World War I, German Expressionism And Soviet Formalism 1

The Impact of World War I Also known as The Great War, it began July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918. It was a global war centered in Europe, between two opposing alliances: The Allies: United Kingdom, France, Russian Empire, Italy, Japan, and United States. The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Introduction of technological and chemical warfare. Considered one of the deadliest wars in history up to that point, with casualties of more than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians. This paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.

German Expressionism Began before WWI, but reached it’s peak in the 1920s. Artists, writers and filmmakers were so disillusioned with the world after the war, feeling technology has shown the true darkside of humanity. The movement dealt primarily with the emotional and psychological state.

Edvard Munch (painted 1893-1895) “The Scream” Edvard Munch (painted 1893-1895)

German Silent Cinema Mise-en-scene: French for “placing on stage”– telling of the story through exact and purposeful placement and construction of everything within the visual picture frame. Chiaroscuro Lighting: Dramatic compositional lights and darks to evoke emotional responses. Dark Psychological Narratives.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Robert Weine (1920) Nosferatu – F. W. Murnau (1922) Metropolis – Fritz Lang (1927)

Soviet Formalism Started out as propaganda to agitate and provoke, but turned to the emotional and psychological effect of technical editing. Scientific approach and theory to the effects of filmmaking. Moscow Film School (1919) Lev Kuleshov– helped establish the first film school. Kuleshov Effect: Montage film editing – sequence of different images that are connected together through visual or intellectual themes to create an emotional effect. “The meaning of film was not only in spatial composition, but in the arrangement of shots.” --Lev Kuleshov

Sergei Eisenstein 5 Methods of Montage: Metric: Cutting to the beat. Rhythmic: The rhythm of action in the shot. Tonal: The tone or emotion of the shot. Over-tonal: Montage of large sequences. Intellectual/Ideological: Abstract and intellectual ideas. Battleship Potemkin Sergei Eisenstein (1925)