German Expressionist cinema

E693713

German Expressionist cinema is a stylistically distinctive early 20th-century German film movement known for its stark lighting, distorted sets, and psychologically intense narratives that explore madness, fear, and social unrest.

All labels observed (5)

Label Occurrences
German Expressionism 23
German Expressionist cinema canonical 12
Weimar cinema 12

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (63)

Predicate Object
instanceOf German cultural movement
film movement
countryOfOrigin Germany
declineFactor emigration of filmmakers to Hollywood
rise of Nazism
emergedFrom Weimar Republic era
linked to: Weimar Republic

post–World War I Germany
era silent film era
hasCharacteristic angular set design
chiaroscuro lighting
distorted sets
dreamlike atmosphere
emphasis on inner psychological states
exaggerated shadows
high contrast black-and-white cinematography
low-key lighting
non-naturalistic mise-en-scène
psychologically intense narratives
stark lighting contrasts
stylized acting
subjective camerawork
themes of fear
themes of madness
themes of social unrest
use of symbolism
hasHistoricalContext economic instability in Germany
political unrest in Germany
trauma of World War I
hasInfluenceOn Alfred Hitchcock films
American cinema
Orson Welles films
linked to: Orson Welles

Tim Burton films
Universal horror films
fantasy cinema
film noir
horror cinema
hasMainPeriod 1910s
1920s
hasStylisticOrigin German Expressionism
isRelatedTo German Expressionist painting
German Expressionist theatre
language German
notableCinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner
Karl Freund
notableDirector F. W. Murnau
Fritz Lang
G. W. Pabst
linked to: Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Paul Wegener
Robert Wiene
notableWork Faust
Metropolis
Nosferatu
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Golem: How He Came into the World
peakActivity early 1920s
typicalGenre fantasy
horror
psychological drama
science fiction
usesTechnique forced perspective sets
painted shadows on sets
stylized intertitles
unusual camera angles

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (53)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Dr. Mabuse the Gambler partOfMovement German Expressionist cinema
Spies filmMovement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Thea von Harbou movement German Expressionist cinema
Alex Proyas influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse style German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928 film) influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari hasGenre German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Cesare filmMovementContext German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Fritz Lang movement German Expressionism
subject linked to: Friedrich Christian Anton Lang
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Fritz Lang workedIn Weimar Republic cinema
subject linked to: Friedrich Christian Anton Lang
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Carl Mayer movement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Carl Mayer era Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Nicholas Musuraca influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Eugen Schüfftan movement German Expressionist cinema
Franz Schulz movement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
T. M. influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Werner R. Heymann movement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
F. W. Murnau movement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
F. W. Murnau workedIn Weimar Republic cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Alexander Granach genre Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Alexander Granach movement Expressionist cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Nosferatu the Vampyre inspiredBy German Expressionist cinema
Beggar on Horseback influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Emil Jannings participatedIn Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
RKO horror cycle influencedBy German Expressionist cinema
O homem amarelo influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Drums in the Night literaryMovement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Faust (1926 film) filmMovement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
French poetic realism influencedBy German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Bruno Cassirer associatedWith German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Seymour Nebenzal activeIn Weimar Republic cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Erich Pommer movement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Erich Pommer fieldOfWork Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Metropolis (novel) literaryMovement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Otto Hunte movement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Otto Hunte movement German Expressionist cinema
Rotwang associatedWithGenre German Expressionist cinema
Uco-Film associatedWithMovement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Decla-Bioscop associatedWithMovement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Fritz Arno Wagner movement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Fritz Arno Wagner movement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
German Expressionist cinema hasStylisticOrigin German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Carl Hoffmann movement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Günther Rittau movement Weimar cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Rudolf Klein-Rogge movement German Expressionist cinema
Max Schreck era Weimar Republic cinema
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Max Schreck partOf German Expressionist cinema
The Last Laugh filmMovement German Expressionism
linked to: German Expressionist cinema
Robert Wiene influenced German Expressionist cinema
Lil Dagover movement German Expressionist cinema