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1920s

German Expressionism

Distorted sets, stark shadows and tormented psychology turn the screen into a nightmare of the mind.

After the First World War, German studios made films in which the world is bent by the mind of its characters. Sets are painted with slanting walls and impossible shadows, actors move in stylised, almost trance-like ways, and the stories turn on madness, fear and authority. The movement began with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1920 and reached an international audience through Murnau's Nosferatu and Lang's Metropolis. When Hollywood hired many of its directors, cameramen and designers in the late 1920s, its look moved into horror films, thrillers and later film noir.

Where
Germany, mostly the UFA studios in Berlin
When
1920 to about 1930
Key figures
Robert Wiene, F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Paul Wegener, Paul Leni, G.W. Pabst
Landmark films
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Nosferatu (1922), Metropolis (1927), The Golem (1920)
Legacy
Shaped horror, film noir and the visual style of directors from Hitchcock to Tim Burton

What to look for

  • Distorted, painted sets and sharp light-and-shadow contrast
  • Exaggerated, stylised acting
  • Subjects of madness, doubles, tyrants and the uncanny

Famous Directors

Robert WieneGermanyF.W. MurnauGermanyFritz LangGermanyPaul WegenerGermanyPaul LeniGermany / USAG.W. PabstAustriaRobert SiodmakGermany / USA

Top films · 61 films

  1. M 1931 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 8.3
  2. Metropolis 1927 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 8.2
  3. Sunrise 1927 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.1
  4. Faust 1926 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.1
  5. The Last Laugh 1924 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.0
  6. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 8.0
  7. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1933 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.9
  8. The Big Heat 1953 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.9
  9. Nosferatu 1922 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.8
  10. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler 1922 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.8
  11. Fury 1936 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.8
  12. Diary of a Lost Girl 1929 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.8
  13. City Girl 1930 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.7
  14. Scarlet Street 1945 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.7
  15. Pandora's Box 1929 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.7
  16. The Killers 1946 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.7
  17. Destiny 1921 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.6
  18. The Woman in the Window 1944 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.6
  19. The Man Who Laughs 1928 · Paul Leni · IMDb 7.6
  20. Spies 1928 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.5
  21. Kameradschaft 1931 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.5
  22. Hangmen Also Die! 1943 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.4
  23. Criss Cross 1949 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.4
  24. Woman in the Moon 1929 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.3
  25. Westfront 1918 1930 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.3
  26. The Spiral Staircase 1946 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.3
  27. You Only Live Once 1937 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.2
  28. The Golem: How He Came into the World 1920 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 7.2
  29. The Love of Jeanne Ney 1927 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.2
  30. The Threepenny Opera 1931 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.2
  31. The Last Ten Days 1955 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.2
  32. People on Sunday 1930 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  33. Phantom Lady 1944 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  34. Cry of the City 1948 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  35. Tartuffe 1925 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.1
  36. Man Hunt 1941 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.1
  37. Human Desire 1954 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.1
  38. The Cat and the Canary 1927 · Paul Leni · IMDb 7.1
  39. The Crimson Pirate 1952 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.1
  40. The Hands of Orlac 1924 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 7.0
  41. The Joyless Street 1925 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.0
  42. The Dark Mirror 1946 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.0
  43. While the City Sleeps 1956 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.9
  44. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 1956 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.9
  45. Rancho Notorious 1952 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.8
  46. The Last Warning 1929 · Paul Leni · IMDb 6.8
  47. Secrets of a Soul 1926 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 6.8
  48. Phantom 1922 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 6.7
  49. The Golem 1915 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 6.7
  50. The Rats 1955 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.7
  51. Waxworks 1924 · Paul Leni · IMDb 6.5
  52. Don Quixote 1933 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 6.5
  53. The Student of Prague 1913 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 6.4
  54. I.N.R.I. 1923 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 6.2
  55. The Haunted Castle (1921) 1921 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 6.1
  56. Genuine 1920 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 5.9
  57. Four Devils 1928 · F.W. Murnau
  58. Raskolnikov 1923 · Robert Wiene
  59. Die Nibelungen 1924 · Fritz Lang
  60. The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse 1960 · Fritz Lang
  61. Tabu 1931 · F.W. Murnau