Expressions in Horror: Dr Caligari and Nosferatu Essay

Two of the earliest illustrations of Ger gay Expressionism in film, The cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu atomic number 18 classics remembered as some of the beat nuisance films of all time. These ii films, directed by Robert Wiene and F. W. Murnau respectively, sh atomic number 18 s perpetuallyal key aspects in habitual, musical composition still retaining their knowledge uniqueness that has left mickle debating which film is paramount, even nearly a speed of light after their releases. This paper volition examine these similarities and differences, and will seek address them in light of the German Expressionist faeces they each(prenominal) resonate.The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu some(prenominal) tell the story of a young German mans subjection to the madness of a dark overlord with seemingly supernatural powers. In Caligari, a young man named Cesare, who is a sleepwalker (or sleep walker) is controlled by the powers of a crazy doctor, who orders him t o eat innocent victims. In Nosferatu, a young man named Thomas Harker is sent to sell property to keep down Dracula, a vampire who comes to haunt his life and town after becoming obsessed with Hutters married woman, Nina.though while these films share some key components in common, no one could ever call the two films the same. Robert Wienes The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is defined by the films stage- care quality, collect mostly to the unique set it is shot on. An example of German Expressionism, the director establishs a world of simple(a) lines, sharp angles, darkness, and shadows bringing the viewer into a phantasmagoric world. Unnaturally angled ho hires line crooked cobblestone roads. Misshapen rooms contain demented furniture. Rooftops are acutely angled to the sides.It is radically warped scenery, and helps farm a genuine expressionist set. F. W Murnaus Nosferatu, however, is shot in real world environments, however employs shadows to make small rooms appear big the n life, adding suspense and a sprightliness of supernaturalism to the movie. The numberings castle perhaps shell conveys the expressionistic form, with its gothic architecture and abundance of shadow. Or, recrudesce still, the sum up himself embodies the expressionist form, with his exaggerated features. His ears, chin and dentition are all pointed, and his stature is unique, asymmetrical and precise thin of frame.His eyes, much like Wienes Cesare, are darkly shaded, and his nails are long giving him a distinctly monster like quality. Both films successfully impress a dark mood by exaggerating the films dark aesthetic, drawing viewers into the mindscape of German Expressionism. The films also share in common a sleepwalking theme, and perhaps it was just Murnau remunerative homage to Wienes Caligari. Partway through Nosferatu, Harkers wife Nina is described as being in a sleepwalking trance, specifically calling it somnambulistic.In fact, the section Nina looks surprisingl y similar to how the character Jane looks in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I dont believe it is in any case extreme to suggest that perhaps Marnau played off certain motifs created by Wiene in wanting to create a horror film. However, Marnaus depiction of Count Dracula is unsettling to this day, and many still believe that it trunk the most terrifying portrayal of the character ever on film, perhaps only second to the iconic Dracula played by Bela Lugosi. Murnau certainly created his own sort of horror, so it could not be suggested Nosferatu is unoriginal.The theatrical role of shadows, especially when it comes to scenes involving the Count, create a horrifying call back on the screen. While having never seen Nosferatu before deciding to write this paper, I immediately recognized a scene towards the end of the film, when the Count ascended a staircase to Ninas room. Perhaps one of the most iconic scenes of early horror films, you see the shadow of the Count as he makes his clim b up the staircase, hunched form, long fingernails, offsetting movement and all. It is his shadow you see come up the steps, never his actual form, which may possibly lead story at a metaphor.The German Expressionist movement was born out of the anguish following the considerable War and before the birth of Hilters Germany. Perhaps, as suggested by James Franklin in The Shadow in Early German Cinema, shadows acted as a sort of visual metaphor for evil or for the dark and threatening forces that allegedly lurked in the pre-Hitler German psyche or soul . Both films use music to add suspense to the plot, however each film approaches its use in fraction ways. Caligari is distinctively jazzy in nature, where as Nosferatu is to a greater extent classical. Both films, however, create music that mirrors and changes with the action on the screen.In Nosferatu, music creates a terrifying feel to the movie, shaping the most horrific scenes remembered from the film. There are several instanc es throughout the film where silence is at sea by a quite sound, almost like a heartbeat in the background, yet more off putting. While I am in no position to argue which film is the better, some(prenominal) have come to be the best examples of horror films to come out of this time period. Classic examples of German Expressionism at work, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu play with the presence of shadow, the deformation of nature, and the imaginations of audiences, even today.