German Expressionism; Cabinet of Dr. Caligari & Murnau

This morning, please read the article and be prepared to share your findings with the rest of the class. After reading the article, please take notes on the following:

Expressionism

“Why should an artist duplicate the real world when it already exists for everyone to see?”

• Begins in Europe around 1906 in painting and theatre
• 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 (more on that later...)

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Robert Weine (director) 1919

On Youtube.com, please view clips from the following:

• F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922)
• Paul Wegener's Der Golem (1920)
• Carl Laemmle's Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• F. W. Murnau's Faust (1926, full film)
• Paul Leni's' The Cat and the Canary (1927)

These movies, along with Dr. Caligari, are influential in creating the "horror" genre in film. Why, do you think, is expressionism a good stylistic choice for horror films?

Here are some film selections. If you'd like extra credit, watch and critique one (or more) of these films. Reviews are due by end of marking period.

Nosferatu (1922) Full film
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (full film with star actor Conrad Veidt)
Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire (full film, Robert Wiene, 1920)
The Hands of Orlac (full film, Robert Wiene, 1924 with star actor Conrad Veidt)
Der Golem (full film)
The Cat and the Canary (full film - silent)
The Phantom of the Opera (full film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (full film)
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (full film)

Contemporary films like these also pay homage to the style: Careful by Guy Maddin (1992), the Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Call of Cthulhu (2006), The Artist (2011)

Carl Laemmle's 100 Years of Universal (director/producer of Universal studios)
F.W. Murnau's bio
Robert Weine's bio

Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922)

HOMEWORK: Please read the article on Nanook of the North and take notes on key aspects/facts.