German Expressionist Film

Rebecca Carriero-Granados

German Expressionism incorporated the extreme stylization of mise-en-scene (Cook). Mise-en-scene is created when every shot of the film can successfully function as a photograph, or as the set-designer Herman Warm said in 1926, "the film image must become graphic art" (Bordwell, 106). In German Expressionism, the scenery, costume and lighting are not secondary to the shot, but instead are as important as the humans in the film. The actors blend into the mood of the set. Conrad Veidt, an actor in Caligari said, "If the décor has been conceived as having the same spiritual state as that which governs the character's mentality, the actor will find in that décor a valuable aid in composing and living his part" (Bordwell, 106).The jagged settings match symmetrical costumes, distorted buildings communicate unknown places, and exaggeration of everything - twisted chairs, sharp shape, above all contribute to the extreme use of mise-en-scene.

German Expressionist films were often dark stories influenced by allegorical characters that represented the fears of shifting Germany. The vampire character in Nosferatu represented the growing fear of invasion that would bring death. The gloomy mood of post-war Germany was reflected in the setting. Crooked trees were posed with disfigured figures to create similar shapes. The gothic architecture often featured in Expressionist settings reflected a nation stuck somewhere between a dark past and an ominous future. Arches, tall towers, winding paths and crooked streets replaced painted settings. Unrest, confusion, death, power, hysteria, evil social pressure and irrational fears were common themes in the genre. Fluid Mobil framing, chiaroscuro lighting of extreme darkness and extreme light and tilted angles with sharp shadows are important elements of German Expressionism used to express the aforementioned sentiments.

Overacted facial gestures, coal rimmed eyes and extreme body movements like a crooked walk or stooped hunch, forced the actor to become a living composition. The exaggerated figure was an important feature. Body parts such as the deathly thin Nosferatu with his sharp teeth, fearsome talons and beyond midnight black costume take on a new power as they blend in with the equally jagged surroundings. His body is one of extremes. He is tall and thin allowing him to dominate any shot. He is pale and blindingly luminous. Likewise in The Last Laugh, the grotesquely fat and snowy bearded protagonist uses hearty laughter and extreme depression within moments of each other. Jerky body movements and sudden gestures - a twitching eye, a look of shock were common traits. The straight-forward shots and slow camera movements work together to maximize the drama, the fear and the suspense of impending doom. German Expressionism explored the fantastical. In Nosferatu a ghoulish character is allowed to rise from the dead. In Fritz Lang's Metropolis the fantasy of an urban utopia comes alive as we the genre allows patrons to not only imagine a future, but to see one on screen. The lingering shots force viewers (and characters alike) to watch, never allowing them to escape the nightmare quasi dream realm.