Early German Cinema
How important was Weimar Cinema to the Development of the German Film Industry?
The cinema of the early 20th century saw a vast rise in popularity of the film industry across the world and especially so in Germany after the early development of moving pictures had surfaced at the very end of the 19th century. One of the most significant influences in the film industry was of course the advancement of technology. The reason for this is that Thomas Edison invented his “Kinetoscope” in 1891 and thus gave birth to the first moving picture system, which could be used to display a series of photographs in rapid succession and give the illusion of movement. I will discuss this in more detail as well as the films Metropolis by Fritz Lang, and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari by Robert Wiene. Both of these films have had notable influence on other films in the industry and the way directors have come to involve an audience and can be made to feel something about the images before them. I will analyse these individual films in particular due to the great influence they have had in a variety of areas in the film industry. I will specifically look at each film in terms of their cinematography, themes and how they have influenced others in the film industry. Before I look at these films however, I will first chart the progress and spread of cinema in Germany in the early 20th century and study how the film industry leapt from being a series of travelling “peepshows”, to small rooms dedicated entirely to the showing of these new and exciting films, practically overnight. Finally, I shall explore some of the prominent impacts and success of some of the major film production companies in Germany at the time have had.
Technology can be considered by many to be the single most important thing when talking about how the film industry has developed and evolved over time. This is quite simply because without the technology there would be no industry at all. Since the invention of
The cinema of the early 20th century saw a vast rise in popularity of the film industry across the world and especially so in Germany after the early development of moving pictures had surfaced at the very end of the 19th century. One of the most significant influences in the film industry was of course the advancement of technology. The reason for this is that Thomas Edison invented his “Kinetoscope” in 1891 and thus gave birth to the first moving picture system, which could be used to display a series of photographs in rapid succession and give the illusion of movement. I will discuss this in more detail as well as the films Metropolis by Fritz Lang, and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari by Robert Wiene. Both of these films have had notable influence on other films in the industry and the way directors have come to involve an audience and can be made to feel something about the images before them. I will analyse these individual films in particular due to the great influence they have had in a variety of areas in the film industry. I will specifically look at each film in terms of their cinematography, themes and how they have influenced others in the film industry. Before I look at these films however, I will first chart the progress and spread of cinema in Germany in the early 20th century and study how the film industry leapt from being a series of travelling “peepshows”, to small rooms dedicated entirely to the showing of these new and exciting films, practically overnight. Finally, I shall explore some of the prominent impacts and success of some of the major film production companies in Germany at the time have had.
Technology can be considered by many to be the single most important thing when talking about how the film industry has developed and evolved over time. This is quite simply because without the technology there would be no industry at all. Since the invention of