TEUTONIC TRIUMPHS

Five other german classics

Nosferatu (1922) The creaky granddaddy of German horror. Officially (wordily) titled Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, director FW Murnau’s unofficial Dracula adap is as creepy today as it was nearly 100 years ago. Brilliantly sent up by Willem Dafoe in Shadow Of The Vampire.

The NeverEnding Story (1984) An English-language adaptation of Michael Ende’s novel by German auteur Wolfgang Petersen. Co-financed by Neue Constantin Film and Warner Bros, it’s the perfect marriage of blockbuster and Euro-flash, starring Barret Oliver as the bookish adventurer.

The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari (1920) German horror at its most silently pervasive. Werner Krauss plays the manic hypnotist who kills by turning Conrad Veidt into a sleepwalking slaughterer. Roger Ebert called it “the first true horror film”, and he knew what he was talking about.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) A German-British co-production that takes full advantage of shooting in Hamburg and Cologne, as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton encounter living German legends (Dr Faust) and hipster bloodsuckers.

Metropolis (1927) Fritz Lang’s genre-defining sci-fi was decades ahead of its time. Its visions of a robotic future puzzled contemporary audiences, but it’s since been lauded as a classic and has influenced everything from the design of C-3PO to choice Lady Gaga lyrics.