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Mar 18, 2020 · Learn how German Expressionism emerged as a response to WWI and created a dark and distorted aesthetic in film. Explore the characteristics, features and classics of this artistic style, from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Metropolis.
German Expressionist films produced in the Weimar Republic immediately following the 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.
- Germany
- 1910s–1930s
Learn about the history, characteristics and influence of German Expressionism, a film movement that used visual distortion and hyper-expressive performance to show inner turmoils and fears. Explore the films that shaped this movement, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Metropolis and Nosferatu.
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Director: Robert Wiene. Undoubtedly one of the most iconic and influential films of all time, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is justly famed for the skewed, anxiety-inducing angles of its painted backdrops, and for the nightmarish tension of its macabre storyline, in which Francis (Friedrich Feher) attempts to solve a series of murders that he suspects to be the work of an insane carnival hypnotist, Dr Caligari (Werner Krauss), and his somnambulist sideshow attraction, Cesare (Conrad Veidt).
- From Morn to Midnight (1920) Director: Karl Heinz Martin. Still shocking even today, From Morn to Midnight remains one of the boldest examples of German expressionist cinema.
- The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920) Directors: Paul Wegener and Carl Boese. The third and only surviving part of Paul Wegener’s Golem trilogy, the 16th-century-set The Golem: How He Came into the World was a prequel to the previous, contemporary-set instalments and, as such, cleaves more closely to the traditional Jewish legend.
- Nosferatu (1922) Director: F.W. Murnau. Something of an anomaly within expressionist cinema, Nosferatu makes extensive use of real-world locations, rather than recreating its world solely within a studio.
Apr 17, 2024 · Updated: May 17, 2024. Definition: German Expressionism was an early 20th-century cultural movement in the arts, including film, painting, and theater. It emphasized emotional experience over physical reality, often using bold colors, distorted forms, and dramatic, moody visuals to express the artist’s inner feelings or ideas.
German Expressionism is an artistic movement that emerged in early 20th-century Germany, characterized by stark lighting contrasts, use of shadows, distorted set designs, and focusing on the internal emotional states, all of which have influenced various forms of visual arts, including cinema.
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Sep 28, 2023 · Learn how German Expressionism, a postwar art movement, influenced the silent film genre with its stylized and nightmarish aesthetics. Explore the historical and cultural context of Weimar Germany and its cinema.
