German expressionism and film noir

1. German Expressionism
and Film Noir

2. German Expressionism
German expressionism arose during the 1920’s shortly before WWI. The
movement of the arts originated in Germany and covered many forms of
media, including cinema. The cinematic style the movement brought on was
expressionistic. It was made up of sharp angles, jagged shapes, dramatic
shadows, harsh lighting and high contrast (Chiaroscuro lighting) using a
monochromatic palette. The landscapes painted reflected the state of the
country at the time, infiltrated with paranoia.
The usage of colour in some ways represented how society at the time was
‘clashing’ with one another and issue was either black or white; there was no
in-between or middle ground. There was a strong usage of binary opposites
away from colours such as good vs evil and light and dark. The absurdity of
what was onscreen would have had to be looked deeper into in order to
relate to the raw emotions present in the text.

3. German Expressionism
The narratives of the films delved into darker topics such as paranoia, insanity and betrayal
especially after the war as these were issues that were relatable and real issues for society at the
time. Many artists of the movement served in the war and came back disillusioned and distorted
which was mirrored in their works. Characters from a scientific background such as doctors and
professors were also common in the films such as the widely known The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
which featured a twisted hypnotist who is also a murderer. This was because these people were
initially thought of highly and were well trusted however many of the people that were in power
and were trusted broke that trust, hence their presence in the films. The films were created as a
means of escapism for the people of Germany to watch and temporarily be distracted by the stress
of the downfall in the country’s economy amongst other issues.
The film Metropolis (1927) is an expressionistic representation of society in Germany during the
country’s unsettled period around the First World War. The film shows the separation of the lower
class citizens from the elites, society vs government, which reflects the political disputes at the time
as the country’s sense of unity was slowly cracking.

5. There are visual similarities between German Expressionism and Film Noir as shown above. The shadows and
sharp lines are common in both styles of film, Film Noir being influenced by German Expressionism.

6. Film Noir
Film Noir emerged in the 1940’s in America, heavily influenced by German
Expressionism. They share very similar elements such as the reoccurring theme of
paranoia and scepticism, threaded with crime drama and romance. A number of
notable directors in German Expressionism such as Fritz Lang migrated to America
from Germany for the fear of what would happen with the Nazi revolution.
The usage of low key lighting, monochrome colours and abstract angles are present
in Film Noir. Many techniques were used to convey the genre and themes of the
films. Characters faces were often obscured using shadows to create dark casts
over them which portrayed the idea of deception and that everyone is able to have
a dark and devious side to them. Film Noir makes frequent usage of flashbacks and
narrators order to tell the narrative of the film. The most common characters to
appear is the detective, femme fatal and corrupt policemen. Once again this
highlights the distrust in previously trusted figures, especially after the WWII in
1939 to 1945.

8. Modern Horror
Present day cinematic style has been
heavily influenced by the previous German
Expressionism and Film Noir. Many films
are set in cities much like the past
movements films. The lighting and
shadows which were prominent features in
the past are also used in modern day
horror to create suspense and tension. In
John Carpenters film Halloween (1978) the
influences of the previous movements are
present as seen in the still with Michael
Myers in a canted frame using harsh
lighting to create sharp shadows and high
contrast.