Montage,
Expressionism and
Surrealism
Early 20th century Film in Europe
Russian History
• In 1917 there have been two revolutions in Russia. The
February Revolution eliminated the Tsar's government. The
second revolution took place in October. Vladimir Lenin was
the leader of the revolution and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics was created. Narkompros, founded in 1918,
controlled the film industry.
• Narkompros established the State Film School in 1919. A year
later Lev Kuleshov joined the State Film School and formed
workshops. Kuleshov's experiments were showing how
important editing was and he developed the central idea to the
Montage theory and style.
Lev Kuleshov
• A central aspect of his experiments was that the viewer's
response in cinema was less dependent on the individual
shot than on the editing or montage.
• Lenin saw cinema as the most important art, most
probably because it is an effective medium for
propaganda and education.
Aesthetic of Montage
• Downplaying characters
(stereotypes or types are
used)
• Strikes or violent clashes
are often storylines
• Style revolves on cuts or
edits
• Cuts are meant to
stimulate the viewer
• Cuts are noticed by the
viewer
Overlapping or Elliptical Temporal
Relationships
Overlapping
• the second shot repeats
part or all of the action from
the previous shot
• the time an action takes on
the screen expands
Elliptical
jump cut
The time action takes on the
screen is reduced
Eisenstein
• shots should not be seen as linked, but rather as
conflicting with one another. The spectator can create a
new concept in her or his mind realizing the conflict
between elements.
• Rhythmic Montage
• Meaning (Intellectual, Tonal and Overtonal)
German Expressionism
• Expressionism is the
movement in the fine arts
that emphasized the
expression of one’s inner
self and their angst rather
than solely being realistic
• Expressionism was a
reaction to impressionism
which projected stark and
absolute realities.
The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893),
which inspired 20th-century Expressionists
History
• Germany at the time had just recovered from the
consequences of World War I
• Disillusionment
• Many Germans felt betrayed by their government
• 1.7 Million lost in the war (7 million casualties)
• Shortage of food and resources
• Weimar Republic took over after the fall of the Kaiser
• Political beliefs became extreme and polarized
Aesthetics
• Dark strong
shadows
• Cynicism about
people
• Warped, distorted
and surreal looking
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (German: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari)
is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene
Themes
• Depressed/dark
stories
• Corrupt characters and
authority figures
• The primary villian in
The Cabinet of Dr.
Callgari was a doctor
--Screened
• Metropolis
communicated a
growing sense of
skepticism towards
industrialism and the
roles that society had
placed on its citizens.
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist
science-fiction film directed by Fritz Lang
The End of the Movement
•
When Adolf Hitler had complete control over the
German government he called Expressionism
degenerate and established Propaganda as the
dominant form of filmmaking
•
Many Expressionist directors left Germany and
moved to Hollywood
•
At the time German Expressionism had
advanced beyond Hollywood films in terms of
technique
•
Many Studios funded projects by these
immigrants
•
This influenced Hollywood greatly and was
partly of the birth of both the Noir and Horror
genres
•
(Dracula (1931) and The Mummy (1932), by Karl Freund and The Black
Cat (1934), directed by Edgar G. Ulmer)
Nosferatu, is a classic 1922
German Expressionist horror film,
directed by F. W. Murnau
Universum Film AG (UFA)
• significant champions of the movement and the art of film
making in the country
• One of the most important people to have visited UFA
would eventually become one of the most important
directors of Hollywood— Alfred Hitchcock
• Hitcock’s films like Psycho or The Lodger all feature
super saturated shadows and zoomed in camera angles
which he learned about when studying at the UFA –“screened”
Film Noir
• One of the most important
movements of American Film
• Ex-patriots like Josef-von Sternberg,
an Auatrian exile would go on to
make films such as Shanghai
Express (1932) and The Devil Is a
Woman (1935) -www.screened.com
• The rich shadows and deep focus of
Josef von Sterberg’s work would
influence Orson Welles’ Citizen
Kane
Scene from the movie "The Big Combo." --Joseph H. Lewis
Notice the low camera angle and saturated shadows
as well as the fog. All techniques perfected by
German Expressionist directors and cinematographers
French Impressionism and
Surrealism 1918-1930
• Alternatives to Classical Hollywood form
• Impressionism was a French Avant-Garde Film movement that
was made by the French Film industry and was profitable
• Surrealism was made independently of the French System and
did not prove financially successful
Impressionism
• In 1915 American Films flooded in to the French Market
• By the end of WW1 the French Film industry never fully
recovered
• The Impressionists focused purely on emotion and
subjectivity, but their aesthetic did not take off as an
international success
Surrealists
• The Surrealist
filmmakers relied on
private patronage
• Screened their works to
small artist gatherings
• Films perplexed and
shocked audiences
• Linked to Surrealist
painting and literature
Surrealism
• Dreams, subconscious and
free association as opposed
to…
• Reason and Logic
• Overtly anti-narrative
• Attacks causality
• The films tease the
audience into finding
absent narrative logic
• Events are juxtaposed for
their disturbing effect
The End of the French
Surrealist Movement
• In the 1930’s the movement led by Andre Breton had
disbanded
• Individual Surrealist Artists like Luis Bunuel, Max Ernst and
Salvador Dali continued to paint and make films
• Bunuel created films until the 60’s including The Discreet
Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Belle Du Jour
Un Chien Andalou
• Released in 1929 to a limited showing in Paris
• Ran for 8 months following the premiere
• the only rule for the writing of the script was that "no idea or
image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any
kind would be accepted."[9] Moreover, he stated that,
"Nothing, in the film, symbolizes anything. The only method of
investigation of the symbols would be, perhaps,
psychoanalysis.