2008 Woodie Awards
Lecture: Film movements that changed history
Alaina Gizzo
Issue date: 3/2/08 Section: News
On February 27, Dr. D. Matthew Ramsey McKillop lead a lecture in the special collections room on the ground floor of McKillop Library The room was crowded with professors from the English department, student communication majors, and others interested in media.
The lecture discussed five world cinema movements and how they affected Hollywood films in the United States.
The first film movement discussed, German Expressionism, took place roughly from 1920 until 1931. Its features include exaggeration in acting, settings, and makeup, emphasis on emotional states, and lighting that stresses extreme contrast between light and dark. The film Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922) is one of the more popular films from this movement. German Expressionism was Germany's attempt to compete with Hollywood films being produced at the time, according to Dr. Ramsey. Many American horror films contain features of this film movement.
Soviet Montage followed German Expressionism from the years 1925 through 1930. This movement stressed quick editing and distracting focus from the individual, bringing it more to crowds and anonymous characters. The montage, according to Dr. Ramsey is "…the joining of shots that go beyond the meaning of each individual shot." One idea that came of this is the Kuleshov Effect, which is the theory that what the viewer interprets from the shots is most important. Films from this era include Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) and Mother (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1926).
The third movement that Dr. Ramsey discussed is Italian Neo-Realism, which took place from 1943 to 1952. Films from this era include Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945) and Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948). These films focused on the poor and working class, usually dealing with issues of post- World War II. Natural lighting and the blending of realism and melodrama are also characteristics of this film movement. This movement attempted to get as close to realism as possible, which resulted in the use of music for Hollywood Suspense.
The lecture discussed five world cinema movements and how they affected Hollywood films in the United States.
The first film movement discussed, German Expressionism, took place roughly from 1920 until 1931. Its features include exaggeration in acting, settings, and makeup, emphasis on emotional states, and lighting that stresses extreme contrast between light and dark. The film Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922) is one of the more popular films from this movement. German Expressionism was Germany's attempt to compete with Hollywood films being produced at the time, according to Dr. Ramsey. Many American horror films contain features of this film movement.
Soviet Montage followed German Expressionism from the years 1925 through 1930. This movement stressed quick editing and distracting focus from the individual, bringing it more to crowds and anonymous characters. The montage, according to Dr. Ramsey is "…the joining of shots that go beyond the meaning of each individual shot." One idea that came of this is the Kuleshov Effect, which is the theory that what the viewer interprets from the shots is most important. Films from this era include Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) and Mother (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1926).
The third movement that Dr. Ramsey discussed is Italian Neo-Realism, which took place from 1943 to 1952. Films from this era include Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945) and Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948). These films focused on the poor and working class, usually dealing with issues of post- World War II. Natural lighting and the blending of realism and melodrama are also characteristics of this film movement. This movement attempted to get as close to realism as possible, which resulted in the use of music for Hollywood Suspense.
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