German Expressionist Cinema: The World of Light and Shadow

Before Hollywood’s golden age, German expressionist film was arguably the most important cinematic movement in the medium’s history. These ‘symphonies of… iridescent movement’ of Weimar cinema provide some of cinema’s most iconic images, and its vivid contrasts and dark spaces constitute a major influence on Hollywood classics such as Citizen Kane (1941) and Sunset Boulevard (1950). This volume also offers insights into the technical and thematic developments of the Weimar film. Covering classics such as The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) as well as under-appreciated examples such as Asphalt (1929), this volume forms an essential introduction to one of cinema’s most historically important movements.