Summary: German expressionism is the era of film that took place between 1918 and 1933 in Germany. They were silent films and often had elements of horror or fantasy. They had a huge impact on the future of cinema and are still highly regarded films.
The History: After the first world war, Germany was a desolate place. They had lost thousands of young men, they were broke and their towns and cities had been destroyed. There was a great sense of frustration after the war. They were in social and financial chaos. The western world was in a slightly better position and had begun producing large quantities of films. Germany had an understanding of the technologies required but they didn't have the budgets of Hollywood. They had this understanding because the German government created the UFA (Universumfilm Aktiengesellschaft) towards the end of the war. This was a film production company that the government created to stimulate the movie industry. They had banned all foreign films, except those from Sweden and Denmark during the war. Those countries just weren't producing enough films so they started to make their own. They were highly isolated and this meant that what they were producing was very different from what Hollywood was producing at the time. When the war ended German films were not accepted in other countries in until 1920. With their finances and society in such disarray its no wonder that the main themes of these films were fear, insanity and death. Most of the german population was feeling fear and disillusionment. What they were making are what we see as the first ever horror films. Hollywood was focused on comedy and romance while Germany made thrillers and horror films. It is one of the most obvious eras of art imitating life since the beginning of cinema. This fascinating reflection of German culture is why it is still a well known era of film today.
Expressionism German expressionist films were actually shot to look like a moving expressionist painting. Expressionist painting started around 1905. It was meant to express the discord that the artists felt between humanity and the world. This movement also put a lot of emphasis on expressing the artists inner-most feelings. The artist was meant to use colours and shapes to express themselves, rather than the impressionist idea of expressing the world through colours and shapes. They used swirling, swaying, broad brushstrokes to portray the colour of their subject. After world war one, the general population of Germany agreed with a lot of the feelings that expressionism was based on. They used the same swirling style in their sets. They tried to make the sets a reflection of the plot and innermost feelings of the characters. They were unable to use intense colour in film so they used, extreme lighting changes. German filmmakers connected with the expressionist movement and so their work reflected it.
Film Techniques The expressionist influence heavily affected the lighting choices made by the directors. They used a lighting style that is called chiaroscuro lighting. It is a type of low-key black and white lighting that uses extreme light contrasts to convey the emotion of the scene. It was almost painting the scene with light. They were intentionally drawing the audience's eyes to certain places and making them feel certain things through the use of light. Hollywood used this as inspiration for the Filme Noir of the 1940's. Another key cinematic element of expressionism was anamorphism. Anamorphism is when you give human characteristics to nonhuman things. They would make plants, animals or even forces of nature (wind, sun etc.) into creatures with motivation and human reasoning skills. This gives you more opportunities to express the mood of the scene. Germans of this era felt as though their world had turned on them, therefore giving these things personalities made it more understandable. When these things were given malicious personalities it played into the sense of strangeness that these films tried to create.
Sets: The eerie feeling of these films was not created entirely with lighting. They used sets extensively in german expressionist films. One of the main techniques that was used was abstractionism. This is when sets are designed to look off-kilter and wrong. Not so strange as to be unrecognizable but odd enough to look wrong. They used sharp corners and angles and strange, twisting shapes. They would use disproportionately large chairs, small doors, mismatched windows, steeply sloped roofs, or incredibly narrow hallways. Generally the background was architecturally impossible. This made the movies seem even more like nightmares because they just looked wrong. They also used a lot of mirrors and reflective surfaces to create the illusions of more space. They were also used to show that things were perhaps not quite what they seemed. The disconnect between the characters mental state and their outward appearance was expressed silently through their own reflection. Sets were even more important to impressionist films than lighting. They were how they made it truly the things of nightmares.
Themes: The biggest themes in German expressionism are fear, death and confusion. Fear had been a huge part of German life for the last four years. Now they weren't in imminent danger of attack, the fear still lingered. Crime rates were also incredibly high at that time period. Death was also a major theme because every had lost people that they loved during the war. Many people were feeling loss for the first time and this was reflected in the cinema of the time. Confusion and disillusionment also played large roles in german expressionism. They had come to realize just how cruel and unfair the world was and they couldn't make sense of it. They were frustrated with the government and the authorities for the situation that their country was in. Another big part of these films was the dystopian themes. Dystopian films are those that depict the future in a pessimistic, sometimes apocalyptic way.This theme is evident in the film Metropolis where the poor people work in horrible conditions to keep the rich peoples lives running smoothly. This ties in nicely with the industrial revolution and the revolt against the factory lifestyle. These films were highly rebellious against the world of that time. They fought against the ideas of the war and of the world in the modern era. There was also an element of mental instability and paranoia. This was shown through twisted set but also through many visits to asylums. The expressionist nature of the sets was explained in early films as being caused by mental instability. It all ties back to the discomfort and fear that Germans of this time period were feeling.
