German Expressionist Film

ドイツ表現主義映画 / 1919–1927 / Style / Cinematic Visual Styles

Warped sets, painted shadows and extreme contrast turned a character's inner state directly into landscape, bringing a scenery of the mind into cinema.

German Expressionist Film — Still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
Still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
German Expressionist Film — The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari poster, 1920 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari poster, 1920 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
German Expressionist Film — Still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
Still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

  • Warped sets
  • Painted-on shadows
  • Oblique compositions
  • Extreme chiaroscuro

Best used for

  • Telling a character's dread through warped space rather than dialogue
  • Horror and thriller teasers that establish fear with light and shadow alone

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Dictionary entry

Type
Sharpen the lettering too, break verticals to match the buildings
Composition
Abandon the horizon, cut the frame obliquely, press ceilings toward the figure
Material
Paint the shadows into the set, push tones toward two poles
Caution
Tilting the set alone does not produce interiority, the distortion becomes background decoration, and the frame stops having anything to do with the character.
Further study
Robert Wiene, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / F. W. Murnau, Nosferatu / the émigré lineage into film noir

Related entries

More from Cinematic Visual Styles

Continue through styles in the same Cinematic Visual Styles family, prioritised by shared effects.

Browse all Cinematic Visual Styles entries

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