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German Expressionist Cinema: 9 Influential Films Unveiled

We will examine German Expressionist Cinema, which shaped the filmmaking approach of the early 20th century, and 9 movies that bear its clear influence.

German Expressionist Cinema is an artistic movement that began in earnest at the beginning of the 20th century. This movement, which used twisted shapes, vibrant colors, and jarring contrasts to create images of emotional intensity, was developed primarily by German filmmakers such as Fritz Lang, F. W. Murnau, and G. W. Pabst, as well as many other directors working in the style.

Artists used their work as a means to communicate their thoughts about society at the time. Their work reflected deep feelings of anxiety and anger at the injustices they saw around them. They focused on the things that threatened them most: poverty, disease, madness, war, and death. The art form emerged during a time when Germany was undergoing transformation. During World War I, the German government banned foreign movies and encouraged German movie production. Under the control of the Weimar Republic, the German Expressionist Cinema movement centered in cities such as Munich, Dresden, and Berlin in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s, the Nazis considered German Expressionism to be degenerate and forced many German filmmakers to flee the country and move abroad.

German Expressionism was a movement that began in the early 20th century and lasted until World War II. German Expressionism had both positive and negative qualities. For example, German Expressionist works can be seen as reflecting feelings of anxiety caused by World War I, or they can also represent the optimism of post-World War I society.

German Expressionist movies have had an impact on Hollywood movies to this day with their use of shadows, stylized sets, camera work, expressionist acting techniques, etc. Examples of these movies include Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail (1929) or Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941). The main goal of these directors was to evoke strong emotions in the audience through the images on the screen or the sounds coming from the cinema speakers. This style began in Germany, but spread throughout Europe and America during the Great Depression, as many people felt lost or hopeless due to the financial crisis, just like in early 20th century Germany. During this time, many Germans felt intense anxiety, fear, and even anger about their country’s government. So, let’s take a look at these movies and their characteristics together…

Five key features of German Expressionist Cinema

1- Overlapping with Expressionist Painting

German Expressionist Cinema was formally similar to the modern art movement of German Expressionism in painting. In this context, a reflection of German Expressionist art also appears in movies.

2- Surreal Set Design

Often low-budget productions, German Expressionist Cinema artists used new filmmaking techniques to create a different mise-en-scène or aesthetic. Set designers drew elaborate backgrounds to alter the perception of space. The set design style of German Expressionism influenced early horror movies in the 1930s in America, including Dracula (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

3- Bright Shadow Lighting

German Expressionist Cinema directors developed a distinctive lighting technique with high contrast and distinct use of light and shadow. Silent movies such as Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) and F. W. Murnau’s Faust (1926) used high contrast lighting to emphasize themes of evil and moral decline. This style of lighting would later inspire the works of Alfred Hitchcock and Tim Burton, who paid homage to German Expressionist Cinema.

4- Dramatic Camera Angles

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German Expressionist movies often featured a distinctive style of cinematography with asymmetrical camera angles. German cinematographers such as Karl Freund developed this disturbing style to convey the inner turmoil of the characters on screen.

5- Pessimistic Subject and Content

After the horrors of World War I and the economic collapse that followed, German Expressionist filmmakers sought themes that would reflect the accumulated anxieties and fears of society. For this reason, German Expressionist Cinema focused on dark subjects such as murder, madness, chaos, and fear.

Especially horror cinema and noir movies are two genres that have been greatly influenced by German Expressionist Cinema. Today, we will examine 9 movies that bear the characteristics of German Expressionist Cinema, which has been influential in history for a short period of time and has inspired everything from Hollywood to the classics of famous directors, and that date back to the period of German Expressionist Cinema. Enjoy reading…


1.The Last Battle

The Last Battle - German Expressionist Cinema

The Last Battle, a post-apocalyptic French movie from 1983, is also the first feature-length movie by the famous César award-winning director Luc Besson. The movie, shot entirely in black and white, contains only two words of dialogue, as the main plot revolves around an apocalyptic scenario in which people become mute. The movie, which won the Best Movie and Best Director awards at the Catalonia International Movie Festival, also known as Sitges, was shown to approximately 250,000 viewers in French cinemas.

