Name at least two directors and two films connected with each movement

German Expressionism

Directors – Robert Wiene (1873 – 1938), Fritz Lang (1890 – 1976)

Films – Destiny (1921 – Fritz Lang), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920 – Robert Wiene)

Russian Constructivism

Directors – Lev Kuleshov (1899 – 1970), Dziga Vertov (1896 – 1954)

Films – Kino-Eye (1924 – Dziga Vertov), By the Law (1926 – Lev Kuleshov)

Explain the socio economic and political contexts which influenced each movement

Expressionism provided artists with the tools they needed to speak up about social issues and along with their distorted images, helped evoke emotions and ideas within others. They viewed the Industrial Revolution as alienating and dehumanizing. They also disliked 19th-century impressionism. A genre that focused on colour and “pretty” works of art with no depth.

Constructivism in Film examines the radical experiments of early Soviet filmmakers, with special emphasis on the relationship of Constructivist film to contemporary literature, painting, architecture and design. The constructivists believed art should directly reflect the modern industrial world.