The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max ReinhardtThe Golden Age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari onwards the principal films of this period were characterized by two influences: literary Expressionism, and the innovations of the theatre directors of this period, in particular Max Reinhardt. This book demonstrates the connection between German Romanticism and the cinema through Expressionist writings. It discusses the influence of the theatre: the handling of crowds; the use of different levels, and of selective lighting on a predominately dark stage; the reliance on formalized gesture; the innovation of the intimate theatre. Against this background the principal films of the period are examined in detail. The author explains the key critical concepts of the time, and surveys not only the work of the great directors, such as Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau, but also the contribution of their writers, cameramen, and designers. As The Times Literary Supplement wrote, 'Mme. Eisner is first and foremost a film critic, and one of the best in the world. She has all the necessary gifts.' And it described the original French edition of this book as 'one of the very few classics of writing on the film and arguably the best book on the cinema yet written.' |
Contents
Foreword to the English language edition | 7 |
the Influence of Max Reinhardt | 39 |
Lubitsch and the Costume Film | 75 |
The Stylized Fantastic | 89 |
Decorative Expressionism | 115 |
The World of Shadows and Mirrors | 129 |
Studio Architecture and Landscape | 151 |
The Expressionist Début of a Realistic Director | 171 |
15 | 251 |
16 | 269 |
17 | 275 |
18 | 285 |
Pabst and the Miracle of Louise Brooks | 295 |
20 | 309 |
The Dreigroschenoper Lawsuit | 343 |
355 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actors architecture artistic Asta Nielsen atmosphere Backstairs becomes Berlin Brecht camera Carl Mayer Cast characters chiaroscuro costume dark Destiny director door doorman Dr Caligari Dr Mabuse Dreigroschenoper Dupont effect Emil Jannings episode Erich Ernst Expressionism Expressionist eyes face Faust Friedrich Fritz Arno Wagner Fritz Lang G. W. Pabst G. W. Pabst Scr Georg John German cinema German film-makers German films gestures give Golem Guido Seeber Gustav Heinrich Heinz Hermann Hoffmann Jeanne Ney Joyless Street Kammerspiele Karl Freund Karl Platen Kriemhild Kurt Kurtz landscape Lang's Last Laugh light Lost Girl Love of Jeanne Lubitsch Lupu Pick magic Max Reinhardt Metropolis mirror movement Murnau Nibelungen Nosferatu novel objects Pandora's Box Paul Leni Paul Wegener play rhythm Richter Rudolf scenario scene screen seems sets shots Siegfried soul spectator staircase Stimmung Student of Prague studio style stylization Sylvester symbol Tartuffe technique Thea von Harbou Theodor Loos Umwelt Warning Shadows Waxworks Werner Krauss window young