During the early 18th century, The German film industry boomed. Because of this boom, the German film industry experimented with new types of genres and styles. In the 1920’s a popular style called German Expressionism came about and was present in many types of art but was really explored within German horror films. This dark, unique style has influenced many directors and films; one in particular who was greatly influenced was Alfred Hitchcock. German Expressionism influenced many Hitchcock’s works including Vertigo and Spellbound in use of set, lighting, and distortion.
German Expressionism was a movement that was taking place in all aspects of the arts in the early 18th century. The journal entitled German Expressionism: 1905-1925 by H. Stefan Schultz goes into great detail of what exactly expressionism meant to artists. Before this period there was a reliance on reality in regards to art. Most art was solely based on exactly what was seen, and expressionism is a response to this. This article focuses on many artists perception of man and the physical world and how it is represented in art. The articles quote Hermann Bahr, a writer and play writer from the early 20th century, on impressionism versus expressionism and he claims,
“Man possesses the physical sense of sight, a passive organ that receives impressions; the mind, to be sure, transforms them, but the result is a work of art close to nature. But man has also an inner eye capable of visions; it is the eye of the spirit that turns away from external life toward the inner life, listens to the voices of the hidden within, and believes man is not merely the echo of his world but rather its maker, or at least just as strong as the world.” (Schultz 10)
His response towards expressionism is extremely abstract, which is a key component of expressionism. Expressionism goes beyond what the eye sees, focusing on internal emotions. Take the famous painting, Der Schrei Der Natur (The Scream of Nature) by Edvard Munch. Rather then focusing on reality, Munch takes emotions like fear, anxiety and portrays them with distortion, and electric colors. This movement started in art, and then later became prominent in early German horror films.
German Expressionism took route in film in the late 1920’s with the release of the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Kristin Thompson claims, “The film used stylized sets, with strange, distorted buildings painted on canvas backdrops and flats in a theatrical manner” (Thompson & Bordwell 90). Upon viewing the film, there seemed to be repeated patterns that represented the expressionism movement: When characters would speak a dark circle would surround them letting you only see their faces, long staircases covered in dark shadows, and a very obvious distortion with-in town (which is explained by the twist ending). Expressionism was in a sense, “a reaction against realism” so the buildings distortion represents that aspect. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a really strong example of German Expressionism, giving me a solid foundation to how this style was used in early horror films.
Something I’ve noticed from studying German Expressionism is how it can be used to develop more interesting plot devices. Once it was acknowledged how to portray distortion, more interesting storylines can be developed, using obsession, confusion, and illusion or disillusion to drive the plot line. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari constantly shows the houses in the town looking distorted; the film has no explanation for this until the ending. Once it’s realized that Francis has been in a mental asylum and is under the illusion of the story he just recalled, its understood why the distortion was used. I myself did not expect this twist ending, especially in regards to the time it was made, but stylistic elements like expressionism made it possible.
Another common motif of expressionism that can be seen in its early films is long staircases. This can be seen in a shot from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari after Francis discovers Alan’s body and again later in the film. He walks down a long set of stairs that have long dark shadows cast all over. The shot gives you a sense of fear and sadness for Francis. The long stairs motif can later be seen in Madchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform) (1958). This film centers on an all girls school where the new girl falls for one of her female teachers. The principal of the school (a female who represents patriarchy) is very strict and stands at the top of the long steps. The constant staircase visual symbolizes strict patriarchy in a movie without men. B. Ruby Rich, author of From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberation: Girls in Uniform (Madchen in Uniform), points out, “The ultimate incarnation of the absent but controlling patriarchy is the school principal” (67). By putting this man-like character untop of a long staircase over females, the stairs can be seen as overall patriarchal symbol of control over females. Long staircases can be seen in all different types of German Expressionism films whether it’s to emphasize fear and power or symbolize something greater.
German Expressionism’s movement influenced many horror directors style in regard to set, lighting, and mise-en-scene. In the blog entitled ‘German Expressionism: The World of Light and Shadow’ Kolar states, “In 1924, Hitchcock was sent by his film company to work as an assistant director and art director at the UFA Babelsberg Studios in Berlin on the film The Blackguard(1924)” (Kolar 5). This was the period when Hitchcock’s films were starting to grab audience’s attention and this assistant directing job got him a first hand view of this movement taking place in Germany. The blog later states, “The influence can also be seen throughout the rest of Hitchcock’s career. In his third film, The Lodger (1927), Expressionism’s influence extends to set designs, lighting techniques, and trick camera work to the British public against the wishes of his studio” (Kolar 5). By 1958, Hitchcock had directed over two dozen films many of which are influenced in regards to set, story, and cinematography by German expressionism. Spellbound (1945) and Vertigo (1958) are both two examples of how much expressionism truly influenced his career.
Spellbound (1945) embodies many of key aspects of expressionism. The plotline is about a psychiatrist, Constance that falls in love with a man impersonating a doctor that he presumably murdered. Constance becomes obsessed with curing his amnesia hoping it will reveal that he has not murdered Dr. Edwards. John Ballantyne, going by the alias John Brown, has repressed his memories and because of this has a distorted view of what happened and believes he did in fact murder Doctor Edwards. Obsession, illusion, being under a spell, and distortion are all present in Spellbound and are all topics that are explored within many German expression films.
