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Alfred Hitchcock (1899 - 1980)
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock was a British Filmmaker and one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. He is internationally renowned as the "Master of Suspense" and is known for being able to tell a striking visual narrative that evokes fear and suspense in the audience. He has a long catalogue of films, his most famous ones being The Birds (1963), Dial M For Murder (1954), and Psycho (1960).
Hitchcock's Roots in German Expressionism
Alfred Hitchcock got his start in the film industry as a writer, designer, and assistant director with Gainsborough Pictures. In 1924, at the very beginning of his career, Hitchcock would go to Berlin to work with UFA Studios on the production of The Black Guard (1925). While in Berlin, Hitchcock would observe the production of F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924) which introduced him to many modern filmmaking techniques. It was during this time that Alfred Hitchcock truly developed his style of filmmaking and this can be seen in his most famous films such as Psycho (1960) and Vertigo (1950) which utilize bold shadows and dreamlike sequences to develop their suspenseful narratives.
Nosferatu (1922) - F.W. Murnau
Psycho (1960) - Alfred Hitchcock
Tim Burton
Tim Burton is an American filmmaker known for his visually intriguing films and recognizable style that blends themes of horror and fantasy. His films often feature settings and characters with geometricallly absurd proportions and non-realistic architecture. This can be scene in films such as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) and Batman (1989) which take place in dark, dreamlike settings.
Tim Burton (1958 - )
Tim Burton and Anti-Realism
Tim Burton's work in film features recurring motifs of madness, alienation, and death and includes grotesque character designs. The settings in Burton's films are often geometrically unrealistic to evoke feelings of isolation in the viewer. One example of this is Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990) which features a dreary castle full of outlandish architecture and mysterious machinery which visually parallels the laboratory in Metropolis (1927)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
The parallels between Tim Burton's aritistic direction and the films of the German Expressionist movement go further than set design. Burton's chracters typically appear with contrasting makeup and navigate scenes with stiff, jerky movements. The makeup used on Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice (1988) is visually similar to the dark makeup and eyeshadows used in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
Metropolis (1927)
Beetlejuice (1988) - Tim Burton
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) - Robert Wiene
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