The Influence of Expressionism to Film-Making


            The art of producing film has been part of world history. Over the years, cinema production has gone through major transitions and improvements; from the creation of black and white films, integration of various plots and utilization of the latest technology, film-making has indeed continued to entertain viewers through the use of diverse techniques. As part of culture, film is an art form that can be influenced easily by trends. One of the important trends that had led to film-making development is the influence of various art movements worldwide. While these art movements are originally used to portray various art works of talented artists from all over the world, art movements such as expressionism had influenced contemporary film-makers, resulting to cinema’s historical developments. In this essay, the aim is to describe how expressionism had influenced the art of making movies. Examples will be used to emphasize the integration of the art movement to relevant films.


 


 (1972) noted that art has been continuously appreciated by the audience as it enables them to create narratives out of still images. However, the peak of art had lost since the start of the mechanical age. This may be partially true; however, art has unknowingly influenced other significant aspects of culture, particularly film-making. Various art movements served a significant role in shaping both film-makers and the process of making movies. As cited by  (1991), the Soviet cinema is one good example of how art impacted film-making. Specifically, history of Soviet films has been influenced both German Expressionism and Italian Neo-Realism. The typical interpretation of paintings may have lost its usual aura but this practice had been passed on to the appreciation of art-oriented films. The art movement expressionism for instance allowed the audience to be mesmerized by exaggerated film shots and entertained by silent movies.


 


            Expressionism is an art movement use to express emotions by means of exaggeration and distortion.  were artists of the 16th century; their works that portray forceful religious emotions in distorted forms can be considered as good examples of this art movement. In contemporary European art, expressionism is often used to bring out inner feelings through the use of unnatural and strong colors popularized by . Aside from emotional color choices, wild brush strokes are also used for this art movement. In addition, supernatural elements like magic, ghosts and monsters are also part of an expressionist art ( 1999).


 


            As people began to recognize expressionism as an art movement, film makers became motivated to integrate it in film-making. Film-makers of expressionist films intended to create illusive images, which can draw certain emotions from the audience. While artists use colors and brush strokes to show expressionism in art works, film makers integrated the principles of this art movement through camera tricks. During the early parts of the 1920s, expressionism began its influence on cinema production for German films. Among the famous expressionist film makers include


 


The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is perhaps the most common expressionist films produced. Created by , this movie contained significant and distinct effects that clearly showed the influence of expressionism. In expressionism, strong contrast using black and white colors are used on wood prints. Expressionist film-makers achieved this through the extensive use of shadows and lighting effects, which can be seen on the movie, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ( 2006). In the movie, the faces, location and actions of the characters can easily be seen during daylight. However, scenes shot at night time make if difficult for the audience to see the characters or the scene clearly. The use of this effect generates feelings of danger. The audience tends to associate such scenes on harm, ghosts or monsters. Expressionism is clearly seen in this movie as the use of effective lighting has evoked emotions even better that the dialogues itself ( 1996).


 


 was also celebrated expressionist film-maker through his work entitled Metropolis in 1927. In this expressionist film, the setting or the world was structured in futuristic time with highly-technological gadgets and scenes, suggesting significant symbolism. This film is centered on the first ever female robot developed by a mad scientist.  also created another film influenced by expressionism; starred by , the movie M is an expressionist film focused on a child murderer hunted by both the police and criminals ( 1996).


 


In Nosferatu by , similar effects can be observed, especially through the use of shadowed figures and movements. By means of using darkness and shadows, expressionist film makers are able to create feelings of fear and anxiety; this is one of the important factors where the influence of expressionist art movement can be seen in films. In the movie Rear Window by, the influence of expressionism can also be seen (1997). Near the end of the movie, , the movie’s main character, was sitting in a dark room; the scene then shifts to the sound of the killer’s footsteps approaching Jeff’s room. The scene then ended by showing a part of  and the killer coming closer to him. This can be considered as an expressionist scene as it creates uncertainty and fear among the viewers.


 


Other film viewers may note that expressionism is bordered between imagination and irrationality. Indeed, other audiences would say that movies today cannot be appreciated fully as they are only made out of fictional plots and characters. However, there are others who claim that taking realism out of movies can allow the audience to delve into an imaginary world. By means of expressionist cinema, people will be able to see something that would not normally see or experience in real life. The drive of making expressionist films is then rooted on producing something new and one that will excite the audience. Indeed, this has bee the main objective of most expressionist film-makers.


 


An example was poetic film maker ; through his works, he was able to integrate expressionism into film by combining both fantasy and lyrics, also termed as cinema fantastique. Among his symbolic and well-known works include Beauty and the Beast, Orpheus, Testament of Orpheus and The Bloody Poet. , a magician who operated the Robert-Houdin Theatre in Paris was also among those who believed that unrealistic factors through expressionism should be part of making movies. One of his major contributions to expressionist film-making was the use of various special effects that could make movies absurd and unrealistic. In particular, he made use of different tactics such as staged settings, trick photography, slow and fast motion, superimpositions, fading dissolves and miniatures along with fictional movie plots (1996).


