Fritz Lang

Although it may seem as if the film industry has always been rooted in the United States, many creative breakthroughs in storyline, camera angle, lighting, etc., were actually made in Europe during the early years of cinema and then brought to America later. For example, such genres as the spooky horror film, the ôscoff flickö, and the film noir spy movie, in fact, have their roots based on a post-World War I philosophy of film known as German Expressionism (Giannetti, 1990; Morris, 2000). German Expressionists ôsought to give shape to psychological states through stylized visuals û particularly (in the movies) using sharply exaggerated shadows and high contrasting lighting, disorientingly skewed set design and off-kilter camera anglesö (Emerson, 1998, par. 2). Subsequently, many of the films made during this time were visually outstanding and set visual and story standards that are still in place today in the movie industry. There were several directors

. . .
that year they divorced and she joined the Ministry of Propaganda (ôBiography of Fritz Lang,ö 2001). Although this was the end of LangÆs career in Germany, it was only the beginning of his career in the United States. While in Paris he made only one French film, ôLiliomö (1934). He then signed a one-movie contract with MGMÆs David O. Selznick and moved to the United States to make the movie ôFuryö (1936), starring Spencer Tracy and based on the book Mob Rule. Lang continued to make films noir and spy thrillers in the '30s and '40s, however with the decline of the studios in the '50s, and due to his reputation of being a difficult director to work with, his career sputtered out (ôBiography of Fritz Lang,ö 2001). The films that Lang made up through his movie ôYou and Meö (1938), influenced, and continue to influence, American Cinema with his perception of the world in regards to storyline, special effects, lighting, and camera angles. LangÆs film style may be best characterized by the grandeur of his sets, striking visual composition, suspense, and his ability to enlist the audienceÆs imagination to evoke horror (Scheuer, 2001). The themes of his movies were usually manÆs struggle against fate and the mindless machine of g
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
American Cinema, Dusseldorfö Morris, James Bond-like, James Bond, Lumiere Brothers, German Expressionists, Fritz Lang, Hitler Nazis, Goebbels Goebbels, Fritz Langö, available online, thomas 2001, fritz lang, giannetti 1990, american cinema, fritz langö, ôbiography fritz, fritz langö 2001, langö 2001, scheuer 2001, von harbou, ôbiography fritz langö, thea von harbou, institute available online, fritz lang 2001,
Approximate Word count = 1820
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Fritz Lang