The haunted screen : expressionism in the German cinema and the influence of Max Reinhardt
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Bibliographic Information
The haunted screen : expressionism in the German cinema and the influence of Max Reinhardt
University of California Press, 1977
1st California paperback ed., reprinted
- : pbk
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Écran démoniaque
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Écran démoniaque
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Note
Originally published: Paris : Le Terrain Vague, 1952
"Selective filomgraphy, 1913-33": p. 348-354
Bibliography: p. 346-347
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The Golden Age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. From "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" onwards the principal films of this period were characterized by two influences: literary Expressionism, and the innovations of the theater directors of this period, in particular Max Reinhardt. This book demonstrates the connection between German Romanticism and the cinema through Expressionist writings. It discusses the influence of the theater: the handling of crowds; the use of different levels, and of selective lighting on a predominately dark stage; the reliance on formalized gesture; the innovation of the intimate theater. Against this background, the principal films of the period are examined in detail.The author explains the key critical concepts of the time, and surveys not only the work of the great directors, such as Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau, but also the contribution of their writers, cameramen, and designers. As "The Times Literary Supplement" wrote, 'Mme. Eisner is first and foremost a film critic, and one of the best in the world. She has all the necessary gifts.'
And it described the original French edition of this book as 'one of the very few classics of writing on the film and arguably the best book on the cinema yet written.'
Table of Contents
Foreword to the English language edition 1. The Predisposition towards Expressionism 2. The Beginnings of the Expressionist Film 3. The Spell of Light: the Influence of Max Reinhardt 4. Lubitsch and the Costume Film 5. The Stylized Fantastic 6. The Symphonies of Horror 7. 'Decorative' Expressionism 8. The World of Shadows and Mirrors 9. Studio Architecture and Landscape 10. The Expressionist Debut of a 'Realistic' Director 11. Kammerspielfilm and Stimmung 12. Murnau and the Kammerspielfilm 13. The Handling of Crowds 14. The Fritz Lang Thriller 15. Tragedies of the Street 16. The Evolution of the Costume Film 17. The Eye of the Camera in E. A. Dupont 18. The Climax of the Chiaroscuro 19. Pabst and the Miracle of Louise Brooks 20. The Decline of the German Film Appendix: The Dreigroschenoper Lawsuit Principal Works Mentioned in the Text Selective Filmography, 1913-33 Index Sources of Illustration
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