However , a few prints of Nosferatu survived , and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema .
Stoker 's heirs sued over the adaptation , and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed .
A few prints of Nosferatu survived , and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema .
Stoker 's heirs sued over the adaptation , and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed .