Stop-Motion Animation: A Brief History Part 2

By the second half of the 20th century, stop-motion animated films had become well established in the minds of movie enthusiasts and television audiences. This is primarily due to several talented individuals: Peter Lord and Nick Park of Aardman Animation, Tim Burton, and Henry Selick. Even current filmmakers continue to utilize stop-motion as an alternate to traditional animation and CGI, be they at the recently established studio, Laika, or independent filmmakers at home or abroad.

Aardman Popularizes the Medium

If you haven't heard of them, you have been living under a rock for twenty years.

Aardman is one of the oldest and most prolific stop-motion studios around today. Established in 1972 by Peter Lord and Nick Park, the company first attracted attention when it produced animated segments for the childern's programs Take Hart (1977-1983) and the Hartbeat (1984-1993). These segments featured a small Plasticine figure called Morph who would interact other inanimate objects and human actors on screen. Nick Park's "Creature Comforts" (1989) became the first Aardman production to win an oscar. The short was humorous take on the interviewing process, involving various animals complaining about their living conditions at a zoo. "Creature Comforts" later spawned a 27 episode series which ran on ITV from 2003 to 2006. "Stage Fright" (1997), a darker short about the relationship between the stage performer, Tiny, and Arnold, a arrogant, unpleasant movie actor, likewise met acclaim despite its more serious subject matter.

Aardman, however, is by far the most famous for creating its Wallace and Gromit series. Beginning in 1989 with "A Grand Day Out", the cheese loving inventor and his silent, stoic dog have gone on to appear in a total of four shorts (as of 2008) and starred in the feature film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). Shaun the Sheep, who first appeared in the short, "A Close Shave" (1995), got his own TV series beginning in 2007 and is also scheduled to get his own movie in 2015.

Although Aardman has recently produced two computer animated films, Flushed Away (2006, with Dreamworks Animation) and Arthur Christmas (2011, with Sony Pictures), the studio continues to use Plasticine as their main medium. Chicken Run (2000), an action comedy flick about a group of chickens attempting to escape a farm with the help of an American rooster, was the first of Aardman's stop-motion films. More recently, Peter Lord directed The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012) which was a modest success at the box office. Two other stop-motion films are currently in development, The Cat Burglars (director: Steve Box) and an untitled Nick Park project.

It's a POW flick starring chickens!

Tim Burton, Henry Selick, and Laika

Tim Burton making weird faces behind two characters you may recognize.

Even if his more recent films have not met as much critical praise as some of his earlier work, there is no denying the popularity of Tim Burton's uniquely gothic and often quirky productions. Burton began his career while working as an animator at Disney. The company was impressed with his work, particularly the stop-motion short, "Vincent" (1982), even though Tim Burton's style was in stark contrast to that of Disney. Thus, Burton was given more freedom to create larger projects. The result was the half hour live action Frankenweenie (1984), a black and white adaptation of the famous horror novel featuring a dog as the Frankenstein 'monster.' Unfortunately, Disney found the film too unorthodox for its standards and fired Tim Burton, fearing that the film would scare small childern. (This is extremely ironic since Disney would later commission Burton to remake Frankenweenie as a stop-motion film in 2012, after Burton had become quite famous.)

Burton's live action film, Beetlejuice (1989) utilized stop-motion special effects, although his more recent productions opted for CGI. Of course, Tim Burton remains famous for writing and producing The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Burton did not direct the film due to being preoccupied with Batman Returns (1992). Instead, the cult classic was directed by Tim Burton's long time friend and collaborator, Henry Selick. (Nightmare was also originally released under Touchstone Pictures because Disney was still fearful about offending sensitive parents.)  Selick also directed the live action stop-motion combo, James and the Giant Peach (1996), while at Disney. Although the film was not a runaway hit, it has received more recognition in recent years.

