G ERMAN E XPRESSIONISM, : T HE C ABINET OF D R. C ALIGARI Lecture 6

G ERMAN N ATIONAL F ILM C ONTEXT : ban on film imports Boom in national wartime production – 1913: 30 production companies – 1919: 250 production companies 1917: Universum Film A.G. (or Ufa) formed with 1/3 of funding provided by the state. – 1918—Ufa privatized (purchased by Deutsches Bank) 1920: Reich Film Act

Expressionism Pre-cursors: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Munch Rejection of realism Two phases: – Pre-war artists: Developed by two groups – Die Brucke “The Bridge” (1906) » Ernst Kirchner » Erich Heckel Der Blaue Reiter “The Blue Rider” (1911) » Franz Marc » Wassili Kandinsky – Post-war, second generation artists: More politicized Deeply affected by war-time experience Associated with “Der Sturm” (The Storm) magazine

Wassili Kandinsky, “Winter” 1909 We start from the idea that the artist, beyond impressions which he receives from the exterior world, from nature, continually accumulates experience in his inner world, and is in quest of artistic forms which must be liberated from all irrelevant elements, so as to express only the necessary… (Kandinsky, 1909)

E XPRESSIONISM Interested in representing interiority Expressionism eschews objectivity externalizes inner feelings in the mise-en-scene – Thus, it confuses the subjective and the objective

W HAT IS THE MODE OF REPRESENTATION OF EXPRESSIONIST FILM ? 1.*Innovates in the area of mise-en-scene (i.e. the pro-filmic) Sets: artificial not natural Costumes Props Acting lighting 2.Enframed image/camerawork Unobtrusive Mobile camera (The Last Laugh) Eye-level Straight-on angle 3.Replaces the image of nature with art: substitutes for nature 4.Editing Unobtrusive Continuity o Shot/reverse shot o Cross-cutting

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : B UILT SETS From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : G RAPHIC Q UALITIES OF THE S HOT / S ETS AS ACTORS / DE - EMPHASIS ON THE H UMAN FIGURE

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : D ISTORTION AND E XAGGERATION

From Metropolia (Fritz Lang, 1927)

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : JUXTAPOSITION OF SIMILAR SHAPES

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : C OSTUMES

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : A CTING S LOW AND EXAGGERATED

E XPRESSIONIST S TYLISTICS : L IGHTING From Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)

Context for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Cabinet emerges from an industrial, commercial filmmaking context Expressionism was in vogue at the time. – Kasimir Edschmid in 1919: “[Expressionism] today affords titillation and edification to clergymen’s daughters and factory-owners’ wives… What once seemed a daring gesture has now become routine. The thrust forward of the day before yesterday has become the gimmick of yesterday and the big yawn of today.” (quoted in Robinson)

C ONTEMPORANEOUS R ECEPTION World premiere at the Marmorhaus in February 1920 German critics were universally enthusiastic U.S. premiere: April 1921 at the Capitol Cinema in NYC

Marcel Duchamp, 1912