Expressionism in filmmaking developed in Germany (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. During the period of recovery following World War I, the German film industry was booming, but because of the hard economic times filmmakers found it difficult to create movies that could compare with the lush, extravagant features coming from Hollywood. The filmmakers of the German UFA studio developed a method of compensating for the lack of high budgets, by using symbolism and mise-en-scène to insert mood and deeper meaning into a movie. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ... ... Ufas coat of arms Ufa (Уфа́) (oo-FAH) (Tatar Ufa, Öfä; Bashkir Өфө Chuvash Ěпхӳ) is the capital of Bashkiria, a republic in central Russia. ... In film theory, mise-en-scène [mizA~sEn] refers to everything that is to appear before the camera and its arrangement -- sets, props, actors, costumes, camera movements and performances. ...

The first Expressionist films, notably The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), The Golem ¹ (1920), and Nosferatu (1922) were highly symbolic and deliberately surrealistic portrayals of filmed stories. The Dada movement was sweeping across the artistic world in the early 1920s, and the various European cultures of the time had embraced an ethic of change, and a willingness to look to the future by experimenting with bold, new ideas and artistic styles. The first Expressionist films made up for lavish budgets by using set designs with wildly 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 (as opposed to standard action-adventure and romantic films). Later films often categorized as part of the brief history of German Expressionism include Metropolis (1927) and M (1931), both directed by Fritz Lang. Dr. Caligari, Caligari, and Doctor Caligari all redirect here. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1920 (MCMXX) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Max Schreck as Count Orlok Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Horrors in German) is a German Expressionist film originally shot in 1922 by F.W. Murnau. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Dadaism or Dada is a post-World War I cultural movement in visual art as well as literature (mainly poetry), theatre and graphic design. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... F.W. Murnaus Nosferatu German Expressionism, also referred to as expressionism in filmmaking, developed in Germany (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. ... Metropolis Metropolis is a science fiction film produced in Germany set in a futuristic urban dystopia. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Peter Lorre in M M (original title: M- Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (translation: M- a city in search of a murderer)) is a 1931 German film noir directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in which a serial killer, played by Peter Lorre, preys on... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism to work in Hollywood. ...

The extreme non-realism of Expressionism was a brief-lived fad, however, and it faded away (along with Dadaism) after only a few years. However, the themes of Expressionism were integrated into later films of the 1920s and 1930s, resulting in an artistic control over the placement of scenery, light, and shadow to enhance the mood of a film. This dark, moody school of filmmaking was brought to America when the Nazis gained power and a number of German filmmakers emigrated to Hollywood. They found a number of American movie studios willing to embrace them, and several of the German directors and cameramen flourished, producing a repertoire of Hollywood films that had a profound effect on the medium of film as a whole. Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ...

Two genres that were especially influenced by Expressionism were the horror film and film noir. Carl Laemmle and Universal Studios had made a name for themselves by producing such famous horror films of the silent era as Lon Chaney's The Phantom of the Opera. German emigrees such as Karl Freund (the cinematographer for Dracula in 1931) set the style and mood of the Universal monster movies of the 1930s with their dark and artistically designed sets, providing the benchmark for later generations of horror films. Meanwhile, such directors as Fritz Lang and Michael Curtiz introduced the Expressionist style to the crime dramas of the 1940s, influencing a further line of filmmakers and taking Expressionism through the years. DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... Carl Laemmle ( January 17, 1867, Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany – September 24, 1939, Beverly Hills, California) was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios. ... The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles and Burbank. ... Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera Lon Chaney, Sr. ... Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera The 1925 film version of The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney, Sr. ... Karl W. Freund (January 16, 1890-May 3, 1969) was a German cinematographer who worked on over 100 films, including Metropolis (1927), Dracula (1931), and Key Largo (1948). ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula; U.S. postage stamp first issue 20??. Dracula (1897) is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, and the namesake of the worlds most famous vampire character. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism to work in Hollywood. ... Michael Curtiz (December 24, 1886 - April 10, 1962) was a film director, whose films include The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, and White Christmas. ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ...

Expressionism can still be seen in modern film, like those of filmmakers David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive) and Terry Gilliam (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen). Movies such as these contain visual stylization, a warped or exaggerated reality, and a heavy emotional punch. However, this style is more often found in European cinema (Delicatessen, Tuvalu). Today, films of this style are usually limited appeal "art" films, since mainstream cinema has devolved. David Lynch at Cannes in 2001 David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana) is an American filmmaker. ... Blue Velvet is a 1986 film directed and written by David Lynch. ... Mulholland Drive is a motion picture released in 2001 and directed by David Lynch. ... Terry Gilliam at Cannes 2001 Terence Vance Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is a film director and a member of the Monty Python comedy group. ... The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville (as the Baron), Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams and a great many more. ...

Notes

• ¹ Not to be confused with the original, 1915 version of the same name.

1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

See also

• German film history
• German Expressionism