In 2005, the Oregon based stop-motion production company, Laika, was established. Its first major production was Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005), which met moderate success and was the studio's first Oscar nominated production. Henry Selick's Coraline (2009), which was based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, managed to rank third at the box office during its opening week. Coraline boasted a mastery of stop-motion special effects and CGI unseen in any animated film before. The movie spent over three years in production and was made with over 450 animators, 250 technical designers, and nearly 150 different sets.

Laika's most recent production, Paranorman (2012), was also shot in 3D and utilized 3D printers to speed up the animation process. Paranorman is a comedy horror film about a misfit boy. Norman's ability to talk with the dead allows him to save his town from the curse of a witch and some rampaging (but likewise misunderstood) zombies. Laika is currently working on The Boxtrolls, which is due to release next year on September 26th. Meanwhile, Henry Selick has returned to Disney and is set to direct an adaptation of The Graveyard Book and, possibly, an original project entitled The Shadow King. (Outside of Burton, Selick, and Laika, other recent American stop-motion productions include Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox [2009] and... the upcoming CGI and pop reference filled The Lego Movie [2014].)

If you haven't already, watch this movie!

 Stop-motion Overseas

Be it at at home or abroad, stop-motion animation doesn't show signs of disappearing anytime soon.

As with hand drawn animation, stop-motion is still commonly used by foreign and freelance animators, despite that major Hollywood players prefer to exclusively use CGI. Winter Days (2003) is perhaps the most ambitious and overlooked production made in the past ten years. The film was a collaboration between 35 animators living in several countries including Japan, Russia, Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands. Winter Days utilized several animation techniques alongside stop-motion and featured various shorts based upon different Japanese poems. Another Japanese film, The Book of the Dead (2005) was set in during the Nara period, when Buddhism was being introduced from China to Japan. It follows the life of Iratsume, a noblewoman, and her relationship with the religion.

Several productions have also been made throughout Europe and in other countries in recent years. The Legend of the Sky Kingdom (2003) was Zimbabwe's (and Africa's) first animated feature. Although having a somewhat cliche plot, the animation itself was fairly unique. Each puppet was made from trash that the creators happened to find lying around their facility. Peter and the Wolf (2006) was produced by a British-Polish-Norwegian team and, despite having a run time of only 33 minutes, has caught the attention of several movie festivals. Peter and the Wolf is a true classic, not only because it manages to adapt a timeless tale for modern audiences successfully, but also because it manages to convey so much emotion without using any dialogue. Also of note is $9.99 (2008) an Australian / Israeli collaboration about an unemployed man searching for the meaning of life. In 2009 alone, three foreign stop-motion were released. Toys in the Attic was a Czech attempt at recapturing the spirit of earlier Eastern European animation, whereas A Town Called Panic (Belgium / Luxemburg) was a more slapstick, carefree film about small plastic toys. Mary and Max's (Australia) subject matter, involving a shy man with Aspergers and his young pen-pal, shows just how diverse the animated medium can be.

This short film won an Academy Award (and, in my humble opinion, is superior to the Disney version).

The Most Iconic (and Beautiful) Animation Movie Posters

Over the years, collecting film posters has become an increasingly popular hobby. Original printings for certain posters of famous movies can go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. (In 2005, an original poster for Metropolis [1927]) broke all records by selling for $690,000 to... Leonardo DiCaprio!?) Prior to the 1990s, most posters and flyers were illustrated by hand. Today, posters are primarily made in Photoshop or similarly altered from movie stills or existing pictures, unless, of course, they are for animated films.

Inspired by similar lists on the internet, here are 25 of the most intriguing posters for famous animated films from over the years in chronological order. (Note: All posters listed here are from the original film release, not reissues, except for the Alice in Wonderland one. Foreign release posters may be listed, however. Also, the quality of the poster does not always reflect the quality of the film itself.)

1. Snow White (1937)

Although not the first animated feature ever made, Snow White was certainly the earliest cartoon film to reach international success. It was the also one of the earliest animated films to feature sound and the first to be released in full color. It continues to be a pop-culture icon today, and established the 'fairytale formula' that many Disney films still follow. Even before Snow White was released, Walt's name was already huge. How many other posters can get away with the tagline, "His first feature length production" ?   

