Pittsburgh Cultural TrustGo to the home page

Both the March 4 and 5 showings of NOSFERATU are now SOLD OUT.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society team up to present a 100 year anniversary screening of the classic silent horror film NOSFERATU with live musical accompaniment by local legend Tom Roberts.

100 years ago on March 4th, 1922, F. W. Murnau’s classic horror film NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR premiered at Berlin, Germany’s zoological gardens. Almost instantly, this film became a cultural icon, but not without controversy. The estate of Bram Stoker, author of the book “Dracula,” sued the studio that produced “Nosferatu” over copyright claims. The “Nosferatu” filmmakers had changed some things, including character names — Count Dracula became Count Orlok, for example — to try and bypass any direct links to “Dracula.” But that didn’t stop a court ruling from ordering all copies of “Nosferatu” be destroyed in the case won by Stoker’s estate. Some copies of the film survived, but the original score was lost.

For this special screening, local composer and performer Tom Roberts will create and perform live an original score for the film. "It doesn't scare us, but it haunts us. It shows not that vampires can jump out of shadows, but that evil can grow there, nourished on death." - Roger Ebert.

About Tom Roberts: Tom Roberts is one of the leading scholars of early jazz piano in the world today (as stated by Ricardo Sciavales in The Heart and Soul of Stride, Blues, and Swing Piano). He has performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Statler Brothers Show on TNN, and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Tom was pianist for Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks in New York City and pianist and musical director for Leon Redbone for six years. Tom has recorded over 40 compact discs and has performed throughout the United States and Europe.

About the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society: The Pittsburgh Silent Film Society (PSFS) was founded in 2013 to help foster and promote silent film exhibition with live musical accompaniment in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. PSFS is developing a new annual silent film festival to be held in Pittsburgh in Fall 2022. The festival will be held over three or four days, and will include roughly six to eight silent programs with live musical accompaniment.

Directed by F.W. Murnau

Rated NR

Germany | English Language Title Cards | DCP

Mask Policy

All guests must wear a mask over the nose and mouth at all times while inside the Harris theater. Masks can be temporarily removed when a guest is eating and/or drinking while remaining in their seat at the Harris Theater. For complete information on health and safety policies of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, visit TrustArts.org/Welcome.

Concessions

Concessions are available for all screenings and the Harris Theater is now BYOB.