Transcript Document

The Context
• Post-war mood in Germany
• Production context
Post-war mood in Germany
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Development of horror cinema
Fear of the outsider
Chaos
Useless authority
Production context
• Writers:
• Carl Mayer and Hans Janovitz
• The two men considered the new film
medium as a new type of artistic expression –
visual storytelling that necessitated
collaboration between writers and painters,
cameramen, actors, directors.
• Janowitz – memory of a fairground murder in
1913
• Mayer – War experiences with military
doctors
• Producer – Erich Pommer
Commercial considerations
• Initial director – Fritz Lang
Changes to the framing narrative
To what extent does an understanding of context
influence our understanding of a sequence from
Caligari?
Homework
Choose a Weimar film from the list. Research plot, link to other contemporary films and any key
features of expressionism.
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Der Student Von Prag (The Student Of Prague) (1913)– Paul Wegener/ (1926) - Henrik Galeen
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Faust – 1926 F. W. Murnau
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Der Lestze Mann (The Last Laugh) 1924 – F. W. Murnau
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The Joyless Street (Die Freudlose Gasse) 1925 - Georg Wilhelm Pabst
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Schatten - Eine nächtliche Halluzination ("Shadows - a Nocturnal Hallucination", also known in English as Warning Shadows) 1923 Arthur Robison.
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Der Mude Tod (Destiny) 1921 – Fritz Lang
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Secrets Of A Soul (Geheimnisse einer Seele) 1923 - Georg Wilhelm Pabst
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Waxworks (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett) 1924 – Paul Leni
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The Niebelungen 1924 – Fritz Lang
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Dr Mabuse, The Gambler 1922 – Fritz Lang
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Phantom (1922) - F. W. Murnau
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From Morn To Midnight (1920) - Karl Heinz Martin
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Genuine: A Tale Of A Vampire (1920) - Robert Wiene
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The Hands of Orlac (Orlacs Hande) (1925) Robert Wiene