Acting, Costuming, and Make up: These elements were hugely important in conveying the message of the films without words. The acting in all silent films tended to be dramatic and over done but expressionist films had an almost dance-like sense to them. The German expressionist actors would use jerky, or strangely lithe movements to convey the feeling of unnaturalness or inhumanity. Expressionist dance was also happening at the same time and the style of it was mirrored in cinema. The actors slipped out of dark alleyways, the slithered onto screens, they evoked feelings through their movements with great skill. The costuming was also hugely important. The nightmarish creatures from these films were created, not through green screens but through costumes and make-up. They created prosthetics to give Count Orlok (Nosferatu, 1922) his claw like fingers. The good characters dressed in white, the villains wore almost entirely black. There were cloaks to swirl around, tights to make characters taller and thinner, flowing dresses to make women more innocent. The make-up was used to highlight certain parts of their faces while casting shadows onto other parts. Evil characters would have dark makeup around their eyes, while innocent characters would be given light makeup and bright lipsticks. In-human creatures had effects painted on to their skin such as scars, sharp noses or jawlines. These were all part of the nightmarish style of the era.
Famous Figures: Some of the most well known people of this time period were the directors. They were seen as the true geniuses.The most well-known directors were:
Fritz Lang (1890-1976) He was born in Vienna, Austria and served in world war one from 1915 to 1916. He suffered from PTSD. He started as a script writer for a production company in Berlin and moved on to working for the UFA. He married Thea von Harbou who wrote the scripts for most of his movies. He fled Germany when the Nazis came into power and spent the next 20 years in the USA.
F.W. Murnau (1888-1931) He was in the german air force during world war one. He produced only two expressionist films while in Germany but he directed three more once he moved to America in 1927. He died in a car crash in Santa Barbara in 1931.
Robert Wiene (1873-1938) He was the son of a stage actor but he studied law at university. He began writing for the screen in 1912. He fled Germany when the Nazi's came into power but the reason is unclear. He never returned to Germany and died of lung cancer in 1938.
While the directors got lots of acclaim, there were also actors and actresses that became stars. Some of the most well known stars of the period are:
Alfred Abel (1879-1937) He starred in approximately 140 films between 1913 and 1938. He had a very successful career as a stage actor before film. He was one of the few actors whose talent carried over from silent films to sound films. This was because of his habit of not using extreme gestures to convey his emotions.
Max Adalbert (1871-1933) His real name was Max Kampf but he used his middle name as his stage name. He died of pneumonia in 1933.
Betty Amann (1905-1990) She was not in many films but she was in some well known german expressionist films.
Fern Andra (1893-1974) She was the daughter of a circus performer and an opera singer. She was in several UFA films and even directed some films herself.
The End: In the 1920’s German film making was the considered the best in the world. They were very good with cameras and lighting as well as touching on subjects that Hollywood wouldn't go anywhere near. Unfortunately, Germany's avant-garde ideals were short-lived. When the Nazi’s came into power, all expressionist ideas ended. The Nazi party considered it to be all modernist art to be “degenerate art” and so many of the directors were persecuted. Some, like Fritz Lang, fled to America and tried to make a name for themselves in Hollywood. Others fled to France or England and helped the gothic horror movement. This persecution was the quickest end to an art movement and it was the end of Germany’s most liberal and artistic period ever.
Influence: The influence of this time period is shown throughout cinematic history and is still seen today. It emerged first in america in films like Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931). Nearly every idea that we have about supernatural movies and horror films has come from this time period. It also had an immense impact of the Film Noir genre of the 1940’s. It too was a reaction to war and to the brutality of life. Film Noir was shot with the same, low key lighting that gives these movies an eerie, suspenseful feeling. This movement also specifically influence Alfred Hitchcock. That alone makes it an important movement because he is one of the most influential directors ever. He worked on several German Expressionist films and they had a massive effect on his thematic elements as well as his use of light. American horror films have also been influenced by this era. Films like Texas Chainsaw massacre had sets that were highly influenced by this. The soundtracks that we are accustomed to during suspenseful parts of movies come from this era as well. Most recently, Tim Burton has been obviously affected by this time period. He has used gothic acting, unrealistic settings and overdone makeup in his work. Through him German expressionist film lives on. It may have been a short-lived movement originally but it has affected so much of the film that we know and love today, nearly 100 years later.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Clip Analysis
Description: This is described as the first true horror film. It was released in 1920 and was directed by Robert Wiene. The film is shown through the main character, a young man who has just experienced something truly horrific at the local fair. A man named Dr. Caligari has a tent where he is showing Cesare, a man who has been sleeping for 23 years. When the main character, Francis, visits the tent, Alan wakes Cesare. Cesare declares that Alan will be dead by nightfall and he is. Francis suspects that Cesare himself is the murder. Then Cesare kidnaps Francis’ fiancee, Jane. Francis chases Dr. Caligari and enters an asylum.
Observation: The shots don’t move at all and the cuts from scene to scene are pretty rough. The extreme contrast in the lighting and the sets are classic hallmarks of expressionism. The sets are wonky, and off-kilter and painted entirely black and white. Cesare emerges from the shadows and the light is used to make us feel things. The shots are also strangely framed to give that same impression. On the close-up of his face you can see the excessive makeup that was used to highlight his facial features so that the camera could see them. The music is exactly what we would expect from a horror movie, which is probably partially because of this film. The acting is not up to the caliber of modern day but Cesare almost alien, dance-like movements are very well suited to the film itself.
Analysis: It has an incredibly eerie feel. It suits the German Expressionist movement perfectly. The sets invoke feelings of confusion and strangeness. They make you feel like you are in a nightmare or perhaps that you are insane. The music builds the suspense and has you on the edge of your seat. The movements of Cesare make you afraid and uncomfortable. Jane’s room makes it obvious that she is sweet and innocent and that her attacker is evil. I know that most of these feelings are evoked intentionally by the director.
Evaluation: This film had an incredibly large impact on cinema history. It is thought to be the first true horror film and the first true expressionist film. It was the first German film to be successful on the world stage. It also really started the expressionist film movement in Germany. There were expressionist films before it but this was the first one to become wildly successful. It impact was seen in the Filme Noir of the 1940’s and can still be seen in traditional horror movies, as well as, Tim Burton’s films.
Nosferatu Clip Analysis
Description: This is a silent, expressionist film that was released in 1922 that is based on the story Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was directed by F. W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock. The story centers around a young real estate agent who has arrived at Count Orlock’s castle to finalize a sale. He discovers that Count Orlock is a vampire. after a string of murders by the vampire, the young man’s wife offers herself to the Count and makes him go in the sunlight, killing him.
Observations: The film quality is better than it was in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The shots are less shaky and slightly better framed. Many of the same elements of expressionism are in this film. The sets look far more realistic however. The costuming of Count Orlok is fantastic. He has the long black coat, weirdly claw-like fingers, and makeup that makes him look straight out of a nightmare. The other characters are well costumed to look like stereotypical seamen. The acting is far more exaggerated than what we do today but much of that has to do with the lack of sound. It seems slightly less expressionist.
Analysis: This film is scarier to me than Dr Caligari because this one seems closer to reality. Nothing frightens we more than something that could happen to me. Count Orlok is a terribly frightening character who invokes our most primal fears of something different and un-dead. I understand completely the feelings that those seamen are feeling and why the one jumps overboard.
Evaluation: This is another highly-influential film. Although it was not the first film of its genre, it is much more like the horror films that followed it and even the ones we see today. It fit in quite nicely with its time period and while not being too overtly expressionist. It was well received in Germany at the time and it is still Rotten Tomatoes 2 most highly rated horror film of all time. Nosferatu has created what has become the classic vampire. His costuming and makeup is highly influential. It has inspired innumerable vampire films since it was released.