The film is most popular within expressionism because of a dream sequence but besides the dream sequence there are other hints of expressionism influence. John Ballantyne’s character has fits when he sees long dark lines; this then leads to an obsession with dark versus white. In one scene he wakes in the night and goes to the light bathroom, a memory is trigged and he begins to walk down the stairs. The stairs are long and dark and John is covered in shadows, he walks into the room with Dr. Alex Bruvlov intending to kill him, but then is handed a glass of milk. As he drinks the milk the shot shows the white milk fully cover the shot and in the morning he is himself again. Hitchcock plays with shadows, darkness and light to give the character more depth.
Spellbound is renowned for its dream sequence which later reveals the real killer. Hitchcock teamed up with the popular surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, whose paintings are known to have a twisted, surreal theme. In The Painted Jester: Notes on the Visual arts in Hitchcock’s Films author James Maxfield quotes Donald Spoto, “The systematic destruction of one’s literal vision is, for Dali as for Hitchcock, a “more real” or surreal world beyond mere appearance (156)” (Maxfield 3). Surrealism is also a reaction to how one perceives reality. By using Dali to create this dream sequence shows Hitchcock’s expressionistic influence. The crime is ultimately solved at the end by analyzing the illusion of the dream rather then focusing merely on what the perceived reality had been. Maxfield brings up another quote by Hitchcock in an interview with Francois Truffaut (1983):
The real reason [I wanted Dali’s collaboration] was to convey the dreams with great visual sharpness and clarity, sharper then the film itself. I wanted Dali because of the architectural sharpness of his work. Chirico has the same quality, you know, the long shadows, the infinity of distance, and the converging lines of perspective (165). (Maxfield 3)
The dream sequence emphasized long shadows, eyes, blank cards/regular cards, and a faceless figure. Hitchcock uses the distorted dream to eventually lead to the real murder. In this Hitchcock experiments with distorted dream-like realities, influenced by German expressionism. Hitchcock continued playing with dreams versus reality and other aspects of expressionism through-out his career.
Vertigo (1958) in all aspects shows Hitchcock’s expressionist influence. First, the plot for one is highly complex and is driven by obsession. James Maxfield, author of the article A Dreamer and his Dream: Another way of looking at Hitchcock’s Vertigo suggests, “Vertigo is best understood as a dreamlike representation of the inner conflicts of its protagonist: more specifically of the conflict within John “Scottie” Fergusson between eros and thantos—between his longing for love and sexual fulfillment and an equally strong, if not stronger death wish” (Strauss 2). Hitchcock makes a visual expressionistic masterpiece stemming from Fergusson’s inner conflicts similar to how Munch painted “The Scream of Nature.” Taking inner emotions like loneliness and obsession and making a distorted response that feels and looks more like an abstract dream rather then reality. Obsession to any degree has the potential to distort ones perception. John Fergusson’s character is duped which leads him to become fascinated with Madeleine (who is actually Judy). This obsession later pushes him to make Judy become Madeleine. Once he’s realized Tom and Judy have fooled him, he brings Judy to the scene of the crime where she eventually kills herself. John’s obsession distorts his perception of what is actually happening, this is an example of how distortion and illusion, a key to expressionism, can drive plots.
Vertigo also shows many examples of expressionism in its set design. At many points of the film John is physically placed below Madeleine’s character. Many a times long sets of staircases physically separate the two of them. While on one hand this makes John’s character face his fear of acrophobia but also shows another example of expressionism. From Girls in Uniform, we know that long staircases have a prominent place within German Expressionism. Long staircases can be seen many times in Vertigo and represent what John needs to overcome, and when he finally does get up the stairs the truth is revealed and it breaks the spell obsession has on him. Another way Hitchcock plays with expressionism is with color. Since early expressionistic films were black and white, long shadows and darkness emphasized what was bad and fearful. Since Vertigo is in color Hitchcock uses the color green, a color, which could represent greed, betrayal and envy, especially towards the end. Whether it is to represent John’s greed and selfishness or Judy’s envy of John’s obsession with Madeleine it works and is another visual aspect influenced by expressionism.
German Expressionism brought about new plot devices, visual concepts, and symbolism. This movement influenced Hitchcock, and I believe helped him create some of his intricate stories about obsession, and distorted perceptions as well added to his visual elements with light versus dark.
Work Cited
Kolar. “German Expressionism: The World of Light and Shadow.” Web log post. Mubi.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. http://mubi.com/lists/german-expressionism-the-world-of-light-and-shadow.
Maxfield, James F. “A Dreamer And His Dream: Another Way Of Looking At Hitchcock’s Vertigo.” Film Criticism 14.3 (1990): 3-13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.
Rich, Ruby. “From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberation: Girls in Uniform (Madchen in Uniform),.” Gender and German Cinema: Feminist Interventions. By Sandra G. Frieden. Providence: Berg, 1993. N. pag. Print.
Schultz, H. Stefan. “German Expressionism: 1905-1925.” Chicago Review. Vol. 13. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1959. 8-24. Print.
Spellbound. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1945.
Strauss, Marc. “The Painted Jester: Notes On The Visual Arts In Hitchcock’s Films.” Journal Of Popular Film & Television 35.2 (2007): 52-56. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Dir. Robert Wiene. S.n., 1919.
Thompson, Krisin. Bordwell, David. Film History: An Introduction. 3rd. edition. NY. McGraw Hill, 2010.
Vertigo. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Paramount, 1958.
CREATIVE ELEMENT
For my creative element, I made movie posters for each of the films I studied. I also did them by hand so nobody make fun of me for my kindergarten looking drawings.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari:
Spellbound:
Vertigo:
