Cat People (1942)

An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland’s fables if they are intimate together.

The Lodger (1944)

A landlord is forced to take in a lodger due to financial hardship. He seems like a nice young man, but they suspect him of being Jack The Ripper because of some mysterious, suspicious habits, and fears for her beautiful actress niece who lives with them.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

A bogus preacher marries an outlaw’s gullible widow in search of the man’s hidden loot. The widow’s children are reluctant to divulge details of their father’s money that he’d stolen in a robbery.

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/fae6f703-badd-4778-bd85-1ecd5a51ea10

Warning Shadows (1923)

An illusionist turns a shadowy puppet show into a violent premonition of what might occur if the wife of a jealous German baron continues to flirt with dinner guests.

Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)

A criminal mastermind, Dr Mabuse, collects a fortune using unethical and murderous means, henchmen, disguises and hypnoses. But a resolute cop, is determined to jail him.

Genuine (1920)

Director Wiene created Genuine as a follow-up to his massively successful film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, using the same writer and cinematographer who had worked on the earlier film. Genuine is an ancient and cruel divinity, who seduces men and induce them to kill as a proof of love.

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/2501c254-7858-4a41-b6b7-f09459288b03

The UFA was a German motion picture company founded in December 1917. It was located in Berlin and was the best equipped and most modern in the world. Its purpose originally was to promote German culture and WW1 propaganda. In 1923, the studio acquired one of the worlds largest production facilities, however, due to the increasing popularity the UFA suffered financial crisis, compelling the studio to produce mostly inexpensive documentary films.

On the brink of financial ruin the company was bought by Alfred Hugenberg in 1927. The resulting National Socialist films proved popular in Germany, however, rising production costs and shrinking international market led to large deficits.

The government purchased the company in 1937 and the content was highly controlled but after the second world war ended in 1945, a new company was launched in 1956 that eventually went bankrupt, and has now been incorporated into other companies.

The UFA was a movie company within Germany which was founded in December 1917. It was mainly used for propaganda for WW1 and to promote German Culture. During the 1930’s and 40’s it was used for Nazi propaganda due to it being purchased by Alfred Hugenberg in 1927, these films proved very popular within Germany at this time however internationally they were received very poorly due to the policies being shown within the films.

The government purchased the company from Alfred in 1937 and went bankrupt in 1945, was started up again in 1956 and declared bankruptcy again and so was absorbed into other companies and that is how the UFA still exists

Identify at least one other film which appears to have been influenced by the visual style of classic German Expressionist Cinema.

Corpse Bride appears to have been heavily inspired by German Expressionist Cinema, taking place in a vivid and distortedly crafted world. The films content is surreal and gothic revolving around an unnatural reality with a bizarre plot of Victor accidentally marrying a deceased, murdered, Emily.

Angles, lighting/shadows:

The film uses Dutch angles which was common within German Expressionist films in order to depict psychological tension/uneasiness.

German Expressionism also combines warm and cool lights, contrasting the two to achieve a dramatic effect as seen in the film when Victor’s first taken to the underworld.

The film also uses shadows which were common within Expressionist films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Makeup:

Furthermore, the characters appear unnatural, being stylised to reject naturalism, with their appearance’s exaggerated making them appear disfigured/abnormal.

Setting:

The setting in which the story takes place is reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as it establishes a gothic mood with its use of gothic architecture.