Metropolis Clip Analysis
Description: This is the first Sci-fi film. It was released in 1927 and was directed by Fritz Lang. It starred Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, and Gustav Frohlich. It was set in 2026, in a futuristic city. It resembles modern cities to some extent but it had a distinctly Art Deco twist. The idea was that the upper class lived this wonderful utopian life while the lower classes risked their lives in underground boiler rooms to keep the City running. The upper class is unaware that the lower class exists. The son of the founder of the city (Freder) is whiling away his time in a garden when he sees a poor young woman with a group of school children. Intrigued, he follows them and discovers the catacombs and factories of the lower class. He is affronted and he composes with the school teacher to help these people. An evil scientist creates an automaton that looks like the school teacher and tricks the lower classes into revolting so that they can be punished. This is an incredible reflection of the revolt against the upper classes that is the hallmark of modernism.
Observation: The film quality is significantly better than it was at the beginning of German Expressionism. The edges of the scene aren't very blurry and the cuts between shots are smooth. The effects have gotten a lot better too. The shift from a robot to her human face is remarkably well done considering the time period. The acting is still rather stilted and unrealistic but its still a sound-less film so that's understandable. The craziness of the scientist is conveyed through his jerky actions. The makeup is also extreme but the lighting is getting better. It is easier to see expressions on the actors faces. There are no moving camera shots in this scene but it is all shot indoors so that makes sense.
Analysis: It has a very sci-fi feeling to it. I understand why this impacted science fiction so directly. This particular scene has a feeling of sinisterness, especially the insanity of the scientist. His movements make him seems almost inhuman which is disturbing. This what they thought the technology of the future would be like. Their technologies were improving so quickly that they thought that anything would be possible in 100 years.
Evaluation: This film is considered to be one of the last impressionist films and it was directed by one of the most famous expressionist directors. It set stereotypes for future science fiction and dystopian films. It has raised highways, skyscrapers and planes. There is even a mad scientist with white hair. This was the first film to have a delusioned upper class living off the struggles of the lower class. This is still a very popular theme in cinema today. It is said to have impacted some very high profile films such as the Dark Knight. It is also a huge reflection of its time period. Its core them is that everything is not as it seems. The perfect Germany of their youth was destroyed after the war and they were seeing just how broken it was. This was expressed through this film. Another important social commentary in this film was the treatment of the poor. In that time factory workers were horribly mistreated. This film speaks out about how horrible it is to treat the poor as if they were robots just so that the rich can live their perfect lives. This is an incredibly modernist point of view and extremely relevant to the time period. This film, like most of german expressionism, has had a huge impact on cinema ever since it was released.
German expressionism is the era of film that took place between 1918 and 1933 in Germany. They were silent films and often had elements of horror or fantasy. They had a huge impact on the future of cinema and are still highly regarded films.
The History:
After the first world war, Germany was a desolate place. They had lost thousands of young men, they were broke and their towns and cities had been destroyed. There was a great sense of frustration after the war. They were in social and financial chaos. The western world was in a slightly better position and had begun producing large quantities of films.
Germany had an understanding of the technologies required but they didn't have the budgets of Hollywood. They had this understanding because the German government created the UFA (Universumfilm Aktiengesellschaft) towards the end of the war. This was a film production company that the government created to stimulate the movie industry. They had banned all foreign films, except those from Sweden and Denmark during the war. Those countries just weren't producing enough films so they started to make their own. They were highly isolated and this meant that what they were producing was very different from what Hollywood was producing at the time. When the war ended German films were not accepted in other countries in until 1920. With their finances and society in such disarray its no wonder that the main themes of these films were fear, insanity and death. Most of the german population was feeling fear and disillusionment. What they were making are what we see as the first ever horror films. Hollywood was focused on comedy and romance while Germany made thrillers and horror films. It is one of the most obvious eras of art imitating life since the beginning of cinema. This fascinating reflection of German culture is why it is still a well known era of film today.
Expressionism
German expressionist films were actually shot to look like a moving expressionist painting. Expressionist painting started around 1905. It was meant to express the discord that the artists felt between humanity and the world. This movement also put a lot of emphasis on expressing the artists inner-most feelings. The artist was meant to use colours and shapes to express themselves, rather than the impressionist idea of expressing the world through colours and shapes. They used swirling, swaying, broad brushstrokes to portray the colour of their subject. After world war one, the general population of Germany agreed with a lot of the feelings that expressionism was based on. They used the same swirling style in their sets. They tried to make the sets a reflection of the plot and innermost feelings of the characters. They were unable to use intense colour in film so they used, extreme lighting changes. German filmmakers connected with the expressionist movement and so their work reflected it.
Film Techniques
The expressionist influence heavily affected the lighting choices made by the directors. They used a lighting style that is called chiaroscuro lighting. It is a type of low-key black and white lighting that uses extreme light contrasts to convey the emotion of the scene. It was almost painting the scene with light. They were intentionally drawing the audience's eyes to certain places and making them feel certain things through the use of light. Hollywood used this as inspiration for the Filme Noir of the 1940's. Another key cinematic element of expressionism was anamorphism. Anamorphism is when you give human characteristics to nonhuman things. They would make plants, animals or even forces of nature (wind, sun etc.) into creatures with motivation and human reasoning skills. This gives you more opportunities to express the mood of the scene. Germans of this era felt as though their world had turned on them, therefore giving these things personalities made it more understandable. When these things were given malicious personalities it played into the sense of strangeness that these films tried to create.
Sets:
The eerie feeling of these films was not created entirely with lighting. They used sets extensively in german expressionist films. One of the main techniques that was used was abstractionism. This is when sets are designed to look off-kilter and wrong. Not so strange as to be unrecognizable but odd enough to look wrong. They used sharp corners and angles and strange, twisting shapes. They would use disproportionately large chairs, small doors, mismatched windows, steeply sloped roofs, or incredibly narrow hallways. Generally the background was architecturally impossible. This made the movies seem even more like nightmares because they just looked wrong. They also used a lot of mirrors and reflective surfaces to create the illusions of more space. They were also used to show that things were perhaps not quite what they seemed. The disconnect between the characters mental state and their outward appearance was expressed silently through their own reflection. Sets were even more important to impressionist films than lighting. They were how they made it truly the things of nightmares.
Themes:
The biggest themes in German expressionism are fear, death and confusion. Fear had been a huge part of German life for the last four years. Now they weren't in imminent danger of attack, the fear still lingered. Crime rates were also incredibly high at that time period. Death was also a major theme because every had lost people that they loved during the war. Many people were feeling loss for the first time and this was reflected in the cinema of the time. Confusion and disillusionment also played large roles in german expressionism. They had come to realize just how cruel and unfair the world was and they couldn't make sense of it. They were frustrated with the government and the authorities for the situation that their country was in. Another big part of these films was the dystopian themes. Dystopian films are those that depict the future in a pessimistic, sometimes apocalyptic way.This theme is evident in the film Metropolis where the poor people work in horrible conditions to keep the rich peoples lives running smoothly. This ties in nicely with the industrial revolution and the revolt against the factory lifestyle. These films were highly rebellious against the world of that time. They fought against the ideas of the war and of the world in the modern era. There was also an element of mental instability and paranoia. This was shown through twisted set but also through many visits to asylums. The expressionist nature of the sets was explained in early films as being caused by mental instability. It all ties back to the discomfort and fear that Germans of this time period were feeling.
Acting, Costuming, and Make up:
These elements were hugely important in conveying the message of the films without words. The acting in all silent films tended to be dramatic and over done but expressionist films had an almost dance-like sense to them. The German expressionist actors would use jerky, or strangely lithe movements to convey the feeling of unnaturalness or inhumanity. Expressionist dance was also happening at the same time and the style of it was mirrored in cinema. The actors slipped out of dark alleyways, the slithered onto screens, they evoked feelings through their movements with great skill. The costuming was also hugely important. The nightmarish creatures from these films were created, not through green screens but through costumes and make-up. They created prosthetics to give Count Orlok (Nosferatu, 1922) his claw like fingers. The good characters dressed in white, the villains wore almost entirely black. There were cloaks to swirl around, tights to make characters taller and thinner, flowing dresses to make women more innocent. The make-up was used to highlight certain parts of their faces while casting shadows onto other parts. Evil characters would have dark makeup around their eyes, while innocent characters would be given light makeup and bright lipsticks. In-human creatures had effects painted on to their skin such as scars, sharp noses or jawlines. These were all part of the nightmarish style of the era.
