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{{Infobox art movement
| name = German expressionist cinema
| image = The Cabinet of Dr Caligari Conrad Veidt.
| image_size =
| caption = [[Conrad Veidt]] in [[Robert Wiene]]'s 1920 silent film ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]''
| yearsactive =
| country = Germany
| majorfigures = {{Plainlist|
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}}
'''German expressionist cinema''' ({{Langx|de|Deutsches expressionistisches Kino}}) was a part of several related creative movements in Germany in the early 20th century that reached a peak in [[1920s Berlin|Berlin during the 1920s]]. These developments were part of a larger [[Expressionism|Expressionist]] movement in north and central European culture in fields such as [[architecture]], [[Expressionist dance|dance]], [[painting]], [[sculpture]] and [[film|cinema]].
== Characteristics ==
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{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| total_width = 180
| image1 = Paul Wegener als Student von Prag, Filmplakat 1913.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 = [[Paul Wegener]] as ''[[The Student of Prague (1913 film)|The Student of Prague]]'' in a 1913 poster
| image2 = Golem_1920_Poster.jpg
| caption2 = A poster for the 1920 silent film ''[[The Golem: How He Came into the World]]'', starring and co-directed by [[Paul Wegener]] and [[Carl Boese]]
| image3 = Wismar Markt Nosferatu 01.jpg
| caption3 = A commemorative plaque for the 1922 silent film ''[[Nosferatu]]'' in the market square of [[Wismar]], Germany where some of it was filmed
| image4 = Schatten1923.jpg
| caption4 = A frame from director [[Arthur Robison]]'s 1923 silent film ''[[Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination]]'' ({{AKA}}, ''[[Warning Shadows]]'')
| caption_align = left
}}
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The extreme anti-realism of Expressionism was short-lived, fading away after only a few years. The themes of Expressionism were integrated into later films of the 1920s and 1930s, resulting in an artistic control over the placement of scenery, light, etc., to enhance the mood of a film. This dark, moody school of filmmaking was brought to the United States when the [[Nazism|Nazis]] gained power and many German film makers emigrated to [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]]. Several German directors and cameramen flourished in Hollywood, producing a repertoire of films that had a profound effect.<ref>Dickos, Andrew (2002). ''Street with No Name: A History of the Classic Film Noir''. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. {{ISBN|0-8131-2243-0}}, pp. 9–34.</ref>
Two genres that were especially influenced by Expressionism are [[horror film]] and [[film noir]]. [[Carl Laemmle]] and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] had produced [[horror film]]s of the silent era, such as [[Lon Chaney, Sr.|Lon Chaney]]'s ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]''. German film makers such as [[Karl Freund]] (the cinematographer for ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' in 1931) set the style and mood of the Universal [[monster movie]]s 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 Curtiz]] introduced the Expressionist style to crime dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, expanding Expressionism's influence on modern film making.
==Influence and legacy==
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==Interpretation==
The two most comprehensive studies of German Expressionist film are [[Lotte Eisner]]'s ''The Haunted Screen'' and Siegfried Kracauer's ''[[From Caligari to Hitler]]''.<ref>[[Siegfried Kracauer|Kracauer, Siegfried]]. "Caligari" in ''From Caligari to Hitler''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, [1947] 2004. 61–76.</ref> Kracauer examines German cinema from the Silent/Golden Era to support the (controversial) conclusion that German films made prior to [[Hitler]]'s takeover and the rise of the [[Third Reich]] all hint at the inevitability of Nazi Germany. For Eisner, similarly, German Expressionist cinema is a visual manifestation of [[Romanticism|Romantic]] ideals turned to dark and proto-totalitarian ends. More recent German Expressionist scholars examine historical elements influencing German Expressionism, such as the Weimar economy, [[Universum Film AG|UFA]], [[Erich Pommer]], [[Nordisk Film|Nordisk]], and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eisner |first1=Lotte |title=The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt |url=https://archive.org/details/hauntedscreenexp0000eisn |url-access=registration |date=2008 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520257900 |edition=1st }}</ref>
== References ==
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051229032301/http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/expressionism1.jsp GreenCine primer on German Expressionism]
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22German+Expressionism%22 German Expressionist films] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://www.weimarcinema.org WeimarCinema.org]
{{Expressionism}}{{Film genres}}
{{Horror film}}
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