In fact, it is somehow difficult to catalog Fritz Lang and put him into one closed box. But it is possible to say that Lang’s film navigated between a ‘realism’ and an expressionism, and remains to be an important symbol of Film Noir. Donahue (338) states that: “The trajectory from Expressionist film to Film Noir continues to be a subject of scholarly controversy”. However, these are merely appellations given to denote trends in filmmaking during this epoch, and what is important is the effect that films such as ‘M’ and ‘The Big Heat’ had on their audiences. While there is no firm consensus on what German expressionism is, and what it entails, Holte (29) goes some way towards explaining what it is, stating that it is an “artistic representation …show more content…
Moreover, there is very much a prophetic element with regard to ‘M’, with the film arriving prior to the onset of World War II, and the ruling Nazi party, which could also be said – just like in the narrative of ‘M’ – to be made up of a combination of the general public, institutions of law and order, and the criminal underworld. Furthermore, there are some scenes in ‘M’, such as when the police are mobilised on the streets, that can be likened to the marching of Nazi troops; and the paranoia amongst the populace is also reminiscent of the paranoia and anxiety present in Nazi Germany. Therefore, Lang very much draws on the phenomenon of mass hysteria to mobilise a populace into action and violence, and this is very much the result of the fear of surveillance and social order. However, there is also a sense in Lang’s work that such surveillance can be taken too far according to the country’s economical and political environment; and is to some extent predicting that a fascist state might untimely result in violations of human rights – which would later prove to be a valid concern, and also on a mass
The film illustrates the common social and sexual anxieties that the Germans were undergoing at that period of time. It also employs cinematic aesthetics alongside with new technology to create what would be considered as one of Germany’s first sound-supported films. Furthermore, it was the film that popularized its star Marlene Dietrich. The film is also known for combining elements of earlier expressionist works into its setting without becoming an expressionist film itself. It is important also to point out that the visual element has helped to balance the film easily against the backdrop the nightclub lifestyle that Lola leads the professor to fall into.
Gunning, Tom., “Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922) in Weimar Cinema, ed. Noah Isenberg, New York: Columbia University Press, 2009
Calhoon, Kenneth S. “Horror vacui.” Peripheral Visions: The Hidden Stages of Weimar Cinema. Wayne State University Press: Detroit, 2001.
In Fritz Lang’s M, mise en scène is employed to evoke the theme of Machiavellian theory, the characterization of wavering faith in crisis and the tone of impatient anger and fear. As the following analysis of the scene where the mobsters strategize on how to track down M demonstrates, the great light fixture in the center of the room, in conjunction with the mobsters themselves and their meeting room, is used to accentuate the notion of vigilante justice and expediency that circumventing the law provides while also highlighting the paradox of criminals attempting to serve justice.
The presence of an overwhelming and influential body of government, dictating the individuals of contextual society, may potentially lead to the thoughts and actions that oppose the ruling party. Through the exploration of Fritz Lang’s expressionist film, Metropolis (1927), and George Orwell’s politically satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), the implications of an autocratic government upon the individuals of society are revealed. Lang’s expressionist film delves into the many issues faced by the Weimar Republic of Germany following the “War to end all wars” (Wells, 1914), in which the disparity between the upper and lower classes became distinctively apparent as a result of the ruling party’s capitalistic desires. Conversely, Orwell’s,
Film Noir, as Paul Schrader integrates in his essay ‘Notes on Film Noir,’ reflects a marked phase in the history of films denoting a peculiar style observed during that period. More specifically, Film Noir is defined by intricate qualities like tone and mood, rather than generic compositions, settings and presentation. Just as ‘genre’ categorizes films on the basis of common occurrences of iconographic elements in a certain way, ‘style’ acts as the paradox that exemplifies the generality and singularity at the same time, in Film Noir, through the notion of morality. In other words, Film Noir is a genre that exquisitely entwines theme and style, and henceforth sheds light on individual difference in perception of a common phenomenon. Pertaining
When audiences think of Lang's Metropolis they almost unanimously think of the same image: that of a golden, mechanical being brought to life. It is one of the most recognizable images in German expressionist cinema, on par with the spidery shadow of Max Schrek's Nosferatu creeping up the stairs in Murnau's vampire film, or that of Cesare the somnambulist sleeping upright in Weine's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, yet what separates this i...
Analysis of German Film "Run Lola Run" Run Lola Run, is a German film about a twenty-something woman (Lola) who has 20 minutes to find $100,000 or her love (Manni) will be killed. The search for the money is played through once with a fatal ending and one would think the movie was over, but then it is shown again as if it had happened ten seconds later and changed everything. It is then played out one last time. After the first and second sequences, there is a red hued, narrative bridge.
Janey Place and Lowell Peterson article “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir” establishes noir as a visual style and not a ...
The German Expressionist movement was a number of movements that began in Germany during the start of the 20th century. It mainly dealt with poetry, painting, art and cinema. The success of expressionist films helped Germany seen as the most technically advanced in the world. The expressionist style can be...
History always finds a way of repeating itself. A Tale of Two Cities, depicts the French Revolution and the citizens living through it. Many citizens go along with the leaders want, in order to avoid being executed, this is taking part in mob mentality because although they might not be doing what they want, they are doing what everybody else is doing, so they can fit in. Some people can participate in something so vulgar even when they do not mean to. In “Top 10 Instances of Mob Mentality”, author S.Grant says that, “Looking back on Nazi Germany, it’s difficult to comprehend how ordinary people acted so ruthless and inhumane. Even if you assume the average German citizen didn’t know what was happening in the concentration camps, there were still 24,000 members in the “Death’s Head Unit,” a special section of the Schutzstaffel (SS) that was in charge of the concentration camps. These Death’s Head
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
Andreas Huyssen. “The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.” New German Critique: and Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies. (1982)
The link between expressionism and horror quickly became a dominant feature in many films and continues to be prominent in contemporary films mainly due to the German expressionist masterpiece Das Kabinett des Doctor Caligari. Wiene’s 1920 Das Kabinett des Doctor Caligari utilized a distinctive creepiness and the uncanny throughout the film that became one the most distinctive features of externalising inner mental and emotional states of protagonists through various expressionist methods. Its revolutionary and innovative new art was heavily influenced by the German state and its populace in conjunction with their experience of war; Caligari took a clear cue from what was happening in Germany at the time. It was this film that set cinematic conventions that still apply today, heavily influencing the later Hollywood film noir genre as well as the psychological thrillers that has led several film audiences to engage with a film, its character, its plot and anticipate its outcome, only to question whether the entire movie was a dream, a story of a crazy man, or an elaborate role play. This concept of the familiar and the strange, the reality, the illusion and the dream developed in Das Kabinett des Doctor Caligari, is once again present in Scorsese’s 2010 film Shutter Island.
When an environment of fear is presented to a group of people, you begin to see a shift in social structures. Secondly, you begin to see those effected becoming paranoid not only of those initiating the environment, but also of each other. This is expressed in The Spy, by Bertolt Brecht. In The Spy, a German family has just finished lunch. The mother and father began to speak of what is happening to the country, forgetting of their son’s presence in the room. Once the boy leaves, his parents become fearful that he has gone to report them to the Hitler youth. Upon his return, having gone to buy chocolate, the parents are still suspicious of the boy. This fear is brought on by the possibility of punishment from the government, which has caused