Famous Figures:
Some of the most well known people of this time period were the directors. They were seen as the true geniuses.The most well-known directors were:
- Fritz Lang (1890-1976) He was born in Vienna, Austria and served in world war one from 1915 to 1916. He suffered from PTSD. He started as a script writer for a production company in Berlin and moved on to working for the UFA. He married Thea von Harbou who wrote the scripts for most of his movies. He fled Germany when the Nazis came into power and spent the next 20 years in the USA.
- F.W. Murnau (1888-1931) He was in the german air force during world war one. He produced only two expressionist films while in Germany but he directed three more once he moved to America in 1927. He died in a car crash in Santa Barbara in 1931.
- Robert Wiene (1873-1938) He was the son of a stage actor but he studied law at university. He began writing for the screen in 1912. He fled Germany when the Nazi's came into power but the reason is unclear. He never returned to Germany and died of lung cancer in 1938.
While the directors got lots of acclaim, there were also actors and actresses that became stars. Some of the most well known stars of the period are:The End:
In the 1920’s German film making was the considered the best in the world. They were very good with cameras and lighting as well as touching on subjects that Hollywood wouldn't go anywhere near. Unfortunately, Germany's avant-garde ideals were short-lived. When the Nazi’s came into power, all expressionist ideas ended. The Nazi party considered it to be all modernist art to be “degenerate art” and so many of the directors were persecuted. Some, like Fritz Lang, fled to America and tried to make a name for themselves in Hollywood. Others fled to France or England and helped the gothic horror movement. This persecution was the quickest end to an art movement and it was the end of Germany’s most liberal and artistic period ever.
Influence:
The influence of this time period is shown throughout cinematic history and is still seen today. It emerged first in america in films like Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931). Nearly every idea that we have about supernatural movies and horror films has come from this time period. It also had an immense impact of the Film Noir genre of the 1940’s. It too was a reaction to war and to the brutality of life. Film Noir was shot with the same, low key lighting that gives these movies an eerie, suspenseful feeling. This movement also specifically influence Alfred Hitchcock. That alone makes it an important movement because he is one of the most influential directors ever. He worked on several German Expressionist films and they had a massive effect on his thematic elements as well as his use of light. American horror films have also been influenced by this era. Films like Texas Chainsaw massacre had sets that were highly influenced by this. The soundtracks that we are accustomed to during suspenseful parts of movies come from this era as well. Most recently, Tim Burton has been obviously affected by this time period. He has used gothic acting, unrealistic settings and overdone makeup in his work. Through him German expressionist film lives on.
It may have been a short-lived movement originally but it has affected so much of the film that we know and love today, nearly 100 years later.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Clip Analysis
Description: This is described as the first true horror film. It was released in 1920 and was directed by Robert Wiene. The film is shown through the main character, a young man who has just experienced something truly horrific at the local fair. A man named Dr. Caligari has a tent where he is showing Cesare, a man who has been sleeping for 23 years. When the main character, Francis, visits the tent, Alan wakes Cesare. Cesare declares that Alan will be dead by nightfall and he is. Francis suspects that Cesare himself is the murder. Then Cesare kidnaps Francis’ fiancee, Jane. Francis chases Dr. Caligari and enters an asylum.
Observation: The shots don’t move at all and the cuts from scene to scene are pretty rough. The extreme contrast in the lighting and the sets are classic hallmarks of expressionism. The sets are wonky, and off-kilter and painted entirely black and white. Cesare emerges from the shadows and the light is used to make us feel things. The shots are also strangely framed to give that same impression. On the close-up of his face you can see the excessive makeup that was used to highlight his facial features so that the camera could see them. The music is exactly what we would expect from a horror movie, which is probably partially because of this film. The acting is not up to the caliber of modern day but Cesare almost alien, dance-like movements are very well suited to the film itself.
Analysis: It has an incredibly eerie feel. It suits the German Expressionist movement perfectly. The sets invoke feelings of confusion and strangeness. They make you feel like you are in a nightmare or perhaps that you are insane. The music builds the suspense and has you on the edge of your seat. The movements of Cesare make you afraid and uncomfortable. Jane’s room makes it obvious that she is sweet and innocent and that her attacker is evil. I know that most of these feelings are evoked intentionally by the director.
Evaluation: This film had an incredibly large impact on cinema history. It is thought to be the first true horror film and the first true expressionist film. It was the first German film to be successful on the world stage. It also really started the expressionist film movement in Germany. There were expressionist films before it but this was the first one to become wildly successful. It impact was seen in the Filme Noir of the 1940’s and can still be seen in traditional horror movies, as well as, Tim Burton’s films.