 


At present,  has been considered as one of the pioneers of the film aesthetic also commonly referred to as formalism or expressionism. Rather that focusing on showing what is real or believable,  as a film maker enjoyed manipulating images and scenes to make them outrageously unreal. Through his works, such as the well-known A Trip to the Moon,  was able to push film-making towards artistic expression and imagination (1996).


 


The use of expressionism in cinema enables film-makers to portray distortion and insanity through unusual camera angles. Some common movie scenes that depict this effect are building shots that appear as if they are leaning too much and are about to fall over. Buildings can also appear taller than normal through strange camera angles. Movies that feature action heroes like Superman, X-Men, Batman and Spiderman are also some of the modern examples of expressionist films wherein normal cities are typically disturbed by evil villains. These movies make it appear as if the world is so threatening and chaotic, and that it is normal for common city residents to cheer on their fictional heroes as they try to beat the enemies. 


 


One of the notable characteristics of expressionism is diversity; thus, when integrated into films, film makers have access to a variety of ways to create expressionist films. As cited earlier, expressionism in films can be seen through different movie genres like fantasy, suspense and science fiction. In British film-making on the other hand, expressionism was popularized through horror movies. Hammer Studios played a significant role in making British horror films recognized. During the post-war era, film-makers and fans were inspired by the studio’s unusual combination of high camp and gore, which soon became a British horror trademark. In 1955, the studio produced the film The Quartermass Experiment, a remake of the stories of Frankenstein and Dracula, which was successful. Along with film writers and directors, Hammer Studios also launched several movie actors to stardom through horror film-making. Some of these stars include 


 


The philosophy of the studios in making expressionist films was to create works that are inexpensive yet sensationally gory. This principle appeared to work as Hammer’s movies were not only supported by film viewers but several studios had also started making movies under this genre. Examples of these studios include Tigon Studios and Amicus Productions; some of these studios’ famous works were From Beyond the Grave, Asylum, and Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. Other larger studios such as British Lion and Rank had also realized the growing popularity of horror films and followed suit in the trend. The combined support of the movie goers and the film makers then allowed the development British horror style (2004).


 


At that time, British horror films were competing with expensive American horror films, scarier Italian movies and quality German horror. Nonetheless, the age of horror films during the 1950s to 1980s paved the way for plain, bizarre and funny British movies. British film makers had optimized the use of expressionist film style by combining cinematic inspirations, hilarious dialogues, special effects and scary shots ( 2004). British horror as products of expressionism has then endured through its original and entertaining factors.


 


Aside from horror, expressionism was also used in a genre known as film noir. Specifically, noirs were derived from the German expressionism and French sound films. It was during and after the Second World War when film noir was popularized as film makers took advantage of the anxious, pessimistic and suspicious post-war setting. Initially, film noirs focused on plots adopted from literary works as well as detective stories. The expressionist factor of film noirs were made evident through the use of deep-focus camera techniques, lighting, unusual camera angles, visual schemes and editing procedures. Movie setting were typically set on gloomy and dark rooms while outside scenes are created with low key lighting effects, shadows and wet-slicked alleyways. Generally, emotions in the film noirs are expressed through gloomy settings and heavy ambiences.


 


Expressionism is also integrated in such films through complicated narratives, foreboding music and sharp dialogues.      are some of the pioneers of film noir production. One of the known film noirs was A Gun for Sale which is based on the novel written by British author ; the film was focused on , a professional hit-man. The famous opening of film noir protagonist  “I want to report a murder – mine” also contributed to the popularization of this expressionist film genre. Created by , a British director, The Third Man is a film about a doomed and poisoned  , a victim of circumstance. From these given examples, it has been clear how the expressionist art movement had made its way into the film-making business.


 


            Expressionism had been recognized due to its distinct characteristics. This art movement does not only represent history but also the ingenious artists who introduced it. Being a cultural factor and trend, the expressionist art movement had then become an important influence in film development. Specifically, expressionism enabled film makers to use unconventional lighting effects and camera shot angles in order to relay the message of the film; this has been particularly important in the production of various movie genres. In particular, movie genres such as fantasy, science fiction, horror and noirs were derived from expressionism.


 


In general, the inclusion of art movement in film-making led to the optimization of the film makers’ skills, imagination and creativity. The viewers on the other hand, are able to watch highly diverse films that suit their preferences. While expressionist-inspired films makes scenes unrealistic and absurd, film makers of this genre are able to contribute to total entertainment by satisfying the viewers’ imaginative side. With the rise of modern technology, the influence of expressionism and other art movements to film-making encourages film producers to continually enhance the quality of films for viewers to enjoy and appreciate.


 


 


 


 



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