1922) — Director
12. Journey into the Night (1921) — Director
13. Marizza (1922) — Director
14. 4 Devils (1928) — Director
15. Satan (1920) — Director
16. The Head of Janus (1920) — Director
17. Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer (1921) — Director
18. The Expulsion (1923) — Director
19. The Boy in Blue (1921) — Director
20. The Hunchback and the Dancer (1920) — Director
21. Evening – Night – Morning (1920) — Director
22. Hunting in the South Seas (1940) — Director
23. Synthwave Horror: Nosferatu (2023) — Director
24. The Twelfth Hour (1930) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) — Dancer (uncredited)
2. Murnau, Borzage and Fox (2008) — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
3. The Film in the Film (1924) — Self
4. The Movie City of Hollywood (1928) — Self
5. Los 5 Faust de F. W. Murnau (2002) — Himself (archive footage)
6. The Way to Murnau (2003) — Himself (archive footage)