2. Bambi (1942)

This lovely Italian poster is far more interesting than the typical over-glossy, saturated box art that Americans audiences have become so accustomed to seeing. Bambi was the most complexly animated film of its time and required a far greater attention to detail than any other Disney production before it. Live animals were even brought in to the studio to allow for more life-like drawings and a sense of realism. Because of this and the fact that that Bambi took the risk of killing off the protagonist's mother, it was reputably the film that Walt was most proud of. 

3. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Despite popular belief, Lewis Carroll's story was never supposed to be about drug use. (This mindset did not arise until, surprise, the counterculture movement of the late 1960s.) Ironically, this wonderfully colorful and 'trippy' poster seems to suggest it might though. Alice was one of Walt Disney's favorite children's books. He had long tried to make a film of it before, but did not get the chance until later into his career. Interestingly enough, Alice in Wonderland fared poorly when first released. Critics dismissed it for being too Americanized and it did modestly at the box office. Today, it is regarded as a classic due to its surreal and inspired imagery and art direction by Mary Blair. 

4. Watership Down (1978)

Watership Down is about as similar to a Disney film as Psycho is to Wizard of Oz. It remains a testament that just because something is animated, it is not necessarily for children. This flyer, depicting a rabbit caught in a snare, is made immortally haunting by the quote from the folktale of El-ahrairah. Watership Down can be best described as a allegorical epic dealing with themes such as tyranny, governmental corruption, and the violation of individual rights. (Yes, and it also happens to be about rabbits.) It remains a landmark in British film and is considered to be one of the greatest cartoons ever made.

5. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (1978) 

Even the most causal anime fan is aware of the works of the great Hayao Miyazaki, who is as just as famous as Disney or Pixar to those in the animation field. After years of working in television, Miyazaki released The Castle of Cagliostro, the first film he ever directed. Even though it is based off a popular franchise, Cagliostro manages to be very entertaining and is widely regarded as one of the best adventure films to ever be produced, receiving praise from the likes of Steven Spielberg and John Lasseter. This poster is hilariously nutty. It looks like something made for a Where's Waldo? book. Several things going on in the background, like a topless lady floating away in a bathtub, don't even happen in the movie!

6. The Lord of the Rings (1978)

First off, this movie is terrible. It's too bad that the poster was a lot cooler than the movie was itself! But the animated version of Lord of the Rings, for all of its shoddy animation and its poor adaptation of JR Tolkien's novels, remains an interesting piece of film history. Directed by Ralph Bashki, infamous for creating the first X-rated cartoon film Fritz the Cat (1972), this version of LOTR represented the growing field of animators who left the studio system to make films of their own. Many of the artists in the 1970s and 1980s in particular, were growing tired of the regime of Saturday mourning, uh... morning, cartoons being cheaply produced and sanitized for young childern.  

7. The Secret of NIMH (1982)

What an appropriately dark yet intriguing poster for the film debut of Don Bluth. The Secret of NIMH was created by Bluth and a small group of other frustrated ex-Disney animators. It was the first animated film since the late 1950s to have such complex and beautiful animation and featured a somewhat darker and more mature storyline for family audiences to boot. Although NIMH still remains overlooked by many average film goers, it was very important for preserving and reviving interest in creating fine animated features. Competition from Bluth's later films would force larger studios, like Disney, to pull their act together at by the end of the 1980s. 

8. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Nausicaa is another example of an intelligent film aimed for a somewhat older audience than what most American cartoons are accustomed to. Based of the first third of Miyazaki's epic manga of the same name, it is about a princess living in a post-apocalyptic world were people are constantly fighting amongst themselves and with the forces of nature. Nausicaa was so successful it allowed for the establishment of Studio Ghibli, now world famous for its high quality anime films. This poster is highly valued among avid collectors, as it was drawn by Miyazaki himself in vivid watercolors.   

9. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Speaking of Studio Ghibli, the first film to be released by the studio was Laputa: Castle in Sky. Loosely based off his TV series Future Boy Conan, Miyazaki directed a wonderfully imaginative steam-punk style fantasy about a girl with a mysterious crystal necklace being pursued by the military and a gang of air pirates. Although not initially a hit, Laputa has become a beloved film ever since Miyazaki grudgingly gave into merchandising his characters after the release of Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). The best thing about this poster? Its usage of perspective and complimentary colors. 

10. Akira (1988)

Akira is sometimes considered to be the first modern anime by certain people, but this is common misconception by western fans. (The first, in fact, was Horus: Prince of the Sun made twenty years earlier.) Akira was, however, the first mature anime to be widely successful with American audiences (and the first major anime to gain widespread attention overseas since the late 1960s- early 1970s). A very violent and unsettling film set in the dystopian future of Tokyo, Akira was sober warning about motorcycle gang violence common in Japan during the time and government funded research. Even the simple style of the poster comes off as eerie. It focuses on Kaneda's motorcycle, a symbol of status and power. The use of the color red and shades of black and grey emphasize that this is certainly not a cute cartoon to put in front of your kid as a babysitter.

11. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

The polar opposite of Akira, My Neighbor Totoro has charmed audiences worldwide since its release. It is a family movie that it is truly great for any age, as it does not belittle the intelligence of its audience. This poster is rather unusual. At first glance, it looks exactly like the iconic scene from the movie were sisters Satsuki and Mei wait with Totoro at the bus stop until their father comes home from work. But their is only one girl on the poster, resembling a cross between the two sisters. This was because Totoro was originally going to about one girl. The idea of having the film be about two sisters did not arise until later into production.   

12. Grave of Fireflies (1988)

Believe it or not, Grave of Fireflies was released as a double bill with My Neighbor Totoro. Grave is one of the saddest, but perhaps one of the most important films ever made. Its plot, revolving around two Japanese childern who starve during WWII, has often been compared to that of Schindler's List (1993). This poster does an excellent job of reflecting the themes of Isao Takahada's film. The way the children stare back at you and menacing shadow of the bomber plane bring up the question, "When is war necessary, and at what cost?"

13. The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Little Mermaid helped Disney recover from its financial and creative hiatus. Although the movie took several liberties from the original fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson, it continues to be an audience favorite. (Then again, can you imagine how people would react to Disney releasing a version close to the dark original with suicide and all?) Unlike this ugly and somewhat controversial poster, the flyer depicted here is quite nice. The simplicity and primary use of shades of blue of the image hint at Ariel's sense of longing. 

14. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1992)

Although The Nightmare Before Christmas is commonly misattributed to Tim Burton, it was actually directed by Henry Selick (the man behind James and the Giant Peach [1996] and Coraline [2009]). Nightmare was produced and co-written by Burton, however. At any rate, the film received lukewarm reception when first released, perhaps due to its unorthodox style for an American cartoon. But a cult following of the Nightmare grew, and it has been well received ever since then. This poster, thus, has become buried into many people's minds. Its opposing color scheme and twisted imagery make it particularly memorable. 

15. Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin is a very fun and goofy film. In some ways, it seems more like a Warner Bros. production than a Disney cartoon, which may explain why Chuck Jones considered it to be 'one of the funniest films ever made.' This makes Aladdin's original poster all the more curious. The poster has very simple, but appealing style to it and has a more serious feel about it. Perhaps this was because Disney decided to design it as 'Oscar bait' to appeal to the Academy after Beauty and the Beast (1991) was nominated for best feature? The Genie, arguably Aladdin's most memorable character, is not even on the poster. This might be because Robin Williams did not want his image to be overexploited by Disney. However, Disney would later break their agreement with Williams stating that his portrayal of Genie would not take up more than 25% of adverting space. 

