Film Movements Overview of Some Famous Movements in

1
Film Movements
2
Overview of Some Famous Movements in Filmmaking

• German Expressionism (1920s)
• Italian Neorealism (1943-1952)
• French New Wave (mostly 1958 1964, somewhat
  into the 1970s)
• Dogme 95 (1995)

3
German Expressionism

• German Expressionism, also referred to as
  Expressionism in filmmaking, developed in Germany
  (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. During the
  period of recovery following World War I, the
  German film industry was booming, but because of
  the hard economic times filmmakers found it
  difficult to create movies that could compare
  with the lush, extravagant features coming from
  Hollywood. The filmmakers of the German UFA
  studio developed their own style, by using
  symbolism and mise en scène to insert mood and
  deeper meaning into a movie.

4
German Expressionism

• Characteristics
• highly symbolic and deliberately surrealistic
  portrayals
• plots and stories of the Expressionist films
  often dealt with madness, insanity, betrayal, and
  other "intellectual" topics (as opposed to
  standard action-adventure and romantic films)
• Horror films and film noir were influenced by
  Expressionism

5
Italian Neorealism

• Characteristics
• Lasted from 1943-1952
• stories set amongst the poor and working class
• filmed in long takes on location, usually
  exteriors, not in studios
• frequently using nonprofessional actors for
  secondary and sometimes primary roles
• Avoidance of neatly plotted stories in favor of
  loose structure that evolves organically
• A documentary visual style
• Use of conversational speech, not literary
  dialogue
• Avoidance of artifice in editing, camerawork and
  lighting in favor of a simple, style-less style

6
Italian Neorealism

• Main works
• Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943)
• Roma, città aperta (Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
• Sciuscià (Vittorio De Sica, 1946)
• Paisà (Rossellini, 1946)
• Germania anno zero (Rossellini, 1948)
• Ladri di biciclette (De Sica, 1948)
• La Terra trema (Visconti, 1948)
• Stromboli (Rossellini, 1950)
• Umberto D. (De Sica, 1952)

7
French New Wave

• a blanket term coined by critics for a group of
  French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s
• influenced (in part) by Italian Neorealism.
• Although never a formally organized movement, the
  New Wave filmmakers were linked by their
  self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic
  form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm.
• Many also engaged in their work with the social
  and political upheavals of the era, making their
  radical experiments with editing, visual style,
  and narrative part of a general break with the
  conservative paradigm.

8
French New Wave

• Characteristics
• French New Wave was in style roughly between
  1958 - 1964, although popular New Wave work
  existed as late as 1973.
• Directors encouraged actors to improvise
• Jump cuts
• Long tracking shots many minutes long in some
  cases
• Existential themes, such as the stressing of the
  individual and the acceptance of the absurdity of
  human existence.
• Shot on location in the streets, not in studios

9
Dogme 95

• Characteristics
• Filming must be done on location. Props and sets
  must not be brought in (if a particular prop is
  necessary for the story, a location must be
  chosen where this prop is to be found).
• The sound must never be produced apart from the
  images or vice versa. (Music must not be used
  unless it occurs where the scene is being
  filmed).
• The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any
  movement or immobility attainable in the hand is
  permitted. (The film must not take place where
  the camera is standing filming must take place
  where the action takes place.)

10
Dogme 95

• The film must be in color. Special lighting is
  not acceptable. (If there is too little light for
  exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp
  be attached to the camera).
• Optical work and filters are forbidden.
• The film must not contain superficial action.
  (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
• Temporal and geographical alienation are
  forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes
  place here and now.)

11
Dogme 95

• Genre movies are not acceptable.
• The final picture must be transferred to the
  Academy 35mm film, with an aspect ratio of 43,
  that is, not widescreen. (Originally, the
  requirement was that the film had to be filmed on
  Academy 35mm film, but the rule was relaxed to
  allow low-budget productions.)
• The director must not be credited.