Major Project TERM II - Visual style in German Expressionism Research
In the last part of research for this term's major project I decided to take a close look into visual style of films from the era of German Expressionism. As far as this movement is closely connected to cinema, not photography, we can still find many similarities between these mediums which can be translated into one another.
This part of the research will be based on two films which were groundbreaking at the time and showed direction for future filmmakers. Said films are ' Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' and 'Nosferatu'.
I. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Directed by Robert Wiene
Photography by Willy Hameister
'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' trailer
'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' directed by Robert Wiene when come out over hundred years ago took the world by storm with its innovative storytelling, multiple plot twists and of course cinematography and setting. Of course this film's visual style uses elements of German expressionism, 'an art movement in the early twentieth century, where artists would distort reality to emphasise their subjective view and emotions' (Rolfe, 2020).
At the time the complex structure of the film and well written characters were something that people were not expecting from a film. This picture pioneered this kind of frame narration in which were present multiple plot twists regarding characters and story itself.
Besides script itself, a revolutionary at the time was scenography created by Hermann Warm. These expressionist theatre like scenery created an atmosphere which will be a ground for future filmmakers and their visual styles like Tim Burton, or David Lynch (Kürten, 2020).
'Cabinet' was first in many categories, but after watching this film one scene stays in your mind for the longest time. The scene of second murder, at the end of second act, is a masterclass in cinematography. Four decades before famous 'Psycho' shower scene, this piece is thrilling and shocking today. The claustrophobic and almost surreal feeling is accompanies entire film and creates disturbing atmosphere (Ahi and Karaoghlanian, 2013).
The shadows in this shot are emphasizing silhouette of the characters and is adding an element of interpretation. By not showing actual people but their only their outlines we are left with imagining ourselves what is exactly happening in the film (Drake, 2020). This very expressionistic element of mystery is present in many different parts of the film.
Another scene that is worth analysing is a one in which Cesare wakes up for the first time in the film. This horrifying close-up with vignette around it create a very personal and full of emotion shot. In just few seconds we become aware of what kind of character this somnambulist is.
Everything in this shot is intended and every detail, from makeup to composition, which are great exposition devices that are helping in adding more depth to the characters. This film works like a trans, by experimentation and exploring new visions of the world, more fictional ones, in which we could escape reality it develops new genre of cinema and gives us truly dream like experience (Rolfe, 2020)
We cannot talk about this film without mentioning its outstanding scenography. This expressionistic, and surreal like scenery, transforms this film from a movie to more of a theatre experience. 'The town streets have angular splashes of light beneath the warped gas lamps. Alleyways slam and disappear into the darkness, the interiors of homes have painted shadows creating odd shapes. Light and shadow are always painted on the walls' (Rolfe, 2020). All of those unusual elements create this vibrant world, which has truly otherworldly and eerily characteristic (Drake, 2020).
Another thing worth mentioning is the colorization of the film. While film was shot in black and white, in post production some parts were dyed yellow or blue, or even magenta in some scenes. It was suppose to separate the day and night from each other, which otherwise would be difficult in black and white medium. As I said, some elements were painted magenta. These scenes were happening in the Jane's house. It was supposed to represent the love interest (Drake, 2020).
II. Nosferatu
Directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Photographs by Fritz Arno Wagner
Barely two years after 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' german filmmaker Wilhelm Murnau published film based on a story about Dracula, 'Nosferatu'. The name and scenery of this film has been change because of the copyright issues with the original material, owners of which did not want Murnau to create this picture (Brown, 2016).
Even though these two films were released only two years apart, the way they were created differ dramatically. While Wiene's film was created on sets and every piece of scenography was carefully crafted, Murnau's picture was shot on location, what made the film feel more grounded than its horror predecessor.
Over the course of the film there are a lot of interesting shots which were created using different photography techniques. Here we can see a scene shot in photo negative. This interesting choice regarding colorization of film, here was used to indicate the change of scenery and atmosphere. In this one shot we are informed that the main character left real world and entered the land of vampires (One Hundred Years of Cinema, 2016).
It is interesting, that Wagner decided on adding only one scene in the entire film that was created in photo negative. This experimental approach to unusual cinematography techniques show at what stage of development film was at the time.
Another interesting technique, borrowed from photography, used in this film is a scene which uses double exposure. This innovative at the time technique helped in creating an eerily scene and showed Nosferatu and his abilities in a new light (Horne, 2008).
In the film we can also see many more unusual use of camera techniques which helped in showing Nosferatu's abilities, like stop motion animation, which was supposed to visualize vampire's psychic powers by moving objects from frame to frame, or changing the frame rate in order to speed up or slow down different sequences to show his speed or change the pace of the movie (One Hundred Years of Cinema, 2016).
And of course we cannot talk about 'Nosferatu' without mentioning probably the most recognizable scene from era of German Expressionism. The exaggerated silhouette of Count Orlok reminds the scene from 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' in which Caesare murders this second victim. The purpose of both of these warped, elongated shadows is to show how terrifying antagonist really is. It is created truly masterfully in every way (One Hundred Years of Cinema, 2016).
This technique of showing Nosferatu as a shadow or a half transparent figure had a purpose on its own actually. It was supposed to visualise how vampire is only half present in the moment, since he his not human per se (Horne, 2008).
It shows how visionary filmmakers were at the time. Since film is a visual medium, their experiments were absolutely in place. All of this trials and errors created the cinema as we know it today; and without influences like 'Nosferatu', or 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' we would not have films like 'Shutter Island' directed by Martin Scorsese, or almost every film created by Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton. German Expressionism was one of the most important movements in cinema today. It showed filmmakers freedom in expressing their ideas and creating their own imaginary worlds.
With this research completed now I can finally start creating my own photographs. This research was especially valid for my project since I am basing the visual aspect of my project on this era of art. Many of these different and unusual camera techniques are translating greatly into my project. I will be using multiple exposure photographs like vampire in 'Nosferatu' and I will be creating claustrophobic portraits similar to the introduction of the Cesare in 'Cabinet of dr. Caligari'. I hope I will be able to capture at least some parts of the look from German Expressionism.
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Sources:
Nosferatu. 1922. [film] Directed by F. Murnau. Germany.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 1920. [film] Directed by R. Wiene. Germany.
Rolfe, J., 2020. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari's 100th Anniversary. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3EGeYvgl-A> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
Drake, D., 2020. THE FIRST TRUE HORROR MOVIE | Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9UJd9bk_oo> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
2016. 1922: How Nosferatu laid the groundwork for gothic cinema.. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vP2whYFAKI> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
Ahi, M. and Karaoghlanian, A., 2013. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). [online] Interiors. Available at: <https://www.intjournal.com/0813/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
Brown, L., 2016. NOSFERATU: Visionary Silent Filmmaking. [online] So The Theory Goes. Available at: <https://www.sothetheorygoes.com/nosferatu/> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
Kürten, J., 2020. 100 years ago: Premiere of 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' | DW | 27.02.2020. [online] DW.COM. Available at: <https://www.dw.com/en/100-years-ago-premiere-of-the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari/a-52546831> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
Horne, P., 2008. Kingdom of shadows: double exposure in vampire films. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/08/dvd.connections.vampyr> [Accessed 28 February 2021].
This is good I would have liked on this how this related to your project and informed your work
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