Florine Stettheimer, Natatorium Undine, 1927 (detail)
Schedule
Impassioned Images: German Expressionist Prints
Outdoor Film Series
All films will begin at 7:30 pm and will held on the Chapel Lawn
In case of inclement weather, screenings will be held indoors in Taylor, room 203
August 28, 2008 - Der Golem (1920)
Directed by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener
In medieval Prague, a rabbi endowed with magical powers conjures to life a mystical clay monster, the Golem, to save his congregation following an imperial decree threatening to expel the city’s Jewish population. In a battle between Knight Florian and the rabbi’s assistant, Famulus, for the love of the rabbi’s daughter, the Golem is reactivated and wreaks havoc on the city.
September 4, 2008 - Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
Directed by Robert Wiene
In this influential silent-era film, Werner Krauss plays Dr. Caligari, a sinister hypnotist traveling the carnival circuit with a psychic sleepwalker named Cesare. When a series of murders coincides with Caligari’s visit to a small German town and the predicted murder of his best friend comes true, Francis, a venturesome village citizen, sets out to solve the crime. As he tracks every move of the carnival men, Caligari and his accomplice seem to be the obvious culprits, yet the plot concludes with an unexpected finale.
September 11, 2008 - Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror) (1922)
Directed by F. W. Murnau
The German revision of Irishman Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu follows the journey of the blood-sucking nobleman from the Carpathian Mountains to Bremen, where a string of mysterious deaths arises. Ellen, a realtor’s wife knowledgeable in matters of vampire vanquishment, offers herself to save the village.
September 18, 2008 - Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler) (1922)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Considered perhaps the first film noir, Dr. Mabuse tells the story of a sinister psychiatrist and trickster in his games to corner the stock market. The master villain’s hypnotic charm and ingenious plan are challenged, however, when put up against the methodical police detective Wrenk.
September 25, 2008 - Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler) PART TWO (1924)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Considered perhaps the first film noir, Dr. Mabuse tells the story of a sinister psychiatrist and trickster in his games to corner the stock market. The master villain’s hypnotic charm and ingenious plan are challenged, however, when put up against the methodical police detective Wrenk.
October 9, 2008 - Der Letze Mann (The Last Laugh) (1924)
Directed by F. W. Murnau
The world of an esteemed doorman for a stylish Berlin hotel collapses when an insensitive new manager demotes him to washroom duty, but good men always have the last laugh. A forerunner of the “German invasion” in Hollywood during the mid-to late- 1920s, the film is easily regarded as a classic of German silent cinema.
October 16, 2008 - M (1931)
Directed by Fritz Lang
When the police round up every criminal in town to capture an elusive child murderer, the underworld leaders decide to take matters into their own hands to catch the killer and place him in their own kangaroo court. Branded with a guilty M on his back, the murderer is recaptured by the police, and again put on trial.
October 23, 2008 - Das Testament de Dr. Mabuse (1933)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Driven to madness after being attacked by a group of criminal conspirators, Detective Hofmeister is placed in the institution of Professor Baum with fellow patient and criminal mastermind, Dr. Mabuse. A slew of psychoanalysts and detectives discover the connections between Mabuse’s writings and criminal activities outside of the institution. Car chases, factory fires, and shootouts ensue, but the plot concludes with an unexpected twist of character.