16. Toy Story (1995)

The original Toy Story broke several records upon its release. It was the first fully CGI film to ever be released and was an example of the growing number of successful Non-Disney animated films. John Lasseter wisely made the decision to have the film star inanimate objects in order to avoid the issue of the uncanny valley, which happened previously in the Pixar short Tin Toy (1988). The poster depicted here is good example of how to use perspective for dramatic effect. 

17. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Alongside The Black Cauldron (1985), this film has become sort of the 'black sheep' of Disney movies. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is certainly not a perfect film, but it should be acknowledged for its effort to go outside of Disney's comfort zone. How many other G-rated films deal with issues such as corruption in the church, infanticide, lust, and social injustice? This appropriately somewhat solemn and lovingly illustrated poster was created by John Alvin. He was well known for also making flyer art for other Disney Renaissance films, The Gremlins, Alien, ET, and Blade Runner, just to name a few.

18. Princess Mononoke (1997)

The spiritual successor to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke was the first Studio Ghibli film to become widely available outside of Japan in an unaltered format. (Nausicaa had the unfortunate experience of being horrendously dubbed and having its length cut by half an hour to make it 'more marketable' to US audiences during the 1980s.) Mononoke's complex plot avoids many problems associated with other environmentally themed films such as Pocahontas and Avatar.  Neither side of the argument (San, the girl raised by wolves, and Lady Eboshi of Iron Town) is shown to be more right or wrong than the other. The protagonist Ashitaka and the audience is left torn between both parties. The lose of innocence and unclear answer to how humans and nature can coexist peacefully are at the heart of this film. The poster, with San angrily glaring at anyone happening to be passing by, also features the immortal quote "Ikiro!" ("We must try to live."), referencing back to Miyazaki's earlier films and own philosophy. 

19. Perfect Blue (1997)

Satoshi Kon was a very talented anime director known for his complex and confusing films that dealt with insanity, betrayal, and social injustice. His first, and perhaps most adult, film was Perfect Blue, about a retired pop-star who begins to lose her sense of reality as she is stalked by an over obsessive fan. It should be noted that this film has won wide spread acclaim, including from Terry Gilman. Perfect Blue also was a huge influence on the direction of Black Swan (2010) and both have very similar plot lines. So much so, in fact, that some question as to why director Darren Aronofsky bought rights to the film. This poster was made for French audiences. It really evokes the bizarreness of the film and the psychological horror that Mima faces. It refers to the scene where Mima hallucinates that someday broke into her home and her fish have all died.

20. The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Before switching entirely over to CGI, Dreamworks released several traditionally animated movies during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The best of these films was The Prince of Egypt. Although the film has been compared to The Ten Commandments (1956), it is uniquely its own and really should be seen by anyone who wants to enjoy a modern example of a large scale epic. This promo's use of heavy contrast and warm hues seem to hint that some great change is about to come. 

21. The Iron Giant (1999) 

The Iron Giant was one of those films that was ahead of its time. Directed by the now famous Brad Bird, The Iron Giant is about a smart but misfit boy, Hogarth, who happens to strike up a friendship with a large amnesiac robot that fell to Earth. Since the film is set during the Cold War, Hogarth must hide his new and unusual friend who is misunderstood by the paranoid world around him. The Iron Giant failed at the box office when first released, perhaps due to poor marketing or its unconventional plot, but has sense gone on to become a modern classic. Cartoon Network even used to play the film regularly as a Thanksgiving tradition. The simple silhouette style of this poster is really striking. The only color part of the giant is his large yellow eyes, which appear to be almost sad or lonely.    

22. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Tokyo Godfathers was the second to last film produced by the late Satoshi Kon and the most 'realistic' of his works. This US poster introduces the audience to the movie's rather unusual protagonists (a transvestite, runaway girl, and an alcoholic) all of whom are homeless. When the three happen to come across a baby in the dumpster on Christmas Eve, they decide that they must return her to her mother. This results in a sometimes hilarious, and sometimes rather sad or touching, journey of self-discovery for the protagonists as they uncover each other's pasts and meet many interesting people along the way. The warm colors of this poster sort of evoke that of Christmas movie, but the focus of the poster poster clearly remains on the ragtag protagonists. The baby is also depicted with a sort of glow around her, suggesting the 'miracles' she brings into the protagonists lives.  

23. Ratatouille (2007)

Another excellent film by the talented Brad Bird, this poster for Ratatouille really shows how far computer technology has come from making Toy Story over ten years prior. This poster has been used for many international promotions. (A clear copy of the English version is unavailable, so we will make do with this one.) The bright color scheme and realistic carrot are enough to make audiences hungry just by looking at it. Remy seems to be enjoying the smell of the food, but perhaps a bit too much. It almost looks like he is in love with the carrot! 

24. Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Waltz with Bashir is one of the most important and harrowing films to come from an indie studio recently. Filmed using a technique similar to rotoscoping, it deals with a Israeli man's post dramatic stress disorder following the Lebanon War. This poster's minimalist and bleak style are perfectly appropriate. The protagonist of this documentary, Ari Folman, seems to be desperately staring out into space as he searches for answers and tries to recollect his disturbing memories of war. 

25. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) 

Studio Ghibli just seems to have a thing for making lovely promotional artwork. This is technically Arriety's French poster, but it is partially identical to the original Japanese film. (For some reason, the internet seems to be lacking a clear scan of the original poster.) It is a far cry from the poster designed for American audiences, which seems to suffer from over saturation and stiff poses. (Sho's eyes and disembodied head are also sort of creepy...) Very few films evoke such a grand sense of scale and attention to small detail as Arriety does, which is only fitting since the titular character is only a couple inches high.

The Influence of German Expressionsim on American Cinema

Sunrise (1927), an example of an American film by a German director.

There is no doubt that the one of the greatest art forms to come out of the 20th century is movie making. Virtually, anybody alive today has a favorite movie or at least seen numerous films throughout their lifetime. But very few know about how, in the early, silent years of cinema, Hollywood was changed forever by the influence of German filmmakers.

Throughout the mid 1910s to 1920s, the American film industry focused mainly on only two main genres, action/adventure films (which were mainly based off historical events or novels) and comedies. Popular Hollywood films  at the time were: D.W. Griffith’s controversial, but highly influential Birth of A Nation (1915); the foreign fantasy, The Sheik (1921);  The Mark of  Zorro (1920) and The Thief of Baghdad (1924). But comedians (like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd) and comedic cartoons (such as Felix the Cat and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit) arguably met the widest success. 

Charlie Chaplin, one of the most famous American silent Stars.

Felix the Cat was to cartoons what Chaplin was to American cinema. 

However, filmmaking in Europe focused less on action-adventure and comedic routines than Hollywood did, and more on experimentation, visuals, emotion, and the flaws of human nature. This is particularly true in the case of German Expressionism- a term used to describe the unique take of  German filmmakers during the era. The movement was characterized by its usage of elaborate sets and exaggerated acting to emphasize mood, abstract scenery, high contrast lighting, and had a tendency to tackle darker subject matter. The plots and stories of the Expressionist films often dealt with madness, insanity, betrayal, and other “intellectual” topics. Some of the most famous expressionist films are: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922), Faust (1924) Metropolis (1927), Pandora’s Box (1929), and M (1931).

A typical German Expressionist Film: moody, experimental, elaborately made, and dark.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a bizarre frame story in which a man retells his experience with a creepy carnival overruled by the hypnotist, Caligari, and the sleepwalker Caligari controls in order to carry out murders. It was one of the first movies to feature a twist ending (the narrator is revealed to be mentally insane). This film was hugely influential on many directors, like all expressionist films, but most notably Tim Burton. This can be seen in Burton’s fondness of using outlandish and geometrical sets, the resemblance of Edward Scissorhands to Cesare (the sleepwalker), and the dreamlike atmosphere in his films. 

