German Expressionism in Cinema Presentation by Chris Schloemp Source: http://icg.harvard.edu/~fc76/handouts/3__Expressionist_Cinema.html
Artistic Background Any work of art in which the representation of reality is distorted in order to convey an inner vision An avant-garde strain of modernism In painting, expressionism opposes impressionism In literature, it opposes naturalism
What is Expressionism? Seeks the essence of things, rather than the way things appear Seeks an object’s most expressive aspect Reality is entirely the creation of minds and wills Characters are bearers of ideas Messianic call for a new man
Key Features of German Expressionistic Film Chiaroscuro (dark/light) Predilection for the studio Emphasis on shapes, forms, and patterns Tendency towards abstraction Distortion, angularity, extreme verticals Hypnotic and nightmarish worlds
Obsession With Doubles Harmless semblance and more sinister counterpart Constant play with artifice and illusion World of fakes, frauds, simulations, and shape-shifters
Stylized Acting Highly gesticulatory Characters sometimes become functions of set design and architecture Fervent, often histrionic
Meta-filmic aspects Films about films and film-making Narratives involve framing devices(eg mattes) Themes of seeing and creation Characters who arrange scenes (mise-en-scene)
Key Films (1919-1924) From Morning to Midnight(1920) Genuine(1920) The House of the Moon(1920) Torgus(1920) Raskolnikov(1923) Waxworks(1924)
Nosferatu
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Metropolis