Brief introduction of expressionist films

It is unforgivable to learn art without understanding German expressionism. Although this genre is not long, it has widely influenced many artistic fields such as film, drama, music and art. Many energetic, emotional and socially responsible artists love and have tried expressionism. German expressionist film is a distinctive film genre, which introduces people's exploration of truth into people's hearts again, and then discovers social reality through individuals. 1. Expressionist artists have made great contributions to expanding the angle and means of expressing truth. They believe that art should oppose the description of reality, and the quality and strength of art come from the exposure of internal essence. Artists should go through the surface of daily experience and the environment of the outside world to reach the soul. All external appearances are temporary, accidental and unimportant. From this standpoint, expressionist writers oppose the superficiality of impressionism and the outdated imitation of life phenomena by naturalism. Their center is to grasp the abstract and eternal essence through concrete and sensible representations.

2. Expressionism has greatly expanded the expressive means of movies. Stylization of modeling and rendering of environment and atmosphere were later adopted by many mainstream films. Now, expressionism is almost inevitable in horror movies, crime movies and other film types. 1. Originated from painting: 190 1 In an art exhibition held in Paris in, a group of works by French painter Julian August Ervi attracted people's attention, and the general title of this group of oil paintings was expressionism. The appearance of photography makes painting go to the abstract road. Film, as a new technical form (generally not considered as real art at that time), also urgently needs to be recognized by the art world.

2. Surrealistic tendency: Expressionism is influenced by post-impressionism and opposes the traditional spatial law of central perspective left in impressionism. They are especially influenced by Gauguin's "barbaric painting school", emphasizing the intuitive feeling and subjective creation of their works, not seeking to copy reality, and not interested in rationality. They advocate the unreality and decorative beauty of primitive art, create an extremely pure spiritual world with strong colors and strong contrast between light and shade, and produce surrealism.

3. Philosophical origin: Nietzsche's subjective idealism philosophy, Freud's psychoanalysis and Steiner's mysticism.

4. Social background: Expressionist films reflected Germany at that time, but they also surpassed Germany at that time. The motivation of their thinking comes from the ruined reality of Germany after the defeat. The indifference of industrial society and the alienation of people shape their thinking posture-asking questions to the spiritual world of mankind. When expressing the themes of violence, murder and death, expressionist film directors tend to create a psychedelic, twisted and cold world in their films. It is human nature to be afraid of such a world, and it is also the wish of all mankind to escape from such a world and seek spiritual comfort. At that time, the German middle class was dissatisfied with reality, and the spirit of the times and the rebellion of society against libertarianism contributed to the development of expressionism. People who take part in the expressionist movement have great differences in political beliefs and philosophical views. There are anarchists, nihilists and socialists. Therefore, the expressionist movement has never been a completely unified and coordinated movement, and there are few consistent "pure" expressionists. But they also have some ideological tendencies and artistic characteristics, that is, they are dissatisfied with the current social situation and demand reform and "revolution." 1. Decline: After 1924, with the temporary improvement of German economy and relative stability of society, expressionist drama gradually declined. However, the achievements of its exploration and innovation have been preserved and continue to be used.

2. Controversy: The position of expressionism was controversial, and Lukacs regarded it as a decadent bourgeois school in the imperialist era, so he denied it; Brecht believes that expressionism exposes and shows all kinds of ills and insurmountable contradictions in capitalist society. Although we can't reveal the real root of these ills and find the correct way to overcome these contradictions, it can also shock people and inspire people to think. He also made valuable explorations and innovations in art.

3. Reservation as an art form: The style of German expressionism has far-reaching influence. From some Hollywood films in the silent film era to film noir in the1940s, others such as Hitchcock and orson welles were also influenced by expressionism. Until today, we can often see expressionism in our movies. In fact, expressionism has become a common technique or style in film art.