Preview

German Expressionism Through Film

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1763 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
German Expressionism Through Film
Marcus Kulab Johnson
GRM 410
Dr. Harald Menz
German Expressionism and Early Cinema
German expressionism is one of the most fundamental movements of early cinema. With its basic foundation stemming from the creation of the Universum Film AG in 1917 by the German government, expressionism found a happy home in Germany until, arguably the late 1920s (Wolf). Expressionism changed the canvas of cinema with its technical innovations as well as its impact on Hollywood, not only with its borrowing of ideas, but with the emigration of German actors, writers, and directors to Hollywood, such as Murnau and his creation of Sunrise (Welsh, 98). American films at the same time as this movement in Germany were based in realism, with very distinct ideas of good and bad, comedy, and aesthetics. German film was seen as highly compound, with thick, perplexing stories that were more solicitous instead of being superficial.
The notable works from this movement have been time tested references to the rise of cinema, and have been looked upon for reference in film genres in later years not only because of the innovation and place in history, but also for the overt artistic styling that has been difficult to match since. It seems as though German cinema, almost all together must be discussed in its own category. Just as French cinema, historically speaking, Germany has seemed to keep at least a somewhat independent cinema culture from that of Hollywood and its beginnings are either independent from Hollywood or influencing for the most part. Although its beginnings were earlier, “…the period roughly between 1897 and 1908, motion pictures in Germany had graduated from a side-show novelty to a fast developing form, if not of art, then certainly of popular entertainment” (Figge, 308).
“By 1909, however, hundreds of new cinemas were offering longer and more cohesive programs”, which laid the groundwork for the progressive technical explosion that was the Expressionist movement



Cited: Dilman, J. Clarke. "Class Lecture." History of Film. Seattle University. Seattle, WA. 15 Apr 2010. Lecture. Figge, Richard. "Montage: The German Film of the Twenties." Comparative Literature Studies 12.3 (1975): 308-322. Web. 3 Jun 2010. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1225667>. Naremore, James. "American Film Noir: The History of an Idea." Film Quarterly 49.2 (1995): 12-28. Web. 7 Jun 2010. Welsch, Tricia. "Foreign Exchange: German Expressionism and Its Legacy." Cinema Journal 38.4 (1999): 98-102. Web. 6 Jun 2010. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1225667>. Wexman, Virginia. A History of Film. 7. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009. Print. Wolf, A. "German Expressionist Cinema - From Caligari to Metropolis." German Expressionist Cinema - From Caligari to Metropolis. 29 Mar. 2006 EzineArticles.com. 31 May 2010 <http://ezinearticles.com/?German-­Expressionist-­Cinema-­-­-­From-­Caligari-­to-­Metropolis&id=169454>. Web.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

    • 2651 Words
    • 11 Pages

    References: Eisner, L.H. 1973. The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press: (9-5, 17-27). ISBN: 0-520-02479-6…

    • 2651 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    German Expressionism was an artistic movement that preceded World War 1 in Germany, and culminated in the 1920’s with Expressionist cinema. It was an extremely influential genre that showed cinema could be an art form, not just a source of…

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    References: Phillips, W. H. (2009). Film: An introduction (4th ed.). New York, NY: Bedford/ St. Martin’s.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dirks, Tim. "The History of Film The 1920s The Pre-Talkies and the Silent Era."Filmsite.org. 5…

    • 2019 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Sklar, Robert. A World History of Film. Ed. Katherine Rangoon Doyle. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002. Print.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Eisenstein, Sergei. “The Dramaturgy of Film Form.” Film Theory and Criticism. Braudy, Leo and Cohen, Marshall. New York: Oxford, 2009. 24-40.…

    • 2775 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Marriage of Maria Braun

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Before World War II , German film lacks story , plot, and even different characters. However , after the war , things changed. Despite the economic situation in the country is not yet stable , a group of young filmmakers is the art of Alexander Kluge , Edgar Reitz , Peter Franz Josef Spieker Chamonix and come together to form an alliance . Their plan was simply to upgrade from the old way of German movies and creating and presenting a new, fresh art form film to the audience. They actively declared " Der alte Film IST Tottenham World Investment Report glauben den Neuen ," which is German for "old cinema is dead and we believe that in the new movie ." They do so , and officially on February 28, 1962 , which states that the same issue of the Declaration of Oberhausen . Soon, other young upcoming filmmakers have similar ideas and beliefs to join this group . Some of them are沃尔克施隆多夫, Werner Herzog , Jean - Marie Straub , Wim Wenders , Werner Schroeter and Hans - Jurgen Syberberg and Law Si Binde ( the " marriage of Maria Braun " director ) . This is how the German film industry began to take a different route.…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hoop Dreams Analysis

