View source for German expressionist cinema

{{Short description|German art movement during the 1910s–1930s}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox art movement
| name           = German expressionist cinema
| image          = CABINET DES DR CALIGARI 01.jpg
| image_size     =
| caption        = A still of the distorted set design from the 1920 silent film ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]''
| yearsactive    = late 1910s – early 1930s
| country        = Germany
| majorfigures   = {{Plainlist|
* [[Fritz Lang]]
* [[F. W. Murnau]]
* [[Robert Wiene]]
}}
| influences     = [[WWI]]'s traumatic aftermath and the slowly dread-inducing [[Weimar Republic]]
| influenced     = {{Flatlist|
* [[Classical Hollywood cinema]]
* [[film noir]]
* [[Gangster film|gangster]]
* [[Horror film|horror]]
* [[Kammerspiel]]
* [[silent film]]
}}
}}

'''German expressionist cinema''' was a part of several related creative movements in Germany in the early 20th century that reached a peak in [[1920s Berlin|Berlin during the 1920s]]. These developments were part of a larger [[Expressionism|Expressionist]] movement in Northwestern European culture in fields such as [[architecture]], [[Expressionist dance|dance]], [[painting]], [[sculpture]] and [[film|cinema]].

== Characteristics ==
German Expressionism was an artistic movement in the early 20th century that emphasized the artist's inner emotions rather than attempting to replicate reality.<ref>{{Cite web |title=German expressionism |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/g/german-expressionism |access-date=2023-06-05 |publisher=[[Tate]]}}</ref> German Expressionist films rejected cinematic realism and used visual distortions and hyper-expressive performances to reflect inner conflicts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is German Expressionism? A beginner's guide |url=https://www.movementsinfilm.com/german-expressionism |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Movements In Film |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==
{{See also|Cinema of Germany #1918–1933 Weimar Republic|l1=1918–1933 Weimar Republic|1920s Berlin#Cinema|Chiaroscuro#Cinema and photography}}

{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 180
| image1            = Paul Wegener als Student von Prag, Filmplakat 1913.jpg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = [[Paul Wegener]] as ''[[The Student of Prague (1913 film)|The Student of Prague]]'' in a 1913 poster
| image2            = Golem_1920_Poster.jpg
| caption2          = A poster for the 1920 silent film ''[[The Golem: How He Came into the World]]'', starring and co-directed by [[Paul Wegener]] and [[Carl Boese]]
| image3            = Schreck.jpg
| caption3          = A still of [[Max Schreck]] in the 1922 silent film ''[[Nosferatu]]''
| image4            = Schatten1923.jpg
| caption4          = A frame from director [[Arthur Robison]]'s 1923 silent film ''[[Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination]]'' ({{AKA}}, ''[[Warning Shadows]]'')
| caption_align     = left
}}

The German Expressionist movement was initially confined to Germany due to the country's isolation during World War I. In 1916, the government banned foreign films, creating a sharp increase in the demand for domestic film production, from 24 films in 1914 to 130 films in 1918. With inflation also on the rise, Germans were attending films more freely because they knew that their money's value was constantly diminishing.<ref name="Thompson, Kristin 2010, p. 87">{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=Kristin|author1-link=Kristin Thompson|last2=Bordwell|first2=David|author2-link=David Bordwell|title=Film History: An Introduction|edition=3rd|publisher=McGraw Hill|year=2010|page=87}}</ref>

International audiences and appreciation for German cinema began to grow as anti-German sentiment decreased following the end of World War I. By the time its 1916 ban on imports on foreign film was lifted, Germany had become a part of the international film industry.<ref name="Thompson, Kristin 2010, p. 87"/>

