German Expressionism and its Influence on Contemporary Film Making

599 Words2 Pages

German Expressionism, despite being short lived (approximately 1910 – 1930) is considered one of the most influential film movements which established Hollywood as the centre of the film industry. One of Hollywood’s most successful directors Tim Burton and British director Terry Gilliam are probably the two film makers who are the most influenced by the movement.
The origins of German Expressionism come from artists such as Edvard Munch and Franz Marc who began the expressionism movement as a response to impressionism (a movement where artists captured moments of the world, much like a photograph with an emphasis on the use of light and movement). Even though this movement originated from painting, expressionism evolved to other arts such as architecture and even dance.
Rather than using the blended and light tones typical of an impressionist painting. Expressionism however depicted the world through the human mind. Choosing to use bold strokes and colours rather than the light and blended tones of impressionism the two movements couldn’t be any more different. Munch’s most famous...

Open Document