COM 320, History of Film German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, and French Impressionism Compared
German Expressionism Soviet Montage French Impressionism
Era 1919-1927 1917-1933 1918-1929
Defining ►”Goal to express feelings in the ►”Montage. . . as a collision of elements. . . ►”Goal to convey sensations and Characteristics most direct and extreme fashion imitated the Marxist concept of the dialectic emotional ‘impressions’. . . conveying possible. . . extreme distortion to . . .’intellectual cinema’ attempts not to tell the personal vision of the artist. . . express an inner emotional reality a story but to convey abstract ideas, as. . . cinema shows us the souls of people rather than surface appearances”; a political tract might” and the essence of objects (photogenie) Prawer (in book--Caligari’s . . . Cinema is a synthesis of the other Children) raises the possibility that arts” (architecture, painting, sculpture, this distortion is quite “real”--e.g., music, poetry, dance) Caligari sees aspects of the world not readily apparent to others.
Form & Style ►Mise en scene most important ►Editing most important ►Camera work most important ►Narrative structure--legends, the ►Narrative structure--social forces ►Narrative structure--personal actions supernatural, horror (but psych.) ►Large number of shots and psychology ►Distortion, stylization of sets, ►”Kuleshov effect” of juxtaposed shots ►Photogenie--”that quality which costumes, makeup, acting, lighting ►Maximization of dynamic tension through distinguishes a film shot from the ►High contrast (in film, B&W; in two opposing editing techniques--(1) over original object photographed” the other arts, with colors) lapping and (2) elliptical (i.e., jump cut) ►Optical devices often used to do this ►Entirely studio-made (control!) editing ►”Visual rhythm” of fast cutting ►Non-diegetic inserts ►Location shooting
Background ►In a commercial film context ►In a commercial film context ►In a commercial film context ►Growth fostered by inflation/ ►However, commercial success ►French film in crisis after WWI reparations that favored export was secondary to serving the ►France swamped with German of products including film, import national interest; a national cinema & U.S. films ban 1916-20 ►Artistically, derived from Constructivism, ►Small French companies willing ►Artistically, part of movement viewing artwork as machine; montage; to experiment begun about 1908 no elite art ►During the Weimar Period ►The development of a national cinema-- ►The origins of a national cinema the State Film School in 1919; under control --UFA of Narkompros (People’s Commissariat of Education) German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, and French Impressionism Compared, p. 2
German Expressionism Soviet Montage French Impressionism
Other Film Types ►Historical spectacles (e.g., Ernst ►Very few domestic alternatives ►Genre: Fantasy (e.g., Rene Clair), in that Nation at Lubitsch’s Madame du Barry) ►Surprising importance of imports (e.g., Comedy (e.g., Max Linder) that time ►Kammerspiel (e.g., F.W. Murnau’s Thief of Bagdad ran for years) Last Laugh)
Importance ►Widespread impact, due to ►Although Potemkin seen around the world, ►Influential in style, not very of Movement Germany’s status as #2 filmmaking main impact later, and certainly limited to important in terms of $$ nation 1918-1933 style (content not widely imitated)
Important ►Robert Wiene (Cabinet of Dr. ►Lev Kuleshov & his workshop ►Abel Gance (Napoleon, La Roue) Practitioners Caligari) ►Sergei Eisenstein (Potemkin, Strike) ►Jean Epstein (Coeur fidele) ►Fritz Lang (Die Niebelungen ►Vsevolod Pudovkin (Mother) ►Marcel L’Herbier (El Dorado) (inc. Siegfried), Metropolis) ►Dziga Vertov (Man with the Movie ►Germaine Dulac (The Smiling ►F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, Faust) Camera) Madame Beudet) ►Alexander Dovzhenko (Arsenal, Earth) ►Jean Renoir (late; The Little Match ►Kuleshov, Eisenstein and Vertov Girl) were film writers and teachers as well. ►A tight group, they also wrote theory
The Death of the ►Displaced artistically by new ►Soviet Montage called “formalism,” too ►The movement’s own success led to a Movement realism, e.g., “street films” (Pabst) complex for the masses (Stalin) diffusion of its techniques, and a ►Prominent German Expressionism ►1929 5-year plan called for centralization lessening of its impact directors and performers lured of film, control taken away from ►F.I. filmmakers lost their independence away to Hollywood (inc. Narkompros (Stalin again) with the introduction of sound ($) Parufamet agreement)
Current ►The Style!! (most of Tim Burton’s ►Editing!! (elliptical cutting in The Usual ►Subjectivity, especially in “indie” Influences and films, other “goth” and dark- Suspects, Rocky Horror; overlapping films (e.g., films of Gus Van Sant) Applications? looking productions) editing in Braveheart, Babe; non-diagetic inserts in My Own Private Idaho; examples are everywhere)
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