German Expressionism

[JokerMeThis]

One neat possible example of German Expressionism in this movie is the brief glimpse we get of a statue with its hands over it's face as though it is crying right after the Ice Princess falls to her death and the bats are flying around. It was very sad when she died. Nice touch Mr. Burton.

I think this would be a nice thread to document all of the neat things like this we've observed in the movie. Kind of like they are Easter Eggs.

[The Laughing Fish]

Don't forget the Penguin's shadow reflecting on the walls inside the sewers.



You can check out these two features analysing the German Expressionism influences on Burton's Batman here:

http://www.batman-online.com/features/2010/6/9/german-expressionism-and-tim-burtons-batman#sthash.uEOSCgR6.dpbs

http://gothamalleys.blogspot.com/2010/09/nightmare-that-tastes-like-candy-was.html

[johnnygobbs]

The main ones are stuff like the name 'Max Shreck' being based on the guy who played Nosferatu in the 1922 German film, and Joker and The Penguin's likeness being very clearly based on Conrad Veidt's character in 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) and the eponymous character from 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920) respectively.

Does anyone know if Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman had any German Expressionist influences seeing that the other three main Burton villains were inspired by Nosferatu, The Man Who Laughs, and Doctor Caligari?

[Silver Nemesis]

The main ones are stuff like the name 'Max Shreck' being based on the guy who played Nosferatu in the 1922 German film, and Joker and The Penguin's likeness being very clearly based on Conrad Veidt's character in 'The Man Who Laughs' (1928) and the eponymous character from 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920) respectively.

I wouldn't say Gwynplaine was an influence on the Penguin. Besides the fact they're both disfigured, their personalities and appearances are otherwise totally different. However I believe Burton did once mention The Man Who Laughs being an influence on his visual approach to the Joker in the 1989 Batman film (I think he mentions it on the DVD commentary). And of course Bob Kane cited it as the primary visual influence on the Joker's appearance in Batman Vol 1 #1 (June 1940).

The Man Who Laughs is a marvellous film that's had a long-lasting impact on the Batman franchise. It really deserves its own thread.

Does anyone know if Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman had any German Expressionist influences seeing that the other three main Burton villains were inspired by Nosferatu, The Man Who Laughs, and Doctor Caligari?

Not that I can think of. There are numerous femme fatales in expressionist cinema: for example the eponymous 'vampire' in Robert Wiene's Genuine (1920), the Maschinenmensch from Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927), and The Woman From the City in F. W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927 – like The Man Who Laughs, this was technically made in Hollywood but is very much a specimen of the Weimar expressionist art movement). But none of those characters resemble Selina.

However Selina's costume in the film is inherently expressionistic in its design. The way the fabric is tearing apart, symbolising how she herself is coming apart at the seams, exemplifies the external exhibition of an internal concept. And that's the very essence of expressionism.