'NOSFERATU'
Sometimes a film shot in black-and-white utterly lacks prettiness and glamour. In F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent horror classic "Nosferatu" (⋆⋆⋆½) the look is fear rendered in stark German expressionism. It is a nightmarish, stunningly effective version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," and a subhuman portrait of the blood-drinking Count. Actor Max Schreck, with his withered, skeletal face, rat ears and clawlike fingers, is unforgettable as the vile cannibal creature whose arrival in western Europe from the East transmits a hideous plague. His menacing power threatens the marriage of a faithful couple and the scientific rationality that rules the society. No wonder the leading man's name translates as "Maximum Terror." The single-evening performance features live musical accompaniment by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra Minnesota. (7:30 p.m. Mon., Heights Theater, 3951 Central Av. NE., Columbia Heights, $10, 763-788-9079.)
COLIN COVERT
