German expressionism appeared, as the name implies, in pre-WW1 Germany. During these times, the country was in turmoil and was facing complete isolation from other countries, especially during the end of World War I and the subsequent change in regime, as in The German Empire was transformed into a republic, more specifically the Weimar Republic, would bring Germany to its knees. Thus, it comes to no surprise that a country with such issues would produce these kinds of films; surrealistic, oppressive and oftentimes terrifying. Of those films, the ones that cemented German expressionism were The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), Nosferatu (F.W Murnaw, 1922) and later Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927). These films brought a whole new
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Though initially an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s world famous novella Dracula, the studio was refused the rights by Stoker’s estate and thus Dracula was renamed (and transformed rather hideously) into Count Orlock and the word vampire was made into “nosferatu”, perhaps, many would argue, for the best as Nosferatu is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time. The plot is, thus, similar. A real estate agent, Thomas Hutter, travels to Transylvania, to negotiate with Orlock in acquisition of property in Hutter’s hometown, ignorant of Orlock’s undead and demonic nature, and the chaos that he will bring. Inarguably, another great example of German expressionism. With that in mind let us see how expressionism was used to convey fear and …show more content…
We are not allowed to speak and to go against them as the workers have their heads constantly bowed in submission to their superiors. This of course goes hand in hand with the general leitmotif of Metropolis themes, an anti-Utopia some might say, and a Marxist nightmare. This is expressionistic manipulation of a film’s space coupled with the inclusion of the masses and the contrast between the underground and the futuristic, highly stylized city serves a particular artistic reason, one that while we are indeed watching a science fiction film we are not only in awe but also in fear and
Though initially an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s world famous novella Dracula, the studio was refused the rights by Stoker’s estate and thus Dracula was renamed (and transformed rather hideously) into Count Orlock and the word vampire was made into “nosferatu”, perhaps, many would argue, for the best as Nosferatu is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time. The plot is, thus, similar. A real estate agent, Thomas Hutter, travels to Transylvania, to negotiate with Orlock in acquisition of property in Hutter’s hometown, ignorant of Orlock’s undead and demonic nature, and the chaos that he will bring. Inarguably, another great example of German expressionism. With that in mind let us see how expressionism was used to convey fear and …show more content…
We are not allowed to speak and to go against them as the workers have their heads constantly bowed in submission to their superiors. This of course goes hand in hand with the general leitmotif of Metropolis themes, an anti-Utopia some might say, and a Marxist nightmare. This is expressionistic manipulation of a film’s space coupled with the inclusion of the masses and the contrast between the underground and the futuristic, highly stylized city serves a particular artistic reason, one that while we are indeed watching a science fiction film we are not only in awe but also in fear and