It is important to understand the influence of German Expressionism as an art movement on cinema. The best examples of this is Murnau's "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror" and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". Both films achieve monumental effects in the arena of Germanic Expression. Sweeping set designs that would give one vertigo, extreme lighting effects, emphasizing shadow and form and dramatic editing and pacing. "Metropolis", by Fritz Lang, is another fine example.
Perhaps one area, often overlooked, is in the arena of the movie posters themselves. Above are excellent examples that follow the Expressionist approach.
Here is an excellent link on German Expressionism and the film "Nosferatu".
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Hey Ron, I ran across a 1926 German silent animated film called "The Adventures of Prince Achmed." My Netflix description said it was considered THE first animated feature (which I always thought it what Disney's Snow White, his first animated full length feature). Anyway I thought the flick was very pretty. The animation is all black so the characters look like shadows, while the background is tinted. It reminded me of German expressionism's use of light and shadow...Anyway thought you might want to check it out. Here's some links and it's instant on Netflix. There are also some clips on youtube.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015532/
http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Prince-Achmed-Lotte-Reiniger/dp/B0000714B2
I've read brief snippets of about this film before, but didn't know it existed! Thanks for the info.; I've got to look into that. I always thougth "Gertie the Dinosaur" was the first bit of animation...May have to try to pick this up!
ReplyDeleteYeah it's a really beautiful bit of animation but I think there are parts missing. Also on second thought I retract my connection to German Expressionism because there aren't really any objects that take on a life and meaning....
ReplyDeleteInsightful! Have to find time to look into this more. As always, great post!
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