Media Term Thursday #9

German Expressionism

Highly symbolic, stylised and surreal film movement from Germany in the 1920s. The plots dealt with madness, despair, intellectual topics and weird characters.

The set designs used geometric shapes and shadowy lighting.

It was influenced by the Dadaist and Surrealist art movements at the time. Fritz Land and F.W. Murnau were two Expressionist directors.

The Cabinet of Dr Calligari (1920), Nosferatu (1922) and Metropolis (1927)

Excerpt from Media Key Terms and Concepts