Expressionist Cinema
 

Who shares the love for early German cinema such as The Cabinet of Dr Cagliari , The Golem: How He Came Into The World, Metropolis, Nosferatu etc?

Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari in full



A clip from Nosferatu


The end of The Golem


And a modern example. The best thing Tim Burton has ever done

i saw nosferatu on spongebob lol

Dude, so did I. We're just a couple of goons.

Anyway, I'm wantin to check out Nosferatu.

You should, its probably the best piece of Expressionist film ever imo. F. W Murnau is a genius in the way he used tone, lighting and music to create what still is a scary film.

Nosferatu was great, I admit that I'm not familiar with early German cinema. I shall fix this problem ASAP. What other films of Murnau's would you recommend that I watch next? I think that Faust is available at my local library, but I'm not entirely sure. I'd appreciate any suggestions, I've only heard heard/read/etc. praise for Nosferatu, his other films seem to rarely get mentioned.

The Last Laugh is his best German film with exception to Nosferatu and Faust. He emigrated to Hollywood and made Sunrise, which a lot of people say is one of the greatest films ever made. Expressionist-wise though, Nosferatu and Faust are his best.

I've heard of Sunrise many times before, I had no idea that he was the one who directed it. If my library has it, I shall borrow Faust.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...olisposter.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...b/M_poster.jpg

'M' is my favourite, and Metropolis was at one point scored by Queen apparently. *shudder*

can anyone think of any expressionist films that weren't German? were there any?

EDIT: props for the 'cabinet..' link, not seen it yet!

I dont think there actually were. The whole movement was known as German Expressionism, the Italians and French were doing Surrealism and Realism around the same time

It's crazy but i've been terrorized by Nosferatu when i was a child.

As in the film yes?

M, Nosferatu are excellent. I'm a big fan of Sergei Eisenstein too. Strike! is a masterclass in montage editing. I still need to watch Sunrise, it's something of a masterpiece.

Sergei Eisenstein is a top director, Im a big fan of The General Line for the message implicit within it. I wouldnt say he's an expressionist though.

No he is'nt thats why I mentioned about the editing :D On a slightly different note. Did you ever see 'Shadow Of A Vampire' that supposed that Max Shreck (Nosferatu) was a real life vampire? Excellent quirky movie starring Willem Dafoe and john Malkovich.

Sorry overlooked that part, a director who is absolutely incredible for his use of editing is Dzigo Vertov, Man With a Movie Camera is so good.

I've heard of that, didnt Malkovitch play Murnau and Dafoe Shreck?

Yeah. Eddie Izzard is in it too. Well worth a watch. Dafoe is astonishing. I have never heard of Dzigo Vertov. I will have to dig up some info and get a film on my rental list.

I'll look into that. Definately get Man With a Movie Camera, theres no scenario, no acting, no props - its a complete subversion of the conventions of cinema. Its literally him filming city life in the USSR, Odense i think, but he edits it in such a way to convey all this hidden meanings and facts of life you would not notice in quotidian circumstances You could say it's a realisat movie shot in a surrealist aesthetic

It definitely sounds intriguing. I hope that you have seen this too: Roma, città aperta (1945). Another sublime masterpiece. So much good European cinema. it's just a case of digging! Are you studying film at Uni? As you seem very knowledgeable. My knowledge is just life knowledge u know?

I havent, thats another one to hunt out! I do yeah, well, its a sub-topic. Plus im generally in love with French and German cinema. Thats well good, not enough people know or enjoy silent film, some of it is incredible. Even Le Voyage dans la lune is great, and that was made in 1902!

What's your favourite French Film? A lot of people cite 'Breathless' as the king of cool but I much prefer 'Bob Le Flambeur' which was 5 years earlier. That film is so cool. Rififfi too! so many films not enough time!

Toughie... Les Yeux Sans Visage, Les Quatre Cent Coups, La Règle du Jeu, Under The Roofs of Paris, Un Chien Andalou... and thats just oldies. I love contemporary French film too.

--Les Yeux Sans Visage--. What a film! Haunting. It's a recent film but have you checked out 36? Brilliant film as good as 'Heat' which it is similar too. Damn should rename this thread French cinema lol

Have you ever seen Un Chien Andalou? Its one of the most uncomfortable films you'll ever watch. I've seen a bit of it but i got bored :S i need to be in the right frame of mind for some films so i'll give it another go.

Lol yer, i dont think anybody's watched the videos i put up haha

Oh yeah. A few times :D The eyes slashing was a sheeps eye in case you were wondering.

Un Chien Andalou was great, I love that film. Other than that, the only Luis Bunuel film I've seen is The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, which was also pretty great, but I think I'll need to watch a few more times before I can truly appreciate it. And I would watch the videos you put up, but I prefer to watch films on a bigger screen and in higher quality than youtube.

Thats fair enough, i just wanted to provide samples for people who were not familiar with any of it. I would advise you stick on Nosferatu, Dr Caligari or The Golem on a big screen in a room with all the lights out so your senses are honed in on the film and only the film.

For the past year or two I've been on a kick of trying to watch a lot of these movies. I absolutely loved Metropolis and M. I had a harder time getting into The Cabinet of Dr Cagliari and Nosferatu though I'm glad I saw them. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anyone who has The Golem for rent, I'd really like to see that one.