Silent film

• German expressionism overview

  • Modernist artistic movement which features a number of highly regarded German films released between 1919-1929
  • Response to the horrors of WW1 and the ensuing economic depression of Germany
  • These films portrayed a dark, twisted paranoid world, often reflecting the twisted inner-psychology of the protagonists
• Production context

  • Studio head William Fox wanted to make a prestige film for Fox Studios
  • Fox looked to Germany to create his masterpiece. He was impressed by Murnau's international hit The Last Laugh and German Expressionist films were also admired by Hollywood studios and filmmakers for their artistry
• Production context

  • Murnau was hailed as a genius by William Fox and was given complete creative freedom and a higher budget to produce elaborate sets and special effects
  • At the time, Sunrise failed to recoup its costs. Film critics found the film contradictory and it was only released a few days before the first 'talkie', which took a lot of publicity
• Melodrama plot elements

  1. Provocation - whatever provokes the villain to do evil to the hero
  2. Pangs - the pains that the hero, heroine and other good characters suffer through because of the villain's evil
  3. Penalty - the villain gets the punishment that he or she deserves
• Realist context

  • Kammerspiel film
  • Meoldrama
• Expressive context

  • German expressionism