HAUNTED SCREENS: GERMAN CINEMA IN THE 1920's

Expressionism emerged in German art, literature and theater, in the years preceding WWI. It resurfaced in silent cinema in the 1920's, distinguishing German film in the international marketplace with its hallmarks of chiaroscuro lighting, elaborately fabricated sets and angular graphics producing a mood of unease and paranoia. While only a small percentage of the approximately 3,000 films produced in Germany during the Weimar Republic can be considered Expressionist, the depiction of the unreal in German cinema was a catalyst in shaping the future evolution of camera technology and special effects, giving rise to genres such as film noir, science fiction and horror.

The exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) displays film clip sequences revealing the brilliant guiding vision of direction such as that of Fritz Lang, Friedrich W. Murnau, Georg W. Pabst and Robert Wiene, among others. Numerous vintage photographs and working drawings document the impressive artistic skill of their collaborators. Included is a segment dedicated to period colorful film posters used to expand film culture.

On view are nearly 250 objects representing cameras, 25 films, 20 artists, and 14 directors. Most of the featured films are silent with sound added during screening, ranging from full orchestras in larger cinemas to a pianist or organist in smaller venues. The technology for “talkies” was presented in 1919, with the first German feature in 1929: Walter Ruttmann's Berlin: Symphony of a Great City.

Commenting on the rise of technology in modern life is the emergence of a new style known as New Objectivity in which nominal realism was

used such as the feature Metropolis (1927), a triumph of camera work.

Lang, along with many directors and artists whose works are featured in LACMA's exhibition were forced to emigrate in 1933. This mass exile brought an end to Expressionist cinema in Germany while facilitating its dissemination and evolution worldwide.

Materials survive due to efforts of Lotte Eisner, a German film historian who immigrated to Paris in 1933 and persuaded many former compatriots to donate archives to La Cinémathèque Française.

The exhibit runs from September 21, 2014 through April 26, 2015, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), at the Art ofthe Americas building, ground floor, located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036. For more information call (323) 857-6000 or visit http://www.lacma.org/

The exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in collaboration with La Cinémathèque Française. In Los Angeles, Haunted Screens: German Cinema in the 1920s is presented by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is generously supported by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and Riza Aziz.

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