Late 19th centuryMoment of intense interest in the visualPanoramaMagic lantern show1889 – Eastman makes flexible film availableEdisonFilms the most popular performersNot a filmmaker, just trying to sell his cameraRife with intertextualitySuch as in “The Kiss” which recreated the final scene of a Broadway playOnce the kinetoscope was released Edison realized that not only men liked filmsThis also gave women a way to enter spaces they usually never saw – boxing ring, cock fightLumiere BrothersBegan work on a camera that could allow movies to be screenedThe CinematographeActualté: a topical film that records or represents current political and social affairsInventing cinema required capitalHighly competitivePeople had to work in teamsAlmost immediately others jockeying for market shareMany of these competitions played out through litigationCinema of attractionsDirect addressShows something (not telling a story)A series of displaysIn the early stages of cinema there was no concept of the director, rather the exhibitor controlled the shotsReading NotesMaxim OrcyOriginally appeared in a newspaper 1896It’s great to see people in love, but it’s all going to turn to pornLeaving our trace of existenceBefore the photograph, people left themselves behind through writing, name, objects, (cave) paintings,The EdisonsGermany and the German film industryProduced 2200 films between 1920-1929 (22 of these were German Expressionist films)From 1925-1930 German films constituted 67% of box office totalsRapid theater expansion in the 1920sInflation is so crazy that saving money isn’t worth it, so leisure is skyrocketingUfa Palast am Zoo61 million population, 40 million movie tickets purchased in one yearMore theaters, leads to more stuff on the screenThere was an audience for German filmsUfa is a studio of 1917Merged with a bunch of other companies so they are a huge powerhouseBut they don’t actually dominate production despite being the largest studioTheir structure allowed them to make expensive films but not necessarily box office hitsKammerspiel (Domestic Dramas)The Last Laugh (F.W. Murnau) delves into character psychology, the rest of the world he lives in isn’t necessarily as distorted as in expressionist filmsThere is some overlap between these and the expressionistDrunk dream sequenceHis perspecitive is off kilter – your experience in the world is drunkThere are irises used – we get blinders much like he hasCamera movement is spinning, we move a lot without really making any spcial changePastiche in Mean StreetsSometimes we see his POV sometimes we see himExpressionism: Styles, Themes, and the Cabinet of Dr. CaligariInfluences film noirHigh contrast, theatrical lightingVery surreal imageryLots of jagged edges, harsh contrast, lots of shapesA reaction to impressionism and naturalismA reaction to 19th century romanticismNature is violent, focus on emotions and individualism in romanticism – illumination of your inner genius conveying something beyond the real worldMultiple manifestationsTwo main movementsAbout a type of expression, not a specific mediumSaid to emerge in film around 1913Caligari is THE expressionist filmFilms share commonalitiesDecidedly distorted and not realistDoubling of spaces, fantastical figures, flatness of space, actors becoming one with the set, minimal and stylized intertitlesFantasy is important to early film – there’s something pretty terrifying about filmTheories:Lotte Eisner & Sigfried KracauerReflect the chaos of the political situation of Germnay post WWI and predicted the future in exposing the tortured soul of the GermansFrom the GolemFantasy was a particularly important elementSet in the Jewish ghetto of medieval PraguePaul Wegener – director – convinced the camera was the best way to show the fantasticThe actors are supposed to become part of their surroundingsHis hair and his face become sort of concreteThe Student of PragueImpoverished grad student in love with a wealthy woman, makes a deal with a devil figure – 6000 gold pieces for everything that’s in his room. The devil takes his reflectionMetropolisSci fi film of epic proportionsThe end of the expressionist periodMassive sets, thousands of extras, effectsEnds up a disasterCity controlled by a wealthy industrialist, most people work under the cityThe Cabinet of Doctor CaligaryConrad VeetCredited with inventing a sort of physical actingAngular body, lanky physiqueMade some pro-semetic films outside of Germany, ultimately ended his career in HollywoodLaw degree, PhD, and theater before moving into filmStarted working as a screenwriterWegenerFilm as an art formVery interested in fantasyPerspective and POV in Dr. CaligaryThe film itself is a flashback, so it’s all from Francis’s point of viewSo we find out that he’s an unreliable narrator at the endThe subjectivity is in your face though, which arguably makes it LESS STYLIZED than a mainstream film like When Harry Met SallyInventions and Attractions 08/26/2013Late 19th century -Moment of intense interest in the visual oPanoramaoMagic lantern show -1889 – Eastman makes flexible film available Edison-Films the most popular performers -Not a filmmaker, just trying to sell his camera-Rife with intertextuality oSuch as in “The Kiss” which recreated the final scene of a Broadway play -Once the kinetoscope was released Edison realized that not only men liked films oThis also gave women a way to enter spaces they usually never saw – boxing ring, cock fight Lumiere Brothers -Began work on a camera that could allow movies to be screened -The Cinematographe-Actualté: a topical film that records or represents current political and social affairsInventing cinema required capital -Highly competitive-People had to work in teams -Almost immediately others jockeying for market share -Many of these competitions played out through litigation Cinema of attractions -Direct address-Shows something (not telling a story) -A series of displaysIn the early stages of cinema there was no concept of the director, rather the exhibitor controlled the shots Reading Notes -Maxim Orcy oOriginally appeared in a newspaper 1896 oIt’s great to see people in love, but it’s all going to turn to porn oLeaving our trace of existence Before the photograph, people left themselves behind through writing, name, objects, (cave) paintings, -The Edisons oFilm and Art 08/26/2013Germany