International Film Styles: German and/or Soviet Cinema of the 1920s

Past Question with a sample Plan

Discuss characteristic features of casting and/or performance, exploring how far these features contribute the overall effect of the films you have studied. [35]

Plan

Intro - German and Soviet Cinema: consider performance as important in both contexts

  1. Weimar cinema context – war trauma, expressionism, instability etc
  1. Influences of the above on performance style. Consider expressionism and the use of stylisation and heightened emotion. Link this to the set design and lighting as an integration of the overall visual impact. E.g. Cesare kidnaps Jane in Caligari: dagger shapes/softer shapes split by the diagonal to extend the character as part of the overall design. Orlok and the use of arches or doors in Nosferatu and the stylised movement to create a creepy atmosphere.
  1. Theme of insanity in Weimar films – link to the hysteria of the narrative and reflections of a society on the brink of collapse. Consider the performance of the insane characters in Caligari or Rotwang’s madness in Matropolis. Connect social stability with the mental stability of the characters: a feature of expressionist art.
  1. Duality and the doppelganger: performance differentiates this theme. Francis as hero/mad, Hutter as adventurer/trauma victim, Maria as angel/whore. Performance is key in presenting this theme. Give examples of how we differentiate these states through performance. E.g. Maria is gentle, flowing, subdued; False Maria is wild, expansive, quick.
  1. Soviet cinema context – A new Soviet art form. Propaganda value in presenting communist ideology. Note naturalistic settings and a linking naturalism in performance. Editing is key in creating expression.
  1. Performance in Mother = restrained, naturalistic. Link to character emotion expressed through the Kuleshov effect. E.g. the bucket scene
  1. Strike performance style = emphasises contrasts in bourgeoisie and proletariat. One as grotesque, individual, comic, ugly. Other as naturalistic, restrained. Consider how SE shifts his style to use typage in Potemkin.
  1. Vertov ditches performance altogether – ‘Life as it is’.
  1. Return to the question and consider performance as very important in the overall effect.