The UFA was founded in December 1917 during World War I as part of an effort to create greater competition against foreign films and as part of the German Empire’s propaganda machine. However after the war the company focused on popular genres. (e.g. Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.”)
In 1921 UFA merged with Decla-Bioscop AG, Germany’s second largest film company. Decla was the company that started the era of “expressionist” film in 1919 with The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.
Following a financial crisis, UFA is taken over in 1927 by the Scherl Group- Alfred Hugenberg.
In 2008 there’s the launch of UFA Cinema with UFA once again producing feature films.
Between the years 1918 and 1933, Germany were trying to recover from the damages of WWI, such as having to pay back reparations as agreed in the Treaty of Versailles. This economic disruption ultimately produced an expressionist style in German film-making. These films often having unrealistic sets and featuring exaggerated acting techniques. The shortage of funding meant these atmospheric films had to be made on small sets with low budgets.
The sets and style of the films often reflected societies feelings of anxiety caused by WWI. Social, political and cultural factors played a huge role in the shaping of German Expressionism as a movement. It was built from discontent and the rejection of modernity, rather than technique or subject matter.
Artists often borrowed (stylistically) from what they saw, such as, including geometric ornamentation and shapes, decorative patterning and shadows.
Expressionist artists often employed swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes in the depiction of their subjects. These techniques were meant to convey the emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world.
Overall, the German Expressionists style was notable for its harshness, boldness, and visual intensity.
They used jagged and distorted lines, rough and rapid brushwork and jarring colours to depict street scenes and subjects in crowded and agitated atmospheres. The art usually captures the inner turmoil of the artist or the subject being imagined, forming an emotionally charged objective nature in which the subject may view the world through.
The Weimar Republic was the German government from 1919 to 1933. The Chancellor of the time, Heinrich Brüning, unable to solve the country’s economic problems, promoted a shift towards a rightist dictatorship by ignoring the Reichstag, or German Parliament, and governing by presidential decree.
Economy: the Weimar Republic was troubled by post-war economic problems as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial reparations, disarm their military, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas colonies. These reparations sent the early Weimar republic into an age of hyperinflation, with the working class being effected most heavily. However, the republic’s economic state had recovered considerably by the late 1920s, allowing the republic to gain authoritarian control and greater power over the German people.
Social: some aspects of German society were said to flourish during the Weimar Republic, with a surge in modernist art, music, theatre, design, dance and film. The traditionalist and constraining views of the 19th century were torn down, allowing creative experimentation to grow rapidly.
Political: the Weimar Republic faced major political instability as a result of the constitutional regulations of the time allowing the democratic decisions of the Reichstag to be overruled by the president. The moderate socialist leaders also faced criticism from both the ‘radical’ left-wing, as they were viewed as not doing enough to prevent against another war, and also by the conservatives who disagreed with their liberal policies. This naturally caused much confusion in German society as of the conflicting ideas which saturated the political landscape of the time.
Identify at least one other film which appear to have been influenced by the visual style of classic German Expressionist Cinema (illustrate and briefly explain).
German Expressionism is seen in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990). The film incorporates deep shadows, unrealistic and distorted sets and ghostly looking characters which represents the German Expressionist style and genre. The film expresses the psychological turmoil of the characters in terms of the the way they are presented to the audience through their looks, personalities and behaviours. The exaggerated sets create a world of fantasy which is far from the truth through vivid and surreal camera angles, architecture and colours.
‘Explain how the production context of Citizen Kane influenced the ‘look and feel’ of the end product.
To begin, Orson Welles was unusually given large autonomy when it came to directing Citizen Kane, and RKO in doing so allowed more a more experimental film.
An example of a Low Angle in Citizen Kane.
This relative freedom given to Welles by RKO allowed for experimental shots: for example low angles that showcased the power dynamic of characters, that required equipment that would more commonly be hidden on ceilings to be hidden due to the visibility of the ceiling overhead.
Task 2:
Choose your favourite scene in the Film and why this is the case.
A shot from a Scene where Jerry Thompson explores Mr. Bernstein’s archives.
My favourite scene from Citizen Kane is where Jerry Thompson goes to look at Mr Bernstein’s Archives to find any memoirs about Kane.
This is because of the intense chiaroscuro lighting used, as well as the silhouettes of characters inferring their mystery or perhaps Kane’s mystery. The shot is structured in a way that makes it almost symmetrical, and plays into a theme of power and organisation.
As well, Welles’ use of moving the camera into the room through a large vault door adds to the intrigue of the scene- and pits the viewer into believe they are getting insight into a very secret chamber.
Task 3: Why do you think Citizen Kane is cited by many critics as the ‘best film of all time’?
Pre-Citizen Kane cinema was very static. There were the odd tracking shots, and extreme angles; but innovation in Cinema prior focused more on Mise-en-scene, plot and technology. Orson Welles’ approach to Citizen Kane was to reinvent the techniques of cinematography: in shot angles & staging, lighting as well as tracking & deep focus.
Shot angles & staging became a technique to represent the relationships and dynamics between characters. It is used often throughout Citizen Kane, and the shot shown from the scene where Kane is sent off as a child; it shows the division between the Mother and Father, whilst highlighting the relative neglect Kane, (seen in the back), is experiencing as a child. Throughout the film, this technique is used again & again, especially to highlight Kane’s power and ambition in comparison to other characters.
Lighting is used in Citizen Kane in order to imply emotion & intrigue onto characters. Take the shot above of Mrs Kane, where the chiaroscuro of the light hitting half her face in contrast to the shadow of Kane on the other. This shows inner-conflict on Mrs Kane’s behalf, and highlights the power Kane has as well. Repeatedly, Welles’ uses lighting to imply meanings, rather than just writing down his intentions in a script- a technique used widely in cinema today, but revolutionary for its time.
Lastly, I have grouped tracking & deep focus as one, due to the fact that Welles pairs these two shot types often. He does this most strikingly in the ‘Archives’ scene, where the vault door opens & the camera moves into a dark room looking straight down to the opposite wall. These two shot types are used throughout Citizen Kane to impose grandeur & importance to buildings & people.
Overall, it is clear to see that the use of shot angle & staging, lighting, tracking & deep focus helped Citizen Kane become a success and be labelled ‘The Greatest Movie ever Made’, due to its influence on the wider cinematographic world. Here, cinematography is secondary only to dialogue in furthering plot, and this is shared by most movies post 1941 due to the films influence on cinema as part of its success.
Many of Tim Burton’s films appear to be inspired by German expressionism, including his film Alice in Wonderland, which mirrors The Cabinet of Dr Caligari in many ways.
The Queen of Heart’s makeup mirrors that of Jane’s from Dr Caligari, both with the lipstick shape and the extreme eyeshadow and pale face.
This type of makeup is also present with the Mad Hatter’s character with the extreme eyeshadow and pale complexion also shown through Cesare’s character.
The costume of the mad hatter may also reflect Dr Caligari’s look, with the hairstyle, top hat and suit with a large bow tie.
Finally, the set design is similar as both sets are surreal and include unusual angles, which may be off putting for the audience.
They also both include similar black and white patterns in the set.
They also both included a similar unrealistic tall chair.
