Iconic German Expressionist Films

THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI

Director: Robert Weine

Release Year: 1920 (Germany) 

Synopsis: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a story of Francis, who, with the help of flashbacks, recounts his terrifying experiences  at a small German village, where he first encounters Dr Caligari, a man with the power to control people in their sleep. When Francis’s friend is mysteriously murdered and his fiancée is kidnapped, he pursues Dr Caligari to a mental asylum, in order to unravel the mystery surrounding these terrible events.   

The film in relation to German Expressionism :  The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a b&w silent horror film, that employs the formal qualities and stylistic techniques of German expressionism. The major themes portrayed in this film are madness, betrayal and the nature of authority as a vicious and domineering force. The contrast between insanity and sanity is depicted at the end when it is revealed that the entire story is being told by a mental institution patient. From the very beginning, it is made clear that the world we are witnessing is not of normalcy, but one of distortion.

The writers of the film are Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer and their experiences as WWI soldiers and their distrust of the authoritarian leadership formed the basis for The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. In the film, reality was distorted on purpose, in order to disorient the audience so that a feeling of the time rather than a truthful or realistic depiction was invoked. Before proceeding into the analysis of this film with regard to German Expressionism, let us understand what this concept is about. 

German Expressionism is a type of artistic style which first showed up in poetry and theatre around the 1910s. After World War I, it became popular in film 10 years later. This concept comes partly from German Romanticism and gives the audience a subjective view of the world. By using distorted and nightmarish imagery, the country’s collective anxiety is visualised. Expressionists did not focus much on making their work aesthetically pleasing. This style prospered in the wake of the horrors of WWI, and the inevitable economic devastation that occurred right after. German Expressionism rejects all forms of Western conventions. 

It is impossible to ignore the visually abstract setting in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. The set design is wacky and manipulated, and resembles a drunken nightmare designed to torment and distract. Other features of the set include jagged landscape of sharp angles and tilted walls and windows, staircases climbing crazy diagonals, trees having spiky leaves, grass that resembles knives, etc. The world we see in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a place which exists only in the psyche of the deranged, and this is evident during the film’s final reveal that our perspective has been through the eyes of an asylum patient. Everything that is witnessed by the audience becomes unbelievable, and the peculiar nature of the atmosphere becomes more clear. We become the spectators of the tainted world of a madman, and we have been witnessing his interpretation of the tale all along. The artistic two-dimensional sets of the film are critical to the film’s point of view and presentation. 

By placing human actors in this obviously fake world which is haunting and looks like it is straight out of a child’s spooky fairy tale – the filmmakers are emphasising on the feeling of antithesis. The contrast and the distance between human emotions is shown. 

Some examples of the dark twisted visual style used in the film are- When Cesare is seen sneaking around the circus and is tiptoeing, the painted tents and houses look twisted, sharp and have triangular shapes in juxtaposition in order to create a harsh, dangerous scenario. Resemblances of German expressionist paintings can be noticed several times in the sequence after the funeral where Cesare kidnaps Jane. In Hollywood films, there is emphasis on the actors’ figures. But in German Expressionist films, the sets and the actors’ appearance and movements are blended together in a way where they appear as a whole piece. In majority of the German expressionists films, the actors’ move their bodies in a jerky, dancelike motion which makes them look psychotic and scary. In The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Cesare blends himself into the represented background when he crawls under the tilted oblique walls towards Jane’s bedroom. In the same scene, a close-up of Cesare standing beside Jane’s bed, holding a knife, looks bitter and fearful. The eyelids and lipstick are both dark, thereby fitting the gothic character. When Cesare touches the sleeping Jane's head, she wakes up immediately and is shocked. The close-up of her trying to escape Cesare, resembles a famous expressionist painting by Edvard Munch- The Scream. Every single feature on her face is wide open, and is a very drastic, intense manner of conveying extreme fear and also makes the audience put themselves in Jane's shoes. 

In conclusion, I would like to say that Expressionist techniques are clearly evident and profound in all the sequences of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. The film started the German Expressionism movement and influences cinema to this day. 

METROPOLIS

Director: Fritz Lang

Release Year: 1927

Synopsis: The silent sci-fi film draws on expressionist imagery in order to comment on technology consuming the human society. The film consists of exaggerated imagery heightening the emotion that drives the plot. The audience is presented with a highly stylized futuristic city in which a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a desolated underworld populated by mistreated workers. The story is about the privileged youth Freder, who discovers the grim scene that exists under the city, and becomes intent on helping the workers. He befriends the rebellious teacher Maria, but is put at odds with his authoritative father, leading to a greater conflict.

The film in relation to German Expressionism: Each scene in Metropolis has been meticulously thought out. One of the most interesting thing that stood out is the staging of the film. In a city deep below the surface of the earth, the workers live. Every building in this underground city is colourless and look the same, just like the workers do. In contrast to this, the upper class people dwell high above, in a beautiful and opulent environment- leading lives of luxury and decadence, blissfully unaware of the misery that exists right below them. In order to get the visual effect of large sets, drawings or miniatures up close to the camera were employed, like a proscenium border. Metropolis gave birth to this new effect, called the Schuftan process. This was a way of using miniature models to appear large through reflections from mirrors placed between the models of Metropolis and the camera. The actors would then stand further away from the camera, thereby appearing smaller, but the correct proportionate size when compared to the large buildings. This is how the illusion was achieved.