It's easy to see the influence of this film on Tim Burton's style.

The Golem, Nosferatu, and Faust are arguably the expressionist films most responsible for creating the horror genre. All of three dealt with the supernatural, malicious beings or monsters, and featured dark and/or tragic storylines. The Golem was about rabbi creating a clay warrior to protect the Jews from being prosecuted, but his creation goes out of control. (This is pretty eerie considering that the Holocaust occurred twenty years later.) Nosferatu was one of the  earliest vampire films, heavily borrowed from Dracula, and linked the legend to the spread of the black plague. Faust, which was also adapted from a classic novel, was about an alchemist conflicted by his own selfish ambitions motivated by the Devil and his desire to do good. The effects of these films were felt immediately as Hollywood began releasing films like The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Frankenstein over the next several years.

Nosferatu is a vampire.  

This thing is not.

Metropolis is the story of a dystopian future were the elite live in luxury at the expense of  the underclass workers who live below surface. When a woman named Maria tries to bring peace between the exploited workers and the elite, a robot duplicate is given her image so it can manipulate the masses and crush any chance of rebellion. It was the most expensive silent film costing over 7 million Reichmarks which would be about $200 million today. Metropolis’s influence was huge. It is widely considered to be the first major (and most significant) science fiction film and featured ground-breaking special affects. Even today it has continued to be used as inspiration where you would least expect. For example, strangely enough, Lady Gaga. The name Lady Gaga actually comes from a music video by Queen entitled “Radio Gaga” which uses footage from Metropolis. Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes also seem to be sometimes inspired by the Maria robot or the film’s bizarre dance scene. 

Marvel at how the miniatures were made.

Words can not describe how groundbreaking Metropolis was. 

Among the last German expressionist films made were Pandora’s Box and M. Both were less abstract in nature, set in contemporary times with a crime backdrop, and focused more on flawed, tormented characters with questionable motives. Pandora’s Box was about a woman whose selfish, seductive behavior ignites jealously in men causing her to be accused of manslaughter when one of her lovers murders another man. M featured a detective trying to track down a troubled child murderer. 

Pandoras' Box and M are perhaps the most Film Noir-like of German films.

By the end of the 1920s, the German film industry became increasingly regulated as the Nazi Regime rose to power. Many artists and filmmakers fled to Hollywood so they could continue to keep making films (and many of them also happened to be Jewish). They brought with them their unique visions and created a new major movement in Hollywood, Film Noir. Film Noir was also made in response to The Hays Box Office Code, which regulated the film industry causing many 'safe' films to made throughout the 1940s and 50s (i.e. musical romantic comedies). Film Noir movies were crime dramas shot in black and white, featured characters with questionable motives, femme fatales, and dramatic lighting. (Sound familiar?) This in turn eventually changed the whole Hollywood film industry by causing The Hayes Box Office Code to loosen its restrictions and eventually be replaced by the film rating system. Because German Expressionism influenced Film Noir it also influenced countless directors  (ranging from Orson Welles, to Alfred Hitchcock, to Ridley Scott) which made way for the variety of films we experience in modern cinema today.

Typical Film Noir movies. Notice how similar they looks to German Expressionist Films!

Alferd Hitchcock studied film in Germany for a while.

Thus, German Expressionist Films are hugely important to many aspects of film today. The genres Horror and Film Noir owe their origin to it. Expressionism, through influencing Film Noir, eventually resulted in the fall of the Hays Box Office Code. Countless directors also owe some of their success to techniques they picked up from German filmmakers. So next time you watch a movie, check to see if you can spot any traits associated with German Expressionism. You might be surprised.

  Citizen Cane, Sunset Blvd, The Godfather, Blade Runner, and even The Dark Knight are just a few examples of films influenced by the long legacy of German Expressionism.