The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt (Paperback)

~ Lotte Eisner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1919, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" took the world by storm, at once demonstrating that the cinema was capable of unprecedented sophistication and popularizing the horror movie. Eisner's classic study covers the history of "Caligari" and the genre it inspired: the German Expressionist Film. Covering the breadth of German Expressionism, Eisner introduces and analyzes some of the greatest films of all time, including "Nosferatu," "The Last Laugh" and "Metropolis," while describing the careers of the magnificent directors who worked within the genre: G.W. Pabst, F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang.

Product Description

The Golden Age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari onwards the principal films of this period were characterized by two influences: literary Expressionism, and the innovations of the theatre directors of this period, in particular Max Reinhardt. This book demonstrates the connection between German Romanticism and the cinema through Expressionist writings. It discusses the influence of the theatre: the handling of crowds; the use of different levels, and of selective lighting on a predominately dark stage; the reliance on formalized gesture; the innovation of the intimate theatre. Against this background the principal films of the period are examined in detail. The author explains the key critical concepts of the time, and surveys not only the work of the great directors, such as Fritz Lang and F. W. Murnau, but also the contribution of their writers, cameramen, and designers. As The Times Literary Supplement wrote, 'Mme. Eisner is first and foremost a film critic, and one of the best in the world. She has all the necessary gifts.' And it described the original French edition of this book as 'one of the very few classics of writing on the film and arguably the best book on the cinema yet written.'

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (January 7, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520024796
• ISBN-13: 978-0520024793
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #874,462 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars White and dark: the spirit of german cinema, August 3, 2000

By	"alsuppia" (Sumaré, SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

In this work, Lotte Eisner makes an inteligent analysis about the influences of the expressionism and german theather in the german cinema. It's important to know that expressionism have been confused, not rarely, with other kind of ideological and esthetical sources of influence. And about this confusion, this book brings a good help. The authorress identifies and points what is expressionism and what is not, where are the traces of the expressionism, of the german theather or of whatever. And besides, Lotte Eisner makes an interesting and complete review of the most important german films, for example Caligari, Nosferatu and Metropolis, also speaking a little about other films related to Germany, yet made in other countries. Since the authoress was one of the most important movie critics of Germany, and also a wickness of the birth of german cinema after the First World War, her statements or reviews are solid and plenty of good reveals.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hmmm..., May 10, 2008

By	Review Lover "ReviewLover" (At a place...) - See all my reviews

As a resource for all things German-Expressionistic, this is a fairly good bet: a shame that it's just so dull to read.

I wonder if this is a language issue, if the original French text contained traces of Eisner's personality, which since have been lost to an unimaginative translation?

Whatever the case, this isn't a book I recommend you read for the pleasure of discovery: Kracauer's "Caligari to Hitler" is more enjoyable and just as informative as this one, but Eisner's "The Haunted Screen" is an excellent fact-checking tome. Po-faced and all as it is, "The Haunted Screen" is an expansive, exhaustive, brilliantly-illustrated journey through a most important period in the history of Cinema - Eisner not only discusses the films and their relatives, but also the historical and technical details of the genesis of German Expressionism, with a clarity and a lucidity that still shine fifty-six years after its original publication.

It's like eating museli for breakfast: if you can put up with the arid, dull chewing you'll definitely feel the benefits: just know that you'll be wishing for bacon and pancakes before too long.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The white and the dark: spirit of german cinema, August 4, 2000

By	"alsuppia" (Sumaré, SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haunted Screen (Hardcover)

In this work, Lotte Eisner makes an inteligent analysis about the influences of the expressionism and german theater - specially Max Reinhardt theater - in the german cinema. It's important to know that expressionism have been confused, not rarely, with other kind of ideological and esthetical sources of influence. And about this confusion, this book brings a good help. The authorress identifies and points what comes from the expressionism and what is not, where are the traces of the expressionism, of the german theater or whatever. And besides, Lotte Eisner speaks about the work of great german directors, like F. W. Murnau, F. Lang and G. W. Pabst, making an interesting and complete review of the german masterpieces - for example Caligari, Nosferatu and Metropolis, . She also speaks a little about other films related to Germany, yet made in other countries. Since the authoress was one of the most important movie critics of Germany, and also a wickness of the new birth of german cinema after the First World War, her statements or reviews are solid and plenty of good reveals.