In one particular scene, the workers are synchronized. They barely seem to exist, let alone live. They are merely an extension of the machine. This is visually represented through the mise-en-scene-from the costumes to the structure of the doorway and the lighting. All of these help in creating a feeling of oppression and the dehumanization of people. The blurring of the line between man and machine is shown beautifully. The posture of the actors’ and the way they sway back and forth as they walk also help depict the plot of the film.

Another example of German Expressionist mise-en-scene can be found in the scene showing the two clocks. Much is expressed in these clocks’ spatial, semiotic and geometric relations. The two social classes in the film exist in two different zones. For the workers, the clock at the bottom counts off the time in ten hour increments. This implies that its readers have only basic numeracy skills. The rhythms of daylight and night are also systematically denied to them. The upper clock makes use of a 24-hour system. This is intended for the managers, engineers, administrators, etc and works on a more sophisticated mathematical concept. The numbers are literally higher as well, and the clock is placed higher, representing a position of privilege. The relative dimensions are also significant. The lower clock has a greater mass and is symbolic of the social crisis of capitalism. The placement of the two clocks stands for the inner workings of a utopia for the select few on top and a dystopia for the majority at the bottom.

Some other instances where the film incorporates the concepts of German Expressionism are- when the lines of workers showcase a mechanical behaviour while changing work shifts. This mirrors the depressive and neurotic behaviour of the Germans during the early years that followed the WWI. The sense of horror that is conveyed during the introductory scenes, for example, during Freder’s first time witnessing the machine which causes a hallucination of Moloch, represent Expressionism.

Elements in Metropolis such as dramatic camera angles, stylized film sets, bold shadows and artificial theatrics are related to German Expressionism.

Another prominent theme present in Expressionist films is that of sacrifice- something that came from the sacrifice Germany had to make during and after it’s humiliating defeat in WWI, which lurked in the mind of the Germans even after years. In Metropolis, the workers who comprise of the lower class, sacrifice their lives to keep the city running by operating the machines. They are more like slaves due to the oppression they face because of Joh Fredersen, the Mayor of Metropolis, who firmly believes that the workers are “where they belong.” If the workers refuse to submit, the city would be flooded as the ‘heart machine’ would cease to work. This is realised by Freder, who hallucinates that the M-Machine is ‘Moloch’, a God demanding sacrifice from its slaves.

Metropolis has earned its reputation as the zenith of German Expressionist Cinema, and is a remarkable film which is considered as of the icons of German Expressionism.

NOSFERATU

Director: F W Murnau

Release year: 1922

Synopsis: Nosferatu is a silent horror film and tells the story of the mysterious Count Orlok, who summons Thomas Hutter to his remote Transylvanian castle situated in the mountains. The eerie Orlok is looking to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen. After Orlok reveals that he is a vampire, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, because Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok's servant, Knock starts preparing for his master to arrive at his new home.

The film in relation to German Expressionism:    F W Murnau does not fully immerse into the extreme settings and costumes of the German Expressionism set style for the majority of film, to make the presence of Count Orlok’s residence, particularly his frightful appearance, more prominent. Moving away from the typical urban settings to explore the wilderness, this specific sequence in the film stood out for its visual distortion- on the spooky carriage ride to the castle of Orlok, the film negative is flipped in order to expose a bleached white forest. The Count himself is one among the most horrifying visions of the film – he is dressed in a slim black coat over his scrawny frame, with pale white hands, crooked fingers, and bent nails. His face is a good example of makeup depicting expressionism, conveying the haunting look of a demon. The chilling eyes and bushy eyebrows accentuate Schreck’s elongated features, whereas the pointy ears and fangs add to the monstrous nature. One of the most iconic scene is when the real estate agent is asleep while a guest in Orlok’s home and the warped shadow of the Count begin to slowly ascend the stairs with raised arms, eagerly waiting to feast on his victim. Being the first vampire film, Nosferatu captures the twisted vision of a man that appears to be human, but whose humanity is stripped as a result of the unnatural feasting of blood.

Director Murnau was famous for his focus on shot composition, and the audience was able to notice this in detail, because the editing for German Expressionism films were cut at a slower pace. The shadow work and the interplay between light and dark, depicting an over exaggerated view of the vampire lording over the sleeping Hutter, created a haunting visual effect. In addition to that, the Count is placed as a distorted vision amongst the visual symmetry of his architectural surroundings. Most of the time, he is framed within the various arches around his castle, but the most note worthy shot is at the end of the film, where Orlok is seen to be observing the wife from his new property. Here, the window frame is divided into sub-sections which together make up a faux-arch, with the Count’s ghastly features disrupting the visual balance. This composition helps in conveying the Count’s disturbance of natural symmetry, just like his presence causes turmoil in the ship, town, and in Hutter and his wife’s life.

Special effects were used to shape the film’s eerie tone. Doors can open and close by themselves due to Nosferatu’s power. The film is sped up to show the supernatural capabilities of the vampire as well. For instance, from a tower above the courtyard, Hutter watches the Count building a coffin on a raft to start his journey down the river to the city. The film is sped up in order to show him magically constructing the compartment and once it is finished, he settles himself into the tight space. Using three shots of stop motion, the lid lifts itself onto the top, and covers the vampire in the safety of the darkness. Superimposition of the image of Nosferatu on the ship is done to give his form a ghostly glow so that both shipmates and audiences get scared in the same way.

Nosferatu has made its mark in the history of cinema, not just as the first vampire film, but also as a telling artefact from a dark, turbulent socio-political era, an important example of the German Expressionism artistic movement, and as an achievement in early filmmaking, especially for special effects.