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1920s

German Expressionism

Distorted sets, stark shadows and tormented psychology turn the screen into a nightmare of the mind.

After the First World War, German studios made films in which the world is bent by the mind of its characters. Sets are painted with slanting walls and impossible shadows, actors move in stylised, almost trance-like ways, and the stories turn on madness, fear and authority. The movement began with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1920 and reached an international audience through Murnau's Nosferatu and Lang's Metropolis. When Hollywood hired many of its directors, cameramen and designers in the late 1920s, its look moved into horror films, thrillers and later film noir.

Where
Germany, mostly the UFA studios in Berlin
When
1920 to about 1930
Key figures
Robert Wiene, F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Paul Wegener, Paul Leni, G.W. Pabst
Landmark films
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Nosferatu (1922), Metropolis (1927), The Golem (1920)
Legacy
Shaped horror, film noir and the visual style of directors from Hitchcock to Tim Burton

What to look for

  • Distorted, painted sets and sharp light-and-shadow contrast
  • Exaggerated, stylised acting
  • Subjects of madness, doubles, tyrants and the uncanny

Famous Directors

Robert WieneGermanyF.W. MurnauGermanyFritz LangGermanyPaul WegenerGermanyPaul LeniGermany / USAG.W. PabstAustriaRobert SiodmakGermany / USA

Top films · 90 films

  1. M 1931 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 8.3
  2. Metropolis 1927 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 8.2
  3. Sunrise 1927 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.1
  4. Faust 1926 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.1
  5. The Last Laugh 1924 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.0
  6. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 8.0
  7. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1933 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.9
  8. The Big Heat 1953 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.9
  9. Nosferatu 1922 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.8
  10. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler 1922 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.8
  11. Fury 1936 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.8
  12. Diary of a Lost Girl 1929 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.8
  13. City Girl 1930 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.7
  14. Scarlet Street 1945 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.7
  15. Pandora's Box 1929 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.7
  16. The Killers 1946 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.7
  17. Destiny 1921 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.6
  18. The Woman in the Window 1944 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.6
  19. The Man Who Laughs 1928 · Paul Leni · IMDb 7.6
  20. Spies 1928 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.5
  21. Kameradschaft 1931 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.5
  22. Hangmen Also Die! 1943 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.4
  23. Criss Cross 1949 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.4
  24. Woman in the Moon 1929 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.3
  25. Westfront 1918 1930 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.3
  26. The Spiral Staircase 1946 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.3
  27. The Suspect 1944 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.3
  28. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas 1931 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.3
  29. You Only Live Once 1937 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.2
  30. The Golem: How He Came into the World 1920 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 7.2
  31. The Love of Jeanne Ney 1927 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.2
  32. The Threepenny Opera 1931 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.2
  33. The Last Ten Days 1955 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.2
  34. People on Sunday 1930 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  35. Phantom Lady 1944 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  36. Cry of the City 1948 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  37. The Devil Strikes at Night 1958 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.2
  38. Tartuffe 1925 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.1
  39. Man Hunt 1941 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.1
  40. Human Desire 1954 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.1
  41. The Cat and the Canary 1927 · Paul Leni · IMDb 7.1
  42. The Crimson Pirate 1952 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.1
  43. Ministry of Fear 1944 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.1
  44. The Hands of Orlac 1924 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 7.0
  45. The Joyless Street 1925 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 7.0
  46. The Dark Mirror 1946 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 7.0
  47. House by the River 1950 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.0
  48. Clash by Night 1952 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.0
  49. While the City Sleeps 1956 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.9
  50. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 1956 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.9
  51. The File on Thelma Jordon 1949 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.9
  52. Rancho Notorious 1952 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.8
  53. The Last Warning 1929 · Paul Leni · IMDb 6.8
  54. Secrets of a Soul 1926 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 6.8
  55. The Blue Gardenia 1953 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.8
  56. You and Me 1938 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.8
  57. The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry 1945 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.8
  58. Liliom 1934 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.8
  59. Phantom 1922 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 6.7
  60. The Golem 1915 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 6.7
  61. The Rats 1955 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.7
  62. Western Union 1941 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.7
  63. The Return of Frank James 1940 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.6
  64. Cloak and Dagger 1946 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.6
  65. Secret Beyond the Door... 1947 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.6
  66. Moonfleet 1955 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.6
  67. The Tiger of Eschnapur 1959 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.6
  68. The Indian Tomb 1959 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.6
  69. The Great Sinner 1949 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.6
  70. Waxworks 1924 · Paul Leni · IMDb 6.5
  71. Don Quixote 1933 · G.W. Pabst · IMDb 6.5
  72. The Spiders - Episode 1: The Golden Sea 1919 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.5
  73. The Student of Prague 1913 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 6.4
  74. Christmas Holiday 1944 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.4
  75. I.N.R.I. 1923 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 6.2
  76. Finances of the Grand Duke 1924 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 6.2
  77. The Haunted Castle (1921) 1921 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 6.1
  78. The Spiders - Episode 2: The Diamond Ship 1920 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.1
  79. Son of Dracula 1943 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 6.0
  80. American Guerrilla in the Philippines 1950 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.0
  81. Genuine 1920 · Robert Wiene · IMDb 5.9
  82. Custer of the West 1967 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 5.8
  83. The Yellow One 1964 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 5.8
  84. Cobra Woman 1944 · Robert Siodmak · IMDb 5.7
  85. Harakiri (1919) 1919 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 5.6
  86. Four Devils 1928 · F.W. Murnau
  87. Raskolnikov 1923 · Robert Wiene
  88. Die Nibelungen 1924 · Fritz Lang
  89. The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse 1960 · Fritz Lang
  90. Tabu 1931 · F.W. Murnau