The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt

The Golden Age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari onwards the principal films of this period were characterized by two influences: literary Expressionism, and the innovations of the theatre directors of this period, in particular Max Reinhardt. This book demonstrates the connection between German Romanticism and the cinema through Expressionist writings. It discusses the influence of the theatre: the handling of crowds; the use of different levels, and of selective lighting on a predominately dark stage; the reliance on formalized gesture; the innovation of the intimate theatre. Against this background the principal films of the period are examined in detail. The author explains the key critical concepts of the time, and surveys not only the work of the great directors, such as Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau, but also the contribution of their writers, cameramen, and designers. As The Times Literary Supplement wrote, 'Mme. Eisner is first and foremost a film critic, and one of the best in the world. She has all the necessary gifts.' And it described the original French edition of this book as 'one of the very few classics of writing on the film and arguably the best book on the cinema yet written.'

Table of Contents:
Foreword to the English language edition  1 The Predisposition towards Expressionism  2 The Beginnings of the Expressionist Film  The Cabinet of Dr Caligari; Genuine; Von Morgens bis Mitternachts; Torgus; Raskolnikow 3 The Spell of Light: the Influence of Max Reinhardt  The Student of Prague (1913); Max Reinhardt; The Go/em (1920); Die Chronik Pon Grieshuus; Vanina; Carl Boese on the special effects for The Go/em 4 Lubitsch and the Costume Film  !vfadame Dubarry; Sumurun; Anna Boleyn; Danton; Othello; Pola Negri 5 The Stylized Fantastic  Der Miide Tod 6 The Symphonies of Horror  Nosferatu; the demoniac bourgeois; the sway of the Doppelgiinger 7 'Decorative· Expressionism  Waxworks; the concept of space; the obsession with corridors and staircases; Paul Leni on set designing 8 The World of Shadows and Mirrors  Warning Shadows; the Expressionist actor 9 Studio Architecture and Landscape  Die Nibelungen; geometric grouping 10 The Expressionist Debut of a 'Realistic' Director  Der Schatz 11 Kammerspielfilm and Stimmung  Hintertreppe; Scherben; Sylvester; Paul Czinner; Elisabeth Bergner; Stimmung 12 Murnau and the Kammerspielfilm  The Last Laugh; the mobile camera 13 The Handling of Crowds  Metropolis; the influence of the Expressionist choruses and Piscator 14 The Fritz Lang Thriller  Die Spinnen; Dr Mabuse der Spieler; Spione; Die Frau im Mond 15 Tragedies of the Street  Die Strasse; The joyless Street; Asta Nielsen; Dirnentragiidie; the Absolute film; Asphalt 16 The Evolution of the Costume Film  Tartuffe 17 The Eye of the Camera in E.A. Dupont  Das Alte Gesetz; Variety 18 The Climax of the Chiaroscuro  Faust 19 Pabst and the Miracle of Louise Brooks  Pandora's Box; Diary of a Lost Girl; Censorship and Pabst's realism 20 The Decline of the German Film  The coming of sound; Die Dreigroschenoper; M; Das Testament des Dr Mabuse; Miidchen in Uniform; the Ufa style; Leni Riefenstahl; the post-Nazi era Appendix: The Dreigroschenoper Lawsuit Principal Works Mentioned in the Text Selective Filmography, 1913-33 Index Sources of Illustrations

About the Author :
Film critic, poet, and historian Lotte H. Eisner (1896-1983) was Chief Archivist for the French Cinematheque and a member of the French Legion d'honneur.

Review :
"A sumptuous meal for those interested in the dark and brooding days of German cinema." "Arguably one of the best books on cinema yet written."