Would anyone be interested in a blog post about german expressionism?

[TVC15]

I dunno.  I'm trying to figure out what I can cover and what is too dumb or commonplace.  Any reasonably serious film fan knows about expressionism and its impact on film, but how much do people really know?  You can draw a pretty clear line from, say, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari all the way to Sin City.  German expressionism has always been around (heck, it's even been popular since its inception in the 20s, in one form or another), but do people actually know much about it?  Or care?  I mean, it's pretty rare for a visual style in films to be popular after 80 years.  Sure, certain camera shots and tricks will always be popular, but I'm not sure if I can think of a complete style that's had the staying power of expressionism.  It's very rare for anything to be popular for that long in any art form.

What brought this on was watching Twin Peaks Gold Box. . .and noticing that there are several pretty blatant instances of expressionism-inspired shots.  And I don't mean second or third gen inspired:  I mean shots that are lit to even appear sepia in tone.  It's kind of fucked up to be watching something relatively recent, and then to see a shot that looks like one Murnau framed himself.  Spiffy, spiffy shit.

[Eric P]

well that's david lynch though.

i think it would be more impressive if you could find the line in expressionism to something not known to be weird in the public conscious.

maybe an examination of expressionism and surrealism in japanese film, which really took the ball and ran with it with directors like Ozu and the like.

[TVC15]

well that's david lynch though.

i think it would be more impressive if you could find the line in expressionism to something not known to be weird in the public conscious.

maybe an examination of expressionism and surrealism in japanese film, which really took the ball and ran with it with directors like Ozu and the like.

I don't think Sin City and Tim Burton movies are weird in the public's view, though.

And Japanese cinema has too much crap for it to be investigated in any meaningful manner.  I have no issue checking out the big directors, but as far as general quality goes, Japanese cinema makes Hollywood look like ABBA Gold. 

[Eric P]

Japanese cinema makes Hollywood look like ABBA Gold.

is this a good thing or bad thing?  even contextually i can't figure it out

I say go for it.  If nothing else it should be interesting to read

[TVC15]

Japanese cinema makes Hollywood look like ABBA Gold.

is this a good thing or bad thing?  even contextually i can't figure it out

Bad thing.  Japanese cinema is a sewer.

[Eric P]

as a long time fan of japanese cinema, i will have to agree with you.

most asian cinema is a sewer.

[TVC15]

as a long time fan of japanese cinema, i will have to agree with you.

most asian cinema is a sewer.

I hate to resort to stereotypes, but at least in the case of the Japanese, the stereotype of copying (and miniaturizing the quality) seems kinda prevalent.  Not that there aren't great directors that march to their own drums.  And heck, Korean cinema/everything is EVEN WORSE.

[Eric P]

korean cinema is hilarious.

i do not get that culture at all.

here's 90 minutes of wacky comedy and now 30 minutes of horrible melodrama where we kill one of the main characters slowly

i would however argue that there's some populist korean film which is quite good, it's just really hard to find.

of course since it took serious deregulation of the film industry in the 90s for that industry to try new things, we can at least hope that since it's a young film community that it will learn as it goes.

that being said, i still watch a lot of korean cinema (thanks to tigercinema, the asian film netflix) in hopes of occasionally finding a gem in the rough.

if you want a fuck awful korean film to watch, check out Tube, which is an attempt to michael bay a blockbuster.  it's horrifically bad, but they nail all the hollywood blockbuster stuff

[Barry Egan]

I would read a breakdown of Twin Peaks in terms of German Expressionism with pleasure, TVC

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Awesome, underivative Korean films?  Why yes, we've got those.


Police procedural about cops in the 80's who are in way over their heads when it comes to South Korea's first serial killer.  Its funny, its thrilling, and its got a surprisingly strong emotional punch.  Its from the director of the also great but-not-quite-as-awesome "The Host", and like that film, has a tonal dexterity that's incredibly rare to find.  Heck, there's only one other film I can think of that's better at being a tonal rollercoaster.


Which would be this rather excellent sci-fi (maybe) film about an obviously crazy bastard who's trying to save the earth by torturing his boss.  Its as crazy as any Takashi Miike flick, but has an undercurrent of sweetness I've yet to see in most of his films.  Its also really well made and is really, really funny.


An emotional horror movie.  Its about love, but also about the cruelty of human nature.  A women and a man whose passion has burned out, the woman vanishes and comes back to the man with a new face and identity.  Not unlike the episode of Futurama where Bender impersonates somebody else to catch his girlfriend cheating on him, only with the underlying message that "people suck".  Its a good time, really.

[TVC15]

There are some totally awesome Korean movies, but again, like the Japanese, it seems like there is a higher degree of crap than even Hollywood produces.  And even worse, the most offensive of the crap TRIES to be really Hollywoody.

[Joe Molotov]

And even worse, the most offensive of the crap TRIES to be really Hollywoody.

The worst offender of all:



No Korea, just no. Stick to your quirky romantic comedies and leave the big budget B-movie to the Americans.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

The worst offender of all:

(Image removed from quote.)

No Korea, just no. Stick to your quirky romantic comedies and leave the big budget B-movie to the Americans.

But that movie is actually kind of awesome, in a shite movie sort of way.  Its honestly more entertaining then Pirates of the Crap or any of its sequels.  I won't argue that many Hollywood wannabe films from Korea, and heck, most of the rest of the world (I'm looking at you France, and your underwhelming big budget thrillers) tend to suck.