Among the first Expressionist films, ''[[The Student of Prague (1913 film)|The Student of Prague]]''<ref name="RM">{{Cite book |author=Roger Manvell |author-link=Roger Manvell |title=Henrik Galeen – Films as writer:, Other films |url=http://www.filmreference.com/Writers-and-Production-Artists-Ei-Gi/Galeen-Henrik.html |publisher=Film Reference |access-date=2009-04-23}}</ref> (1913), ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'' (1920), ''[[From Morn to Midnight]]'' (1920), ''[[The Golem: How He Came into the World]]''<ref name="RM"/> (1920), ''[[Genuine (film)|Genuine]]'' (1920), ''[[Destiny (1921 film)|Destiny]]'' (1921), ''[[Nosferatu]]''<ref name="RM"/> (1922), ''[[Phantom (1922 film)|Phantom]]'' (1922), and ''[[Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination|Schatten]]'' (1923) were highly symbolic and stylized.

European societies of the 1920s embraced an ethic of change and a willingness to look to the future by experimenting with bold new ideas and artistic styles. The first Expressionist films, which lacked a generous budget, used set designs with wildly non-realistic, geometrically absurd angles, along with designs painted on walls and floors to represent lights, shadows, and objects. The plots and stories of the Expressionist films often dealt with madness, [[insanity]], [[betrayal]] and other "[[intellectual]]" topics triggered by the experiences of World War I (as opposed to standard action-adventure and romantic films). Later films often categorized as part of the brief history of German Expressionism include ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' (1927) and ''[[M (1931 film)|M]]'' (1931), both directed by [[Fritz Lang]]. This trend was a reaction against realism. Its practitioners used extreme distortions in expression to show an inner [[emotion]]al reality rather than what was on the surface.{{sfn|Thompson|Bordwell|2010|p=91}}

The extreme anti-realism of Expressionism was short-lived, fading away after only a few years. The themes of Expressionism were integrated into later films of the 1920s and 1930s, resulting in an artistic control over the placement of scenery, light, etc., to enhance the mood of a film. This dark, moody school of filmmaking was brought to the United States when the [[Nazism|Nazis]] gained power and many German film makers emigrated to [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]]. Several German directors and cameramen flourished in Hollywood, producing a repertoire of films that had a profound effect.<ref>Dickos, Andrew (2002). ''Street with No Name: A History of the Classic Film Noir''. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. {{ISBN|0-8131-2243-0}}, pp. 9–34.</ref>

Two genres that were especially influenced by Expressionism are [[horror film]] and [[film noir]]. [[Carl Laemmle]] and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] had produced [[horror film]]s of the silent era, such as [[Lon Chaney, Sr.|Lon Chaney]]'s ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]''. German film makers such as [[Karl Freund]] (the cinematographer for ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' in 1931) set the style and mood of the Universal [[monster movie]]s of the 1930s with their dark and artistically designed sets, providing a model for later generations of horror films. Directors such as [[Fritz Lang]], [[Billy Wilder]], [[Otto Preminger]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]], [[Orson Welles]], [[Carol Reed]] and [[Michael Curtiz]] introduced the Expressionist style to crime dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, expanding Expressionism's influence on modern film making.

==Influence and legacy==
German silent cinema was arguably far ahead of Hollywood during the same period.<ref name="PM">''[[Paul Merton]] Looks at Alfred Hitchcock'', BBC Television 2009, broadcast 28 February 2009</ref> Cinema outside Germany benefited both from the emigration of German film makers and from German expressionist developments in style and technique that were apparent on the screen. The new look and techniques impressed other contemporary film makers, artists and cinematographers, and they began to incorporate the new style into their work.

In 1924, [[Alfred Hitchcock]] was sent by [[Gainsborough Pictures]] to work as an assistant director and art director at the [[UFA GmbH|UFA]] owned [[Babelsberg Studios]] in [[Potsdam]] near Berlin on the film ''[[The Blackguard]]''.<ref name="PM" /> The immediate effect of the working environment in Germany can be seen in his expressionistic set designs for that film. Hitchcock later said he "acquired a strong German influence by working at the UFA studios".<ref name="PM"/>

