Shadow of the Vampire

Shadow of the Vampire, starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe, tells a fictionalized account of the making of Murnau's film Nosferatu. Max Schreck was a real vampire. Who knew? We believe it and will definitely watch this one again.

trailer:

Moria says, "The sense of verisimilitude achieved is strikingly well done." Salon.com doesn't like it, saying "When “Shadow of the Vampire” is enjoyable, it’s largely thanks to Malkovich". 1000 Misspent Hours says,

Shadow of the Vampire is nothing if not top-heavy with talent. Not only does it have the celebrated Malkovich and Dafoe in the key roles, but even the supporting cast features a number of respected players.

Roger Ebert says,

The supporting cast is a curiously, intriguingly mixed bag: Cary Elwes as Murnau's cinematographer Fritz Wagner (not the one who is eaten), Eddie Izzard as one of the actors, the legendary Udo Kier as the producer.

and says of Willem Dafoe:

He embodies the Schreck of "Nosferatu" so uncannily that when real scenes from the silent classic are slipped into the frame, we don't notice a difference.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 81%.