Influence & Impact on Contemporary Film

   When the Nazis came to power in 1930s, the German film industry became concentrated on producing propaganda documentaries for Hitler. Expressionist film-makers (Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, F.W. Murnau), actors (Veidt, Jannings) and technicians fled to Hollywood to relive their career (Fisher, 2010). Their experience in German Expressionism took an effect on the stylistic elements of American films with their participation in the production. Film Noir then became a genre heavily influenced by the film movement.

   Film Noir refers to a film genre that features hard-boiled protagonists, crime, detectives and gangster stories in a dark-toned urban setting, with most of the films dating back from 1940 - 1960 (Marling, 2009). Shadows and chiaroscuro lighting from German Expressionism was adapted to refine the dark and sombre mood of the crime stories, and was deemed especially ideal for B-grade films that had to be shot with inadequate lighting due to limited resources (Thompson, 2012). Expressionist lighting style communicates the sense of entrapment the hero faces in his ordeal. The supernatural and fantastical settings that were iconic of German Expressionism however were replaced by realism and city life to accommodate the American and Hollywood trend (Hudson, 2005).

Figure 3.01 Scene from The Big Combo

Figure 3.02 Scene from The Big Heat

   Similar to that of German Expressionism, Film Noir is known for its imbalance and disturbing frame compositions, strong contrasts of light and dark (as shown in Figure 3.01 and Figure 3.02) and the dominance of shadows and areas of darkness within the frame. The noir world depicts corruption, threat and violence and Expressionism found its place in the American anti-hero who is suggested through the silhouettes, reflections and dark streets in the film of his insecurity, fears, alter ego and sexual repression that will haunt and destroy him.

   Fritz Lang emerged as one of the most prominent directors of the noir genre by bringing his dark vision of criminality from German Expressionism into Hollywood. He produced The Woman in the Window, The Blue Gardenia, Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, The Secret Beyond the Door, While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt with paranoid mentality as his central subject. Other noir films, of which many are crime novel adaptations are The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, The Big Sleep and Murder, My Sweet, The Killers, Out of the Past, The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly and The Big Combo (From German Expressionism to Film Noir, n.d.).

   German Expressionism had also made a significant influence on Alfred Hitchcock’s works. Hitchcock who was sent to work at the UFA in 1924 as assistant director and art director for The Blackguard had absorbed the Expressionist artistry and this effected immediately on the set designs of the film (Figure 3.03).

Figure 3.03 Scene from The Blackguard

Figure 3.04 Scene from Psycho

   Hitchcock was quoted as saying it himself “I have acquired a strong German influence by working at the UFA studios Berlin”. The shower scene in Psycho (Figure 3.04) where the blurry image of the killer seen through the shower curtain is a reminiscent of Nosferatu and his shadow. Expressionism had influenced Hitchcock’s use of set design, lighting and even camera tricks which were disagreeable in his studio.

   The expressionist techniques of unrealistic sets, theatrical composition, lighting, and self-conscious or obtrusive camera were found ideal for the portrayal of paranoia, mystery and crime. These techniques were then adapted in surrealist film, avant-garde cinema, horror films and comic-book aesthetics.

Figure 3.05 Gotham city in Batman Returns

Figure 3.06 Scene from Blade Runner

   Modern cinema borrows elements of German Expressionism for sci-fi, horror and thriller films which rely greatly on the mood of suspense and fantastical setting created by the film techniques. Tim Burton is a director whose works reflect German Expressionist influences. The design of Gotham city in Batman Returns gives a dream-like vibe with emphasis to lines and curves (Figure 3.05) while the film explores psychology in its characters. Batman, Penguin and Catwoman all came with backgrounds that drove them into having duality in personality and in the fit of madness, they characters come to interact. Blade Runner (1982) by Ridley Scott (Figure 3.06) and Dark City (1998) by Alex Proyas are two films notable for their Expressionist architecture and themes.

   Today, stylistic elements from German Expressionism are commonly used in contemporary films especially in stories that have no need for reference to real settings such as sci-fi and fantasy films (Kolar, n.d.).

References 

Fisher, G. (2010, December 3). Roulette Revolver's Blog. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from Introduction to Film Studies 2: European Cinema: http://rouletterevolver.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/nosferatu-and-german-impressionist-cinema/

From German Expressionism to Film Noir. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2012, from Digital Film Archive: http://www.digitalfilmarchive.net/clda/docs/FromGermanExpressionismtoFilmNoir.pdf

Hudson, D. (2005). German Expressionism. Retrieved March 3, 2010, from GreenCine:

   http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/expressionism2.jsp

Kolar. (n.d.). German Expressionism, The World of Light and Shadow. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from

   MUBI: http://mubi.com/lists/german-expressionism-the-world-of-light-and-shadow

Marling, W. (2009, April 12). Hard-Boiled Fiction and Film Noir. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from

   Detnovel: http://www.detnovel.com/FilmNoir.html

Thompson, C. (2012, February 17). German Expressionism and it's Influence on Noir. Retrieved March 3, 2010, from Noir Movie: http://noirmovie.com/news/german-expressionism