“Why should an artist duplicate the real world when it already exists for everyone to see?”
• Begins in Europe around 1906 in painting and theatreCabinet of Dr. Caligari – Robert Weine (director) 1919
• Style is unrealistic, stylized
• Attention often given to angles
• Distorted perspectives
• Narrow, tall streets and buildings (set pieces)
• Lighting is “dramatic”; Use of shadows
• Actors are grotesque, exaggerated make-up
• Dark, nightmarish tones & moods
• Attempt to show the interior lives of characters through exteriors
• Expressionism influences Futurism (and Modernism)
• Expressionism influences Film Noir in the 1930’s
On Youtube.com, please view clips from the following:
Murnau's Nosferatu (1922)
Wegener's Der Golem (1920)
Leni's' The Cat and the Canary (1927)
These movies, along with Dr. Caligari, are influential in creating the "horror" genre in film. Why is expressionism a good stylistic choice for horror films?
Murnau: Nosferatu (1922) Full film
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (full film)
Der Golem (full film)
The Cat and the Canary (full film - silent)
Contemporary films like this one also pay homage to the style: Careful by Guy Maddin (1992)
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