The Grand (2008)

Max Schreck as Graf Orlok in "Nosferatu" (1922)

Film Arts Guild

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror." This 1922 classic of cinema based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (but with names changed) directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schrek in one of films most famous and frightening make-up jobs.

CinemaSource

Rating: R

Release Date: Mar 21, 2008

Running Time: 104 mins.

Country Of Origin: United States

starring: Werner Herzog, Richard Kind, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Cheryl Hines, Dennis Farina, Julie Claire, K D Aubert

director: Zak Penn

The Grand

Set around an international poker tournament. A middle-aged guy goes all-in to save his dead grandfather’s hotel-casino from a real estate developer. His master plan is to win the world’s most famous high stakes tournament, the Grand Championship of Poker.

The Grand is sharp-witted and snappy--a hybrid of scripted and improvisational comedy which works on many levels.

Story

Much like Christopher Guest comedies (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), The Grand's loose style, set up by writer/director Zak Penn, allows the actors to have free rein onscreen. Jack Faro (Woody Harrelson) is our hero, a ladies' man with an eye patch and long drug history. Faro owns the aging downtown Las Vegas casino, The Rabbit's Foot, and is struggling to keep it afloat, hunted…