German Expressionism is an artistic genre that originated in Europe in
the 1920s, and is broadly defined as the rejection of Western conventions, and
the depiction of reality that is widely distorted for emotional effect. Heavily
influenced by artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and El Greco,
Expressionists were less concerned with producing aesthetically pleasing
compositions as they were with creating powerful reactions to their work
through the use of bright, clashing colours, flat shapes, and jagged
brushstrokes. In its nature, the movement was interested in the relationship
between art and society, and encompassed a broad range of fields, including
architecture, painting, and film.
Expressionist films were initially born out
of Germany's relative isolation during the 1910's, and quickly generated high
demand due to the government's ban on foreign films. The films' appeal soon
spread to an international audience, and by the early 1920's, many European
filmmakers had begun experimenting with the absurd and wild aesthetics of
German cinema. Two of the most influential films of the era were Metropolis
(1927), by Fritz Lang (Austrian, 1877–1961), and The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari
(1920), by Robert Wiene (German, 1873–1938). Similar to Expressionist paintings,
Expressionist films sought to convey the inner, subjective experience of its
subjects. Expressionist film in the 1920's was based on the premise that film
becomes art only to the extent that the film image differs from reality.
In German film making in the 1910's and 1920's, one can
observe tone, meaning, and narrative information conveyed through
mise-en-scène. These films were a part of the German Expressionism movement in
the 1920’s, and were characterized by their extreme sets, décor, acting, lighting,
and camera angles. The aim of these films is to have an extremely dramatic
effect on the audience, often emphasizing the fantastic and grotesque. Perhaps
the most famous example of this is The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari (1919) where a
character's internal state of mind is represented through set design and
blocking. The sets involved stress the madness and horror of the film, as
expressionist films are meant to do.
Set design:
An important element of "putting in the
scene" is set design—the setting of a scene and the objects (props)
visible in a scene. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the
dominant mood, which has physical, social, psychological, emotional, economic
and cultural significance in film.
Lighting:
The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting can
influence an audience’s understanding of characters, actions, themes and mood.
Light (and shade) can emphasize texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or
night, season, glamour; it affects the way colors are rendered, both in terms
of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the
composition. Highlights, for example, call attention to shapes and textures,
while shadows often conceal things, creating a sense of mystery or fear. For
this reason, lighting must be thoroughly planned in advance to ensure its
desired effect on an audience. Cinematographers are a large part of this
process, as they coordinate the camera and the lighting.
Space:
The representation of space affects the reading of a
film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a
film can be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting, set
design, effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the
story world.
Composition:
It includes the organization of objects, actors and
space within the frame. One of the most important concepts with the regard to
the composition of a film is maintaining a balance of symmetry. This refers to
having an equal distribution of light, color, and objects and/or figures in a
shot. Unbalanced composition can be used to emphasize certain elements of a
film that the director wishes to be given particular attention to. This tool
works because audiences are more inclined to pay attention to something off balance,
as it may seem abnormal.
Costume:
Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters
wear. Costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make
clear distinctions between characters.
Makeup and hair styles:
Establish time period, reveal character traits and
signal changes in character.
Acting:
There is enormous historical and cultural variation in
performance styles in the cinema. In the early years of cinema, stage acting
and film acting were difficult to differentiate, as most film actors had
previously been stage actors and therefore knew no other method of acting.
Eventually, early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th
century theater, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style.
This more naturalistic style of acting is largely influenced by Constantin
Stanislavski’s theory of method acting, which involves the actor fully
immersing themselves in their character.
Cabinet of Dr.Caligary
Filmed in 1920, The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari tells the
story of Francis, who, through flashbacks, recounts his terrifying experiences
at a carnival in a small German village, where he first encountered
Dr.Caligari, a man with the power to control people in their sleep. When
Francis's friend is mysteriously murdered and his fiancée is kidnapped, he
pursues Dr.Caligari to an insane asylum, determined to unravel the mystery
surrounding these terrible events.
In scenes throughout the film, sidewalks lead nowhere,
walls appear warped, creating strange shapes, and buildings rise at distorted
angles in the background. Considering the cultural context in which Caligari
was created, it makes sense that German Expressionism was such a widely used device
in film, visual art, and literature. The sense of anxiety, distrust, and
uneasiness were at an all-time high in Germany following World War I, and films
such as Caligari were examples of art imitating life.
Robert Wiene
Robert Wiene was an important film director of the German silent cinema.
He is particularly known for directing the influential German silent film The
Cabinet of Dr.Caligari and a succession of other expressionist films. Wiene
also directed a variety of other films of varying styles and genres. Following
the Nazi rise to power in Germany, Wiene fled into exile.
Major Films and
Directors
The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920): Robert Wiene
Nosferatu (1922): F. W. Murnau
Faust (1926): F. W. Murnau
Metropolis (1927): Fritz Lang
M (1931): Fritz Lang
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