The History of German Expressionism
During the 1920s and 1930s, the film industry was booming in many countries. Films were very popular in Germany at this time but it was very hard to compete with the works of Hollywood. This was exceptionally hard for Germany to make films with special effects and extravagant features because Germany was bankrupt and did not have the money for sets and props. German filmmakers from the Universum Film AG studio decided to develop their own, unique style of film that was different from other countries. They developed this style by using symbolism and mise en scène, which tells a story both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography, and stage design through direction. These filmmakers wanted to add mood and deeper meaning to a movie, concentrating on the dark fringes of human experience. The plots of the first German Expressionist films made up for the lack of budget by using set designs with non-realistic sets, along with designs painted along the walls and floors to represent light, shadows, and objects. Instead of plots that were humorous or with simple meaning, the plots and stories of Expressionism often dealt with madness, insanity, betrayal, and deep meaning not seen in Hollywood at the time. The first Expressionist films were The Student of Prague, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), Destiny (1921), Nosferatu (1922), Phantom (1922), Schatten (1923), and The Last Laugh (1924). European cultures of the 1920s embraced this ethic of change and looked to experimenting with bold, new ideas, and artistic styles. German Expressionism was becoming very popular and many filmmakers started using artistic control over the placement of scenery and light to give the film a deeper meaning and to enhance the mood. This dark, moody school of film was brought to America when the Nazis gained power and a number of German filmmakers immigrated to California. American studios picked up these filmmakers and this style of film was now being made in Hollywood. German filmmakers such as Karl Freund set the style and mood of the Universal monster movies of the 1930s with their dark and artistically designed sets, providing a model for later generations of horror films. Directors such as Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Carol Reed and Michael Curitz expanded German Expressionism even more by introducing it to crime dramas that expanded Expressionism’s influence on modern films. German silent cinema was arguably far ahead of cinema in Hollywood. German Expressionism completely revolutionized the film industry by creating films with deeper meaning that made viewers see films in different ways. It is still seen in many films today.
