All about German Expressionism

German Expressionism refers to two art movements that emerged in early 20th century and focused on the emotional qualities of paintings brought out by vivid colours and distorted shape.

Before the Great War, German film was not nearly as technologically as other European film. Until 1910, most German films consisted of short, pornographic snippets and crude day-in-the-life anecdotes. Only the works of Oskar Messter showed even the most minute level of innovation. He implemented the close-up, artificial lighting and even some experimentation with sound. But not until right before the start of the war did Germany begin to produce truly innovative work.

In 1914, the Great War began in Europe, cutting Germany off from its usual supply of international cinema. German filmmakers were therefore unaware of the innovation of technique D.W. Griffith had achieved in Birth of a Nation (1915). The only films imported into Germany during the war years were from Denmark and Sweden. However, Sweden and Denmark simply didn’t produce enough films. In 1917, the German film studio Universum Film-Aktiengesellschaft (UFA) was founded. UFA remained the largest European film production studio until World War II. After the German defeat in 1918, UFA went on to become a sizable competitor with Hollywood. Expressionism, with the help of nation-wide abolition of censorship in 1919 and the intellectuals’ adoption of cinema, was hailed as a new way of expressing a new world.

In 1920 Das Kabinett Des Dr. Caligari, (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (dir. Robert Wiene) one of the most important and influential Expressionist films was released. With the outbreak of sex murders – violent sexual crimes in which a victim was not raped but savagely violated in a sexual manner as a means of murder – the German people had yet another horrific product of war to fear. Dr. Caligari plays off of those fears by telling the story of a traveling magician with a hypnotized servant who does his master’s murderous bidding under the cover of night. In addition to being thematically appropriate for the time, Dr. Caligari also contains some of the most identifiably Expressionist examples of mise en scene.

Due to budget constrains, the set could not be lit enough to produce the kind of dramatic lighting that Expressionism required. Instead, lighting effects were painted directly on the scenery and sets, creating an even more Expressionist vision. The hard contrast of white and black rays on the walls gives the sense that the action is taking place in the confines of a woodcut, a popular medium for Expressionist art at the time. In some way, Expressionism was an inevitable movement in Germany. It seeds were planted before World War I and probably would grown even if the war did not give the German people a thirst for such dark artistic expression.

The early 20th century artistic movement known as German Expressionism, which influenced music, theater, painting and architecture, was perhaps most successfully realized in the medium of film. Since the movement sought to reflect emotion over realism, many Expressionist movies had horror themes whose fantastic storylines invoked strong emotional responses and granted wide artistic freedom. Feeding into the horror elements was a dark introspection brought about by Germany’s involvement in World War I.

The first Expressionist films made up for a lack of lavish budgets by using set designs with widely non-realistic, geometrically absurd sets, along with designs painted on walls and floors to represent lights, shadows, and objects. The plots and stories of the Expressionist films often dealt with madness, insanity, betrayal, and other intellectual topics. During the 20’s, a stable of German actors, writers and directors pushed Expressionism to international acclaim.

Film List

The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari         (1920) Director: Robert Wiene 

The Student Of Prague               (1913)
Director: Stellan Rye and Paul Wegener

The Golem                                    (1920)
Director: Carl Boose and Paul Wegener

Nosferatu                                      (1922) Director: F.W. Murnau

Metropolis                                    (1927) Director: Fritz Lang

Pandora’s Box                             (1929)
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Waxworks                                    (1924)
Director: Leo Brinsky and Paul Leni

Genuine: A Tale Of A Vampire  (1920) Director: Robert Wiene

From Morn To Midnight            (1920) Director: Karl Heinz Martin