German Expressionism

How does `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` relate to German Expressionism? By Jamie Guichard


      German Expressionism started in Germany during the 1920s and was only short lived. This was Germany’s way of getting away from Hollywood and European cinema and wanting to create a style for Germany. German Expressionism is best known for its horror or fantasy genre with such films as `Nosferatu` and `Metropolis`. All German Expressionist films consist of many different techniques with the use of biomechanical acting, distorted two dimensional sets, the use of dark shadows, the make up worn by the actors and cutting from scene to scene. German Expressionism often relates to German society at the time and how the society would react to the things going on throughout the film. This essay will look at how `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` relates to this idea of a German Expressionist film and what techniques they have used to enhance this idea of German Expressionism. Also what influences German Expressionism and this film has had on modern directors such as Tim Burton.
      As a German Expressionist film `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` is certainly one of the most influential. This was due to it being one of the earliest films of this genre and also the fact that it is considered one of the first horror films ever made. As a film this shows a great resemblance to German society at the time as it shows the way that the public feel about German leadership. It shows how the people in charge can be considered as evil and it is the leaders that are causing deaths within the country. It also shows a element of propaganda as it says that although how the leaders are handling things can be considered as a bad thing they are saying that all the leaders are doing is trying to help. This is evident in the film with the story that `Francis` is telling to the old man sitting with him and how the director of the hospital is considered a bad man causing this creature `Cesare` to kill the...