After a devastating nuclear apocalypse, a survivor struggles to live by collecting leftover food and water in a scorched and desolate world. Under these conditions, the few who are doomed to survive are trapped in a silent nightmare, knowing that sooner or later they will have to kill or be killed. Realizing that this is hell on earth, the man understands that he cannot rely on allies in this inhospitable land. There is only one truth here: one man’s death is another man’s life.

Information about The Last Battle (1983):

  • Director: Luc Besson
  • Cast: Pierre Jolivet, Jean Bouise, Jean Reno, Fritz Wepper
  • Release Year: 1983
  • Duration: 92 minutes
  • Country: France
  • Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
  • Language: French (Minimal dialogue)
  • Age Rating: Not Rated
  • Available Platforms: Criterion Channel, Amazon Prime Video (Rental)
  • IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
  • Similar Movies: Mad Max (1979), Alphaville (1965)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: The Last Battle on IMDb

2.Pi

Pi

The 1998 psychological thriller is directed by master director Darren Aronofsky, known for his movies The Wrestler, Black Swan, and Requiem for a Dream. Pi is also Aronofsky’s first feature-length movie. Utilizing the black-and-white and high-contrast lighting techniques characteristic of German Expressionist Cinema, the movie earned Aronofsky the Directing Award at the Sundance Movie Festival. The movie, which launched the music career of famous musician Clint Mansell with a 13-track soundtrack album, is the first movie to be downloaded over the internet, despite its budget barely exceeding $100,000…

Mathematician Maximillian Cohen has been tormented by severe migraine attacks since childhood and has taken many pills to relieve his headaches. A lonely man, Max’s only friend is his former professor, Sol Robeson. Max has come to some assumptions in his mind:

  • 1- Mathematics is the language of nature.
  • 2- Everything around us can be represented and understood by numbers.
  • 3- If you graph numbers in any system, patterns emerge. Therefore, there are patterns everywhere in nature.

Based on these principles, Max tries to come up with a system to predict the behavior of the stock market. Because of his research, Max is pursued by a Wall Street firm that is obviously interested in the results of his work, and a Chasidic scholar who believes that this long string of numbers is a code sent from God. Neither group is on good terms, and Max is put in a difficult position.

Information about Pi (1998):

  • Director: Darren Aronofsky
  • Cast: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Samia Shoaib
  • Release Year: 1998
  • Duration: 84 minutes
  • Country: United States
  • Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
  • Language: English
  • Age Rating: R
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube (Rental)
  • IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
  • Similar Movies: Requiem for a Dream (2000), Eraserhead (1977)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Pi on IMDb

3.Nosferatu the Vampyre

Nosferatu the Vampyre

Written and directed by Werner Herzog, one of the pioneers of the new German cinema, the 1979 horror movie was a major box office success. Although it takes its basic story from Bram Stoker’s horror classic Dracula, it is also a remake of Nosferatu from 1922. The movie won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and was also nominated for the Saturn Awards.

Jonathan Harker, who works for a real estate agency, is sent to Transylvania by his boss to meet his client, Count Dracula, who plans to buy a property. After saying goodbye to his fiancée, Jonathan sets off on his journey and stops at an inn in a hilly and isolated area during his travels. When the locals learn of Harker’s plan to visit Count Dracula’s castle, they warn him to stay away from the castle. They even tell stories of Dracula’s evil werewolves to prevent Harker from visiting the castle, but to no avail. Harker continues his journey, laughing at the villagers’ superstitions, and eventually reaches the mysterious castle where he meets Count Dracula.

Information about Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979):

  • Director: Werner Herzog
  • Cast: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor
  • Release Year: 1979
  • Duration: 107 minutes
  • Country: West Germany, France
  • Genre: Horror, Drama
  • Language: German, English
  • Age Rating: PG
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel
  • IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
  • Similar Movies: Nosferatu (1922), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Nosferatu the Vampyre on IMDb

4.Dark City

Dark City

The 1998 science fiction movie is directed by Alex Proyas. Dark City, which won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Movie, stars Rufus Sewell in the lead role. It is also ranked 10th on the Turkish Film Critics Association’s Best Foreign Movies of the Year list. Dark City, which made $27 million in revenue from its $27 million budget, was released in approximately 1,750 theaters.

John Murdoch wakes up alone in a strange hotel and finds that he has lost his memory and is wanted for a series of brutal and bizarre murders. While trying to piece together his past, he stumbles upon a demonic underworld controlled by a group of beings known as The Strangers, who have the ability to put people to sleep and change the city and its inhabitants. Now, Murdoch must find a way to stop them before they take control of his mind and destroy him.

Information about Dark City (1998):

  • Director: Alex Proyas
  • Cast: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt
  • Release Year: 1998
  • Duration: 100 minutes
  • Country: United States, Australia
  • Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller
  • Language: English
  • Age Rating: R
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, YouTube (Rental)
  • IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
  • Similar Movies: The Matrix (1999), Blade Runner (1982)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Dark City on IMDb

5.Mephisto

Mephisto

Mephisto is a 1981 drama movie adapted from Klaus Mann’s novel of the same name. Directed by István Szabó, the movie is the only Hungarian movie to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Movie and gross close to $4 million. Mephisto, which also won the Best Screenplay and FIPRESCI awards at the Cannes Film Festival, is a movie with many references to Faust and an allegorical narrative. It carries the original aspects of German Expressionist Cinema in terms of its subject and content.

In the early 1930s, passionate theater actor Hendrik Höfgen, who wanted to make a name for himself in Germany, devoted himself, body and soul, to his art. But soon, as the Nazi Party came to power, the ambitious artist found himself faced with an urgent dilemma: either abandon his apolitical stance and submit to the doctrine of the Third Reich, or face oblivion. But Faust’s bargains never end well. What price must be paid for one’s soul?

Information about Mephisto (1981):

  • Director: István Szabó
  • Cast: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda, Ildikó Bánsági, Rolf Hoppe
  • Release Year: 1981
  • Duration: 144 minutes
  • Country: Hungary, West Germany, Austria
  • Genre: Drama
  • Language: German, Hungarian
  • Age Rating: PG
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel
  • IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
  • Similar Movies: The Tin Drum (1979), The Last Emperor (1987)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Mephisto on IMDb

6.Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive

The 2001 crime mystery movie Mulholland Drive, written and directed by David Lynch, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or, won the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Director, and earned David Lynch an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Mulholland Drive, which features some of its soundtracks by orchestras, grossed $20 million. Mulholland Drive, which was listed among the 100 best movies of the 21st century by the BBC, has won a total of 49 movie awards and received 61 award nominations.

After a brutal car accident in Los Angeles, California, Rita is the sole survivor, but she suffers from profound memory loss. Moved into a strange apartment in the heart of the city, her story becomes strangely intertwined with Betty Elms, a spoiled young woman on a quest for stardom. But Betty is intrigued by Rita’s plight and is willing to put her dreams aside to pursue the mystery. The two women soon discover that nothing in the city of dreams is as it seems.

Information about Mulholland Drive (2001):

  • Director: David Lynch
  • Cast: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller
  • Release Year: 2001
  • Duration: 147 minutes
  • Country: United States, France
  • Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Drama
  • Language: English
  • Age Rating: R
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube (Rental), Apple TV
  • IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
  • Similar Movies: Lost Highway (1997), Blue Velvet (1986)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Mulholland Drive on IMDb

7.Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands

Scissorhands is a 1990 fantasy drama movie that has received positive reviews from critics for Johnny Depp’s masterful acting and Tim Burton’s exceptional direction. The movie, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup, grossed nearly $90 million against its $20 million budget. Edward Scissorhands, which also won BAFTA and Golden Globe awards, has also been adapted for the theater and performed in some venues.

A modern-day tale, it tells the story of Edward, a man created by an inventor who dies before he can finish him, leaving him with scissors where his hands should be. When the local Avon representative calls one day at the historic mansion where he lives alone, she takes him home to stay with her family. He must adapt to a new life and environment that he is not used to. He soon shows a talent for cutting hair and hedges, winning everyone’s heart. But life is not always so sweet.

Information about Edward Scissorhands (1990):

  • Director: Tim Burton
  • Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
  • Release Year: 1990
  • Duration: 105 minutes
  • Country: United States
  • Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Drama
  • Language: English
  • Age Rating: PG-13
  • Available Platforms: Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube (Rental)
  • IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
  • Similar Movies: Beetlejuice (1988), Big Fish (2003)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Edward Scissorhands on IMDb

8.Pink Floyd: The Wall

Pink Floyd: The Wall

The psychological drama and animation movie, directed by Alan Parker, also known in Turkey for his movie Midnight Express, has a screenplay by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Roger Waters. The cult movie, which uses highly metaphorical elements, has a small but devoted fan base. The movie, which won BAFTA awards for Best Original Song and Best Sound, was also shown out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie, which grossed $22 million, received generally positive reviews from critics.

The soul of rock star Pink Floyd is tortured. Since his childhood, he has always tried to establish meaningful emotional connections with other living beings. His father, whom he saw as a role model in his childhood, was killed in a war. He was subjected to a lot of pressure from his overprotective mother throughout his childhood, and he spent years in a repressive education system that stifled his natural creativity. As a rock star, he is often sought after for what he is rather than who he is. His latest failure in life is his recently ended marriage, when he discovers that his wife has been cheating on him while on his last tour. His reaction is to build a figurative wall around himself to isolate from the rest of the world.

Information about Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982):

  • Director: Alan Parker
  • Cast: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David
  • Release Year: 1982
  • Duration: 95 minutes
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Musical
  • Language: English
  • Age Rating: R
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube (Rental), Apple TV
  • IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
  • Similar Movies: The Doors (1991), Tommy (1975)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: Pink Floyd: The Wall on IMDb

9.The Elephant Man

The Elephant Man

The Elephant Man, the second feature movie by famous director David Lynch and nominated for 8 Oscars, has also won awards and nominations from film festivals such as BAFTA, Cesar, and Grammy. The movie, which has content and lighting/shooting techniques suitable for German Expressionist Cinema, has exhibited good box office performance, quintupling its budget with a gross of $26 million. The music for The Elephant Man, composed by John Morris, was performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Starring master actors Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, the movie was inspired by the real-life story of Joseph Merrick, who lived in the late 19th century.

Trapped in a deformed body that is seen as disgusting by society, John Merrick, who is put in a sackcloth over his face and paraded from fair to fair, lives a very cruel life. Exploited and mocked for every penny by the sadistic showman Mr. Bytes, Merrick’s path crosses with the charitable doctor Frederick Treves, who offers Bytes a large compensation to perform a more comprehensive examination at the London Hospital. However, how pure and humane are the motives of the sympathetic Treves? Is the “Elephant Man” doomed to relive his horrific past?

Information about The Elephant Man (1980):

  • Director: David Lynch
  • Cast: John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
  • Release Year: 1980
  • Duration: 124 minutes
  • Country: United States, United Kingdom
  • Genre: Biography, Drama
  • Language: English
  • Age Rating: PG
  • Available Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube (Rental)
  • IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
  • Similar Movies: My Left Foot (1989), A Beautiful Mind (2001)
  • Trailer: Watch the Trailer on YouTube
  • IMDb Link: The Elephant Man on IMDb

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