Description
Book SynopsisThe golden age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. This book demonstrates the connection between German Romanticism and the cinema through Expressionist writings.
Trade Review"A sumptuous meal for those interested in the dark and brooding days of German cinema." * Cinema Journal *
"Arguably one of the best books on cinema yet written." * Times Literary Supplement *
Table of ContentsForeword to the English language edition
1 The Predisposition towards Expressionism
2 The Beginnings of the Expressionist Film
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari; Genuine; Von Morgens bis Mitternachts; Torgus;
Raskolnikow
3 The Spell of Light: the Influence of Max Reinhardt
The Student of Prague (1913); Max Reinhardt; The Go/em (1920);
Die Chronik Pon Grieshuus; Vanina; Carl Boese on the special effects
for The Go/em
4 Lubitsch and the Costume Film
!vfadame Dubarry; Sumurun; Anna Boleyn; Danton; Othello; Pola Negri
5 The Stylized Fantastic
Der Miide Tod
6 The Symphonies of Horror
Nosferatu; the demoniac bourgeois; the sway of the Doppelgiinger
7 'Decorative· Expressionism
Waxworks; the concept of space; the obsession with corridors
and staircases; Paul Leni on set designing
8 The World of Shadows and Mirrors
Warning Shadows; the Expressionist actor
9 Studio Architecture and Landscape
Die Nibelungen; geometric grouping
10 The Expressionist Debut of a 'Realistic' Director
Der Schatz
11 Kammerspielfilm and Stimmung
Hintertreppe; Scherben; Sylvester; Paul Czinner; Elisabeth Bergner; Stimmung
12 Murnau and the Kammerspielfilm
The Last Laugh; the mobile camera
13 The Handling of Crowds
Metropolis; the influence of the Expressionist choruses and Piscator
14 The Fritz Lang Thriller
Die Spinnen; Dr Mabuse der Spieler; Spione; Die Frau im Mond
15 Tragedies of the Street
Die Strasse; The joyless Street; Asta Nielsen; Dirnentragiidie;
the Absolute film; Asphalt
16 The Evolution of the Costume Film
Tartuffe
17 The Eye of the Camera in E.A. Dupont
Das Alte Gesetz; Variety
18 The Climax of the Chiaroscuro
Faust
19 Pabst and the Miracle of Louise Brooks
Pandora's Box; Diary of a Lost Girl; Censorship and Pabst's realism
20 The Decline of the German Film
The coming of sound; Die Dreigroschenoper; M; Das Testament
des Dr Mabuse; Miidchen in Uniform; the Ufa style; Leni Riefenstahl;
the post-Nazi era
Appendix: The Dreigroschenoper Lawsuit
Principal Works Mentioned in the Text
Selective Filmography, 1913-33
Index
Sources of Illustrations
