Expressionism in the Cinema

Product Description


One of the most visually striking traditions in cinema, for too long Expressionism has been a neglected critical category of research in film history and aesthetics. The fifteen essays in this anthology remedies this by revisiting key German films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922), and also provide original critical research into more obscure titles like Nerven (1919) and The Phantom Carriage (1921), films that were produced in the silent and early sound era in countries ranging from France, Sweden and Hungary, to the United States and Mexico.

An innovative and wide-ranging collection, Expressionism in the Cinema re-canonizes the classical Expressionist aesthetic, extending the critical and historical discussion beyond pre-existing scholarship into comparative and interdisciplinary areas of film research that reach across national boundaries.


Review


'This wide-ranging collection reworks the canon of Expressionistic cinema―which means it goes beyond the handful of German titles likely familiar to film buffs. The book’s fifteen essays revisit key German films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Nosferatu (1922), and The Hands of Orlac (1924), and also provide new consideration of more obscure titles like Nerven (1919), The Phantom Carriage (1921) and other films produced outside Germany―notably in France, Sweden, Hungary, Austria and elsewhere. For me, the real eye opener is Rhodes’ contribution to the book, "Drakula halála(1921): The Cinema’s First Dracula." Yes, you read that right. There was a "Dracula film" before F. W. Murnau’s classic Nosferatu (1922), and before Tod Browning’s familiar Dracula (1931)…In his fascinating essay, Rhodes argues that Drakula halála beat Nosferatu to the punch. Or should I say, it got the first bite.' -- Thomas Gladysz,
The Huffington Post


'Expressionism in the Cinema is itself a production of variegated efforts. It is diverse. It is polytechnic. It ranges from the purely Expressionistic production to the margins of Expressionistic influence. It combines fine critical insights with imaginative intellectual linkages. In this manner, the authors do in fact achieve an authoritative appraisal of Expressionist cinema, both within and without Germany.' -- Andrew Thomas Croft, Forest Independent Primary Collegiate,
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television


‘Whoever reduced Expressionism to German silent cinema so far, will be positively surprised by the multifariously told colourful mixture of international texts.’,
35 millimeter Retro-Filmmagazin


Review


The essays in Brill and Rhodes’ Expressionism in the Cinema not only extend the scholarship on Expressionist films, though that, in itself, would be ample contribution. They also capture the essence―the imagery, the irony, the worldview―that animates these films, and create thoughtful connections to wider social and cultural processes.
Cynthia Miller, Emerson College


From the Back Cover


‘The essays in Brill and Rhodes’ Expressionism in the Cinema not only extend the scholarship on Expressionist films, though that, in itself, would be ample contribution. They also capture the essence - the imagery, the irony, the worldview - that animates these films, and create thoughtful connections to wider social and cultural processes.’ Cynthia Miller, Emerson College Boston One of the most visually striking traditions in cinema, for too long Expressionism has been a neglected critical category of research in film history and aesthetics. The fifteen essays in this anthology remedy this by revisiting key German films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) and also provide original critical research into more obscure titles like Nerven (1919) and The Phantom Carriage (1921), films that were produced in the silent and early sound era in countries ranging from France, Sweden and Hungary to the United States and Mexico. An innovative and wide-ranging collection, Expressio