With Robert Eggers’ remake of the classic vampire horror Nosferatu taking the world by storm, now is a great time to look back at the cinematic legacy that precedes it. The original Nosferatu – directed by F.W. Murnau in 1922,– sits within German Expressionism, a cinematic movement of stark, stylised visuals, externalised emotion, and a refusal to conform to realist approaches to storytelling.
To aid anyone interested on their journey into the wonderful world of German Expressionist film, I present this brief list of recommendations (all of which should be available on YouTube or the Internet Archive, free of charge). Viel Spaß!
Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
To start with, we have the iconic horror flick that inspired Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (and Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre from 1974). Although it doesn’t feature the jumpscares and graphic imagery that aid the scares in Eggers’ version, Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror uses light and darkness to create ominous visions of Nosferatu the vampire terrorising his victims. Look out for the legendary shot of Nosferatu menacingly ascending a staircase, cloaked in shadows, towards the end!
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
Widely regarded as the most famous example of German Expressionist cinema, Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) is another horror film. Centring around a series of murders amongst a community visited by a travelling circus, the characters of the mad ringmaster Caligari and his sleepwalking protégé Cesare are some of the most iconic from this era of cinema (and arguably from cinema full stop). The uncanny, jaggedly constructed sets are brilliantly visceral externalisations of the horror that lives within.
Metropolis (1927)
Clocking in at a whopping two-and-a-half hours, Metropolis is certainly a commitment but absolutely worth the time and effort. Featuring stunning visuals and groundbreaking special effects that remain impressive today, Metropolis depicts a dystopian society where the rich live in opulence on the surface while the workers toil in squalor underground. Metropolis is also an early example of sci-fi on film, featuring mad scientists and robots galore.
Der Letzte Mann (1924)
Here is another film by F.W. Murnau, but one that is very different to Nosferatu in both tone and subject matter. The film centres around a nameless, aging hotel doorman as he grapples with the loss of his identity after losing his job to a younger man. Despite a rather bizarre plot twist towards the end, Der Letzte Mann (or, to give it its adapted English title, The Last Laugh) provides a fascinating exploration into the dynamics of a community, and considers both the juxtapositions and similarities that exist between the rich and the poor in society. The film also features some fun technical shots akin to those found in Metropolis.
Asphalt (1929)
The conflicts that can arise from emotion versus duty sit at the heart of this drama, which depicts the relationship between Elsa, a glamorous jewel thief, and Albert, the young policeman who catches her stealing. Displaying the opulence of Weimar society before the economic devastation of the Wall Street Crash, Asphalt explores the lengths to which it is morally permissible to go for love, and the destructive fallout that can come as a result. Similarly to Der Letzte Mann, Asphalt has a more realist tone than some of the other films on this list, but does feature commonalities in cinematic technique, such as the use of emotive close-up shots and shadow.
Bonus: Mädchen in Uniform (1931)
Although falling just outside the prime years of the German Expressionist movement, which had its heyday in the 1920s, it would be remiss not to recommend this groundbreaking example of LGBTQ+ cinema from the broader Weimar era. Set in an all-girls boarding school, Mädchen in Uniform (or Girls in Uniform) centres around new student Manuela, depicting her romantic obsession with a benevolent teacher, Fräulein von Bernburg. Themes of authoritarianism, childhood innocence and femininity run throughout, the latter of which is ensured through the film’s all-female cast.