Nosferatu Clip Analysis
Description: This is a silent, expressionist film that was released in 1922 that is based on the story Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was directed by F. W. Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock. The story centers around a young real estate agent who has arrived at Count Orlock’s castle to finalize a sale. He discovers that Count Orlock is a vampire. after a string of murders by the vampire, the young man’s wife offers herself to the Count and makes him go in the sunlight, killing him.
Observations: The film quality is better than it was in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The shots are less shaky and slightly better framed. Many of the same elements of expressionism are in this film. The sets look far more realistic however. The costuming of Count Orlok is fantastic. He has the long black coat, weirdly claw-like fingers, and makeup that makes him look straight out of a nightmare. The other characters are well costumed to look like stereotypical seamen. The acting is far more exaggerated than what we do today but much of that has to do with the lack of sound. It seems slightly less expressionist.
Analysis: This film is scarier to me than Dr Caligari because this one seems closer to reality. Nothing frightens we more than something that could happen to me. Count Orlok is a terribly frightening character who invokes our most primal fears of something different and un-dead. I understand completely the feelings that those seamen are feeling and why the one jumps overboard.
Evaluation: This is another highly-influential film. Although it was not the first film of its genre, it is much more like the horror films that followed it and even the ones we see today. It fit in quite nicely with its time period and while not being too overtly expressionist. It was well received in Germany at the time and it is still Rotten Tomatoes 2 most highly rated horror film of all time. Nosferatu has created what has become the classic vampire. His costuming and makeup is highly influential. It has inspired innumerable vampire films since it was released.
Metropolis Clip Analysis
Description: This is the first Sci-fi film. It was released in 1927 and was directed by Fritz Lang. It starred Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, and Gustav Frohlich. It was set in 2026, in a futuristic city. It resembles modern cities to some extent but it had a distinctly Art Deco twist. The idea was that the upper class lived this wonderful utopian life while the lower classes risked their lives in underground boiler rooms to keep the City running. The upper class is unaware that the lower class exists. The son of the founder of the city (Freder) is whiling away his time in a garden when he sees a poor young woman with a group of school children. Intrigued, he follows them and discovers the catacombs and factories of the lower class. He is affronted and he composes with the school teacher to help these people. An evil scientist creates an automaton that looks like the school teacher and tricks the lower classes into revolting so that they can be punished. This is an incredible reflection of the revolt against the upper classes that is the hallmark of modernism.
Observation: The film quality is significantly better than it was at the beginning of German Expressionism. The edges of the scene aren't very blurry and the cuts between shots are smooth. The effects have gotten a lot better too. The shift from a robot to her human face is remarkably well done considering the time period. The acting is still rather stilted and unrealistic but its still a sound-less film so that's understandable. The craziness of the scientist is conveyed through his jerky actions. The makeup is also extreme but the lighting is getting better. It is easier to see expressions on the actors faces. There are no moving camera shots in this scene but it is all shot indoors so that makes sense.
Analysis: It has a very sci-fi feeling to it. I understand why this impacted science fiction so directly. This particular scene has a feeling of sinisterness, especially the insanity of the scientist. His movements make him seems almost inhuman which is disturbing. This what they thought the technology of the future would be like. Their technologies were improving so quickly that they thought that anything would be possible in 100 years.
Evaluation: This film is considered to be one of the last impressionist films and it was directed by one of the most famous expressionist directors. It set stereotypes for future science fiction and dystopian films. It has raised highways, skyscrapers and planes. There is even a mad scientist with white hair. This was the first film to have a delusioned upper class living off the struggles of the lower class. This is still a very popular theme in cinema today. It is said to have impacted some very high profile films such as the Dark Knight. It is also a huge reflection of its time period. Its core them is that everything is not as it seems. The perfect Germany of their youth was destroyed after the war and they were seeing just how broken it was. This was expressed through this film. Another important social commentary in this film was the treatment of the poor. In that time factory workers were horribly mistreated. This film speaks out about how horrible it is to treat the poor as if they were robots just so that the rich can live their perfect lives. This is an incredibly modernist point of view and extremely relevant to the time period. This film, like most of german expressionism, has had a huge impact on cinema ever since it was released.
By: Anique Baillon