German Expressionism Investigation

The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920)

Robert Weine
Madness, paranoia, obsession; subjective point of view, urban setting, complex architectural compositions, off-kilter set designs, "The Birth of the Horror Film”
This film, or metropolis, was the most influential German expression film. Any film that has a twist ending owes it to this film. The most obvious effect of this film was creating the aesthetic that Tim Burton would use, and any film maker with cubist-like sets.

Metropolis (1927)

Fritz Lang
urban setting, complex architectural compositions, in depth political issues. and the start of science fiction.
This film set the standard for the design of science fiction films, creating the aesthetic that would be used in films like blade runner and Star Wars. Additionally in the transformation scene, show above, the robot inspired the robots of Star Wars. Most modern science fiction movies owe a great debt to metropolis.

M (1931)

Fritz Lang
Anti-heroic main characters; Madness, paranoia, obsession; and off-kilter camera angles.

This film, at least in my opinion, is the best of the German expression moment. Any killer based move, probably, takes inspiration from this film. Particularly: psycho, the shining, and se7en. The use of shadows in this film is a classical example of creating a visual motif. Additionally, the final break down is a excellent early example of the monologue.