Architecture in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The style of architecture featured in the sets of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is emblematic of German expressionism. As a movement aimed at externalizing internal thoughts and emotions, it is not surprising that the mise-en-scène — and sets by … Continue reading →
Countess Told in Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler
In Arts One this past week we were talking about Weimar cinema: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Nosferatu (1922) Dr Mabuse, der Spieler (1922) part 1 part 2 We had great discussions on all of them, but one thing we didn’t get to, and that still puzzles me, is Countess Told’s character in Dr. […]
The Flaneur and the Badaud
The flaneur, as discussed last class, was a romantic figure of nearly mystical proportions in 19th century Parisian – and by extension European – urban life, a connoisseur of the pleasures of the city skilled in the art of looking. He was a gentleman … Continue reading →
What the heck is up with “The Snow Child”?!
I haven’t finished reading The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter yet (about thirty pages to go!), but let me tell you about what I’m feeling because I’m feeling a lot of things. First of all, FEMINIST INTERPRETATIONS ABOUND and this makes me so very happy. Notice that all of the books and movies we have […]
Nonchalance and Decadence in the Weimar Republic?
Hello, fellow Arts One students! For my inaugural post / presentation of the year, I would like to focus on the motif of “showmanship” or performance in some of the films we’ve discussed this week. In particular, I think “Caligari” and “Dr. Mabuse, Part I” display this idea more strongly, but given enough thought, I […]
German expressionism and architecture
Throughout expressionist films, the common theme when viewing in the light of architecture portrays similar aspects. The sets and scenes of these films tend to use buildings with sharp angles, heights, crowded atmospheres and a view of a metropolis. However, … Continue reading →
Apocalypse Now and Half-lit Faces
Coppola opens the film with a bang by dropping us right in the jungle. There are no opening credits; only darkness with the faint sound of helicopters approaching from the distance. The first image we see is that of a … Continue reading →
Apocalypse Now and Dostoyevsky
Apocalypse Now is a film that is steeped in references to other works of literary significance – it is directly inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, borrowing much of its subject matter and character names from it. However, I … Continue reading →
The Heart of Darkness…In Us
Between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, I find Heart of Darkness infinitely more disturbing than Apocalypse Now. The reason is simple. Apocalypse Now is a movie about war, or perhaps in the words of Coppola himself: “It is war.” … Continue reading →
The power of film
In Arts One this week we discussed Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. It was really challenging trying to talk about everything we wanted to discuss about both works, in two seminars (1 hr 20 minutes each, but still…). One thing I asked towards the end of class yesterday was something like: What […]