German Expressionism would continue to influence Hitchcock throughout his career. In his third film, ''[[The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog|The Lodger]]'', Hitchcock introduced expressionist set designs, lighting techniques, and trick camera work to the British public against the wishes of his studio. His visual experimentation included the use of an image of a man walking across a glass floor shot from below, a concept representing someone pacing upstairs.<ref name="PM"/>

[[Werner Herzog]]'s 1979 film ''[[Nosferatu the Vampyre|Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht]]'' was a tribute to [[F. W. Murnau]]'s [[Nosferatu|1922 film]]. The film uses expressionist techniques of highly symbolic acting and symbolic events to tell its story.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nosferatu: The Vampyre |url=http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/nosferatu_the_vampyre/#synopsis |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |quote=Stark, symbolic cinematography and intensely stylized performances |access-date=2009-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207151304/http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/nosferatu_the_vampyre/#synopsis |archive-date=2009-02-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 1998 film ''[[Dark City (1998 film)|Dark City]]'' used stark contrast, rigid movements, and fantastic elements.<ref name="efilm">{{cite news | author=Don Kornits | url=http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=54 | title=Alex Proyas – Director, Dark City | publisher=eFilmCritic | date=1999-06-02 | access-date=2007-07-06 }}</ref><ref name="visions">{{cite news | author=Rob Blackwelder | url=http://www.splicedonline.com/features/proyas.html | title=Vision of Strangers Dance in His Head|publisher=SPLICEDwire | date=1998-02-13 | access-date=2007-07-06 }}</ref>

Stylistic elements taken from German Expressionism are common today in films that need not reference contemporary realism, such as [[science fiction films]] (for example, [[Ridley Scott]]'s 1982 film ''[[Blade Runner]]'', which was itself influenced by ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2015/04/13/blade-runner-vs-metropolis/ |title=Blade Runner vs. Metropolis |date=2015-04-13 |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref> [[Woody Allen]]'s 1991 film ''[[Shadows and Fog]]'' is an homage to German and Austrian Expressionist filmmakers [[Fritz Lang]], [[Georg Wilhelm Pabst]] and [[F. W. Murnau]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/111423|title=Shadows and Fog|last=Steffen|first=James|website=Turner Classic Movies: Film Article|access-date=2017-02-07}}</ref> The extreme angles of set decor and associated lighting were parodied by [[Ken Hughes]] in his Berlin spy school segment for the 1967 spoof version of ''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]].''

==Set designs==
{{See also|Expressionism|Expressionism (theatre)|Expressionist architecture}}
[[File:Metropolis (1927) chimneys.jpg|thumb|Urban set design from ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' (1927)]]
Many critics see a direct tie between cinema and architecture of the time, stating that the sets and scene artwork of Expressionist films often reveal buildings of sharp angles, great heights, and crowded environments, such as the frequently shown Tower of Babel in Fritz Lang's ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/art-house-an-introduction-to-german-expressionist-films-32845|title=An Introduction to German Expressionist Films|date=2013-12-26|newspaper=[[artnet News]]|access-date=2017-01-20}}</ref>

Strong elements of [[monumentalism]] and [[Modernism]] appear throughout the canon of German Expressionism. An excellent example of this is ''Metropolis'', as evidenced by the enormous power plant and glimpses of the massive yet pristine "upper" city.

German Expressionist painters rejected the [[Realism (arts)|naturalistic]] depiction of objective reality, often portraying distorted figures, buildings, and landscapes in a disorienting manner that disregarded the conventions of perspective and proportion. This approach, combined with jagged, stylized shapes and harsh, unnatural colors, were used to convey subjective emotions.

A number of artists and craftsmen working in the Berlin theater brought the Expressionist visual style to the design of stage sets. This, in turn, had an eventual influence on films dealing with fantasy and horror.

The prime example is [[Robert Wiene]]'s dream-like film ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'' (1920) which is universally recognized as an early classic of Expressionist cinema. [[Hermann Warm]], the film's art director, worked with painters and stage designers [[Walter Reimann]] and [[Walter Röhrig]] to create fantastic, nightmarish sets with twisted structures and landscapes with sharp-pointed forms and oblique, curving lines. Some of these designs were constructions, others were painted directly onto canvases.