    • 2630 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Bibliography: Bellour, Raymond, and Constance Penley. The Analysis of Film. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000. Print.…

    • 2630 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Purple Rose of Cairo

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Film has captured and enchanted audiences since its origination with the Lumiere Brothers; and, as it developed, it began to be used to convey messages and ideas. Film started to become a creative outlet that then turned to a catalyst of philosophical thought. Film theorist Sergei Einstein expressed that film “as a work of art, understood dynamically, is just the process of arranging images in the feelings and mind of the spectator”. Thus, directors began to realize that audience manipulation was possible through the images and sounds they delivered, as well as through the way these images and sounds were presented-- it all has an effect of how viewers thought of and interpreted the films. This is especially clear in the German film, Triumph of Will, directed by Leni Reifenstahl. While the film is brilliantly made, with moving cameras, the utilization of long focus lenses, aerial photography, and a revolutionary approach to musical accompaniment, the film was also incredibly propagandistic and manipulative at the time of it’s release. The entire film is a vehicle to promote the ideologies of Hitler; beginning with Germany’s near-destruction in World War I and depicting Hitler as a messiah, descending from the skies to greet his vehement followers. In the opening minutes of the film, there are close-up and over-the-shoulder shots of Hitler, making him seem rather personable, adored, and somewhat noble. There are also shots of children approaching him, showing that the ideas of innocence and purity are to be seen as parallel to the views and goals Hitler himself. Aesthetically, the entire film is superbly done, and politically its manipulative powers are astonishing. By showing Germany as unified under the divine rule of Hitler, it brought the nation together and created one of the most destructive and powerful nations in the 1940s.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The term Auteur seems to bless a privileged group of filmmakers with an almost messiah-like legacy. Men such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Fritz Lange are believed to inhabit the ranks of the cinematic elite, and not surprisingly most critics are more than willing to bestow upon them the title of Auteur. By regarding filmmaking as yet another form of art, Auteur theory stipulates that a film is the direct result of its director's genius. With the emerging prominence of auteur based criticism in the 1950?s, the role of the director became increasingly integral to a film's success. However most would argue that this form of criticism didn't reach its apex until 1960s, when Andrew Sarris released his seminal works "Notes on the Auteur Theory" (1962) and "The American Cinema" (1968). With this book, Sarris further elaborated on Truffault's theory that "There are no good and bad movies, only good and bad directors"1. To abuse a cliché,Sarris assumed that films are a director's canvas, and only they have the ability to create a great work of art. As intriguing as this notion might seem, there is no doubt that auteur theory is an example of oversimplification at its finest. Unlike many other forms of art, Cinema is the direct result of the cooperative effort of hundreds of people, of which the director and cast are merely the most prominent. To subscribe to auteur theory is to ignore 95% of what makes the production of a film possible, while also adhering to a set of criteria which merely accepts a specific definition of greatness. Auteurism may quite possibly be as much a stigma as a blessing because it celebrates those who adhere to a consistent style, while ignoring those who constantly reinvent themselves.…

    • 2739 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    FILM 1F94

    • 1706 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Established narrative film as the dominant cinematic mode (not very often do documentaries etc. get shown in main stream cinemas)…

    • 1706 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    11 Thomson, David. A Biographical Dictionary of Film 3rd Ed. Alfred A Knopf (1998) p. 801…

    • 2041 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Scorsese

    • 1744 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Cook, D. (1998), Auteur Cinema and the "Film Generation" in 1970 's Hollywood, USA: Duke University Press.…

    • 1744 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Expressionist theatre movement developed in Germany around 1905. It was characterised by attempts to dramatise subjective states through distortion. It used images that were intense and scenes were seen through the eyes of the main character. The plot was typically non-linear, and might travel to unrelated events in a distorted and dreamlike manner. In the same way that melodrama uses the characters description as their name, expressionist theatre used characters as representative, like: man, woman, mother, priest.…

    • 519 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    German Expressionism is a unique film style that came out of Weimer Germany, the period between World War I and World War II. It focused mainly on the visual aspects on the screen meant to express emotions that trigger more personal reactions from the audience. According to David Hudson, German expressionism was an exploration "into juxtaposing light and shadow" as well as madness and obsession in an urban setting complete with complex architectural structures. When Fritz Lang's Metropolis was released in 1927, Luis Buñuel wrote that, "if we look instead to the compositional and visual rather than the narrative side of the film, Metropolis exceeds all expectations and enchants as the most wonderful book of images one can in any way imagine" (Hudson). The narrative is supported by the visual images, but more importantly, they are also credited for creating it. It is a feast for the eyes and the imagination. Mise-en-scene is the composition or everything that is visible within the frame. In this paper I will show how Metropolis was impacted by mise-en-scene in the following ways: setting, staging, lighting, and costumes .…

    • 1752 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays