An Analysis of German Expressionism in Relation to the Emerging Hollywood Style

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In the first twenty years of film history, Hollywood had already conquered large parts of the world through the creation of artistic silent films. While American filmmakers, such as D. W. Griffith, focused on montage, continuity, and coherence as a means of narrating a story, thus making the narration more comprehensible and the characters more reliable, German filmmakers predominantly emphasized the mise-en-scène of the film when they created a new genre – the Expressionist film.

In general, Expressionism is a term used for the distorted representation of reality which attempts to reveal an inner vision of the soul that is shaped by fear and wonder at the same time. The rise of German Expressionism after World War I can be traced back to a number of reasons. First of all, society was shattered by years of war and the rapid changes that had taken place in the last decade. The political system of the monarchy was abolished to pave the way for a parliamentary democracy. However, the Weimar Republic was politically instable, a revolution was put down and economy was not flourishing. The cultural movement of Expressionism represented all the changes in society, among them industrialization, the boom of radio and film, and Einstein’s and Freud’s revolutionary approaches to the world; all of which provoked the need of a new representation of reality. 1 Moreover, people not only longed for entertainment and distraction in this insecure new world, but also did they inherit a new sense of “intellectual liberation” 2 after censorship was ended and women were allowed to vote. Furthermore, the German film industry lacked film imports from other countries and decided to become involved in international film business itself, thus creating the large film company Ufa (Universum Film AG) that still exists today. Ufa produced films of various genres, but the most popular and influential in the world was to become the Expressionist film.

1 Cooke, Paul: German Expressionist Films; Herts; Pocket Essentials; 2002, p. 14

2 Ibid., p. 11

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Expressionism insofar forms a sharp contrast to Impressionism and Naturalism, as it does not attempt to depict momentary impressions of the world, nor does it aim at presenting the physical world as it is. On the contrary, it portrays an interpreted psychological and spiritual reality, thus revealing the underlying essence and meaning of things. As a result, reality can be seen as a creation of the mind, which calls for the viewer’s interpretation.

Expressionism had already been used for all kinds of art forms, such as painting, literature, architecture and theatre. The era of Expressionist film began shortly after the war and lasted until the termination of creativity by Hitler’s takeover of power and film industry in 1933. Being adapted for the cinema, Expressionism created a world which was on the one hand shaped by the fear of new technologies and psychological confusion, and on the other hand faced the potentialities of a new reality. Most important is the inner vision conveyed by the camera, so the camera was liberated in order to function as “a window into the mind” 3 . This subjective camera could mirror thoughts and emotions of the characters and turned into an active participant instead of merely being an impartial observer, such as it was commonly the case in the movies of D. W. Griffith, a revolutionary American director whose style ought to serve as a contrasting example to German Expressionism.

Although Griffith sometimes applied cutaways in order to reveal an insight into the character’s thoughts, his “subjective moments were always in brackets” 4 as the viewer was informed about the subjectivity which was about to come. On the whole, Griffith had developed revolutionary editing techniques by “establishing absolutely that the shot, not the scene, was the basis of film construction” 5 . He led the viewer’s attention and directed it to certain details he wished the audience to realize.

3 Mast, Gerald & Kawin, Bruce F.: A Short History of the Movies; New York, San Francisco, Boston et al.; Longman;

2003, p. 148 (in the following cited as History)

4 Ibid., p. 149

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Such a detail could be a hand holding a pistol, a face expressing sadness, or a prop being important in the course of the story. In Broken Blossoms, for example, Lucy’s forced smile is a central symbol for both her despair and her gentility, so the camera underlines it throughout the movie.

Griffith divided scenes into fragments that were to form a continuous story through the art of analytical editing. One reason for the development of this style was Griffith’s critique of the static camera which had commonly been seen as an equivalent of the audience’s perception of a play in the theatre. Consequently, scenes had also been long and mostly uncut. By regarding film as an art form for itself, it was separated from the theatre and liberated from the static audience view. The moving camera along with montage helped to construct and compose a film, its story, and its meanings, rather than simply depicting reality. The camera could be placed in relation to the content, and therefore created suspense and coherence within the flowing action and the continuity of montage.

Just as Griffith’s style influenced future traditional ways of editing and narrating a film, Expressionist films share a considerable amount of characteristics that can to a large extent still be recognized today in the genre of the film noir; one of the most prominent examples being Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, which is set in dark, hostile, and artificial surroundings. Some typical characteristics of Expressionist films can be demonstrated by drawing on probably the most famous German Expressionist film ever made: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari), which was directed by Robert Wiene in 1920. Its fantastic plot centers horror, murder, power, and insanity. Wiene predominantly focused on the mise-en-scène, the detailed composition of a scene. The setting was meant to create a disturbing and distorted reality, which was based on abstract Expressionist landscape paintings of the time. Instead of representing reality as it can visually be seen, Wiene created a world as it is mentally perceived. As a result, the background of a scene is not realistic but grotesquely painted: houses are piled up on a hill, lean in crazy angles and represent a world out of shape.

5 Ibid., p. 78