Please turn in your homework on German Expressionism.
We will take a few minutes this morning to complete our discussion regarding "Minorities in Film"--then move back to the 3rd floor lab for the rest of period 1.
Period 1: Lab
Please work on the following assignments while in the lab (some reading, some writing, some project work, etc.)
“Why should an artist duplicate the real world when it already exists for everyone to see?”
The following 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?
Sergei Eisenstein:
The most influential film maker of early Russian film was Sergei Eisenstein.
Eisenstein is remembered in film for his contribution of the montage.
The montage changed the way filmmakers approached film narrative. It allows a filmmaker to tell a story through a sequence of shots that manipulate time. The jumble of images and cuts of a montage affect the psychological impact and effect of the film's content.
The montage technique is still used in editing today. In a script it is indicated by a series of descriptive lines, each spaced apart to indicate a series of shots, rather than description that would indicate one shot or scene. Click here for an example.
Here's a few clips from some of his films:
HOMEWORK: There is no class on Monday. For Wednesday of next week, please complete the following tasks for next week:
We will take a few minutes this morning to complete our discussion regarding "Minorities in Film"--then move back to the 3rd floor lab for the rest of period 1.
Period 1: Lab
Please work on the following assignments while in the lab (some reading, some writing, some project work, etc.)
- Work on your documentary project (due Friday, March 10)
- Write your first journal paper (due Friday, March 10)
- Read the 3 articles (packet #1) on Robert Weine's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin", and F. W. Murnau's "Sunrise"--we will cover these fellows during our second class period screenings.
- Begin homework.
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 theatreRobert Weine's bio
• 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
- Hands of Orlac (1924, fan review)
The following 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?
- Paul Wegener's Der Golem (1920)
- Carl Laemmle's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
- Carl Laemmle's Phantom of the Opera (1925)
- Harry Hoyt's The Lost World (really sci-fi/romance/adventure...) (1925)
- Paul Leni's' The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Sergei Eisenstein:
The most influential film maker of early Russian film was Sergei Eisenstein.
Eisenstein is remembered in film for his contribution of the montage.
The montage changed the way filmmakers approached film narrative. It allows a filmmaker to tell a story through a sequence of shots that manipulate time. The jumble of images and cuts of a montage affect the psychological impact and effect of the film's content.
The montage technique is still used in editing today. In a script it is indicated by a series of descriptive lines, each spaced apart to indicate a series of shots, rather than description that would indicate one shot or scene. Click here for an example.
Here's a few clips from some of his films:
- Battleship Potemkin (Odessa Step Sequence) (1925)
- Oktober
- Alexander Nevsky (1928) (battle on the ice sequence) - Music by Sergei Prokofiev. We can see how the invention of sound in the next few years will revolutionize film. The exciting tone of the music, nicely reflects the glory, fear, and trepidation of the characters in this scene.
HOMEWORK: There is no class on Monday. For Wednesday of next week, please complete the following tasks for next week:
- 1. Read and answer the questions in the packet concerning "The Hays Code & Sergei Eisenstein."
- 2. Make sure you have read the handout article on Robert Weine, F.W. Murnau, Sergei Eisenstein and viewed their film clips from the post above. They will be on the unit test.
- 3. Draw near a close for your documentary project. This is due Friday, March 10.
- 4. Complete your film journal paper #1, also due March 10.
- 5. Review any film clips/topics from the beginning of this course until now. Click on the links and read or watch the various film samples or topics you may have missed.
- View any of the linked films in the EXTRA CREDIT film post below this one.
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