German Expressionist films produced in the [[Weimar Republic]] immediately following the [[World War I|First World War]] not only encapsulate the sociopolitical contexts in which they were created, but also rework the intrinsically modern problems of self-reflexivity, spectacle and identity.

According to [[Siegfried Kracauer]] and [[Lotte Eisner]], German Expressionist cinema operates as a kind of collective consciousness and a symptomatic manifestation of what they polemically claim to be inherent cultural tendencies of the German nation. Expressionism has also been described as focusing on the "power of spectacles"<ref name="Telotte">Telotte, J.P. "German Expressionism: A Cinematic/ Cultural Problem" in Traditions in World Cinema. (ed. Badley, et al.), 2006, p.21</ref> and offering audiences "a kind of [[metonymy|metonymic]] image of their own situation".<ref name="Telotte" />

[[File:Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) - American Ad 1921.jpg|thumb|left|upright|American newspaper ad for the German film ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]'' (1920) from the Goldwyn Pictures press book]]
This film movement paralleled Expressionist painting and theater in rejecting realism. The creators in the Weimar Period sought to convey inner, subjective experience through external, objective means. Their films were characterized by highly stylized sets and acting; they used a new visual style which embodied high contrast and simple editing. The films were shot in studios where they could employ deliberately exaggerated and dramatic lighting and camera angles to emphasize some particular affect – fear, horror, pain. Aspects of Expressionist techniques were later adapted by such directors as [[Alfred Hitchcock]] and [[Orson Welles]] and were incorporated into many American gangster and horror films.
Some of the major filmmakers of this time were [[F. W. Murnau]], [[Erich Pommer]], and [[Fritz Lang]]. The movement ended after the currency stabilized, making it cheaper to buy movies abroad. The UFA financially collapsed and German studios began to deal with Italian studios which led to their influence in style of horror and films noirs. The American influence on the film industry would also lead some film makers to continue their career in the US. The UFA's last film was ''[[The Blue Angel|Der blaue Engel]]'' (1930), considered a masterpiece of German Expressionism.

==Interpretation==
The two most comprehensive studies of German Expressionist film are [[Lotte Eisner]]'s ''The Haunted Screen'' and Siegfried Kracauer's ''[[From Caligari to Hitler]]''.<ref>[[Siegfried Kracauer|Kracauer, Siegfried]]. "Caligari" in ''From Caligari to Hitler''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, [1947] 2004. 61–76.</ref> Kracauer examines German cinema from the Silent/Golden Era to support the (controversial) conclusion that German films made prior to [[Hitler]]'s takeover and the rise of the [[Third Reich]] all hint at the inevitability of Nazi Germany. For Eisner, similarly, German Expressionist cinema is a visual manifestation of [[Romanticism|Romantic]] ideals turned to dark and proto-totalitarian ends. More recent German Expressionist scholars examine historical elements influencing German Expressionism, such as the Weimar economy, [[Universum Film AG|UFA]], [[Erich Pommer]], [[Nordisk Film|Nordisk]], and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eisner |first1=Lotte |title=The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt |url=https://archive.org/details/hauntedscreenexp0000eisn |url-access=registration |date=2008 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520257900 |edition=1st }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Expressionist films}}
* {{YouTube|HcuhSC51QsI|"Tim Burton: A German Expressionism Influence"}}, by Sem Lei, 16 June 2015
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051229032301/http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/expressionism1.jsp GreenCine primer on German Expressionism]
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22German+Expressionism%22 German Expressionist films] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://www.weimarcinema.org WeimarCinema.org]
{{Expressionism}}{{Film genres}}
{{Horror film}}

[[Category:German Expressionism|Cinema]]
[[Category:Weimar culture]]
[[Category:1930s in film]]
[[Category:1920s in film]]
[[Category:1910s in film]]
[[Category:German Expressionist films| ]]
[[Category:Movements in German cinema|Expressionist cinema]]