Brief overview
Range of genres
Brief article on 1920s cinema
TIMELINE OF SILENT CINEMA
MAIN AREAS OF FOCUS
How Keaton's short films fit into and can be contrasted with the history, social contexts, development and the various movements ( as well as within silent comedy) in early and silent film , including expressive v realist styles of filmmaking .
REALIST:
Film should be rooted in reality and shot and edited to match reality as closely as possible for the audieence. The director should be as invisible as possible. ( Andre Bazin)
Meaning is created within the frame by the image itself , not through editing or cuts.
LUMIERE EARLY SHORT FILMS ( 1895)
"The Cinema of attractions " which focused on audience sensation and immediate experience rather than any narrative elements was a major element of early cinema.
" The arrival of a train at a station " ( Lumiere 1895)
short biography
Although formalist techniques like editing and range of shot types are used , "realist" films focused on characters, issues and narratives closely connected with everyday life rather than escapism . They tend to be straightforwardly shot with minimal use of stylish or distracting editing techniques. Use of cartoon gags or breaking the fourth wall would never be used in such "realist" movements.
EXPRESSIVE :
Films focus more on the use and manipulation of film form elements such as editing and mise-en-scene as well as the image to suggest meaning for the audience. Fantasy, escapist entertainment, creating fictional narrative and manipulation of the audience are key elements.
Essentially this is mainstream narrative and auteur-led cinema cinema , where the director is more concerned with expressing subjective experience than objective reality. This leads to filmmakers developing their own individual aesthetic and creative signature and the extensive manipulation of audience response through creative and stylised "anti-realist" use of film form such as extensive or intrusive editing, extreme and symbolic use of lighting and colour and creative use of diegetic/non-diegetic sound.
Expressive cinema can also refer to genres and narrative that are less concerned with everyday life and ordinary reality such as science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic dramas.
An early example of expressive escapist anti-realist filmmaking with manipulation of mise-en-scene was Melies' Trip to the Moon ( 1902)
Other expressive film movements of the time you may want to compare silent comedy to include the following :
T
Soviet montage theory ( a modern explanation )
Meaning is created through editing and cuts.
An example of montage in action in narrative cinema
from Battleship Potemkin ( Eisenstein 1925 )
German expressionism e.g Nosferatu ( Murnau 1922) ,
Sunrise, (Murnau 1927) defined : another expressive film movement of the 1920s ( and 1930s ) that helps you put Silent Comedy in context .
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One ideological issue with the development of narrative cinema and expressive film could be be that films could be used to express some unpleasant ideas and ideologies to an audience not used to the manipulative techniques of film. For example , D.W Griffith's 1915 film Birth of a Nation was technically and narratively progressive but expressed racist beliefs and the representation of the KKK as the heroes and saviours of America.
The short films of Buster Keaton fall within the expressive category and use elements
such as montage editing to create meaning. However Keaton liked to show his jokes visually within the frame and create as much meaning as possible for the audience in the frame rather than simply relying on cuts, so there are links in his work to "realism". He can also be described as bridging the two worlds of early " Cinema of attractions" ( in his set pieces and cartoon gags ) and narrative cinema. It's also worth remembering that comedy tends to use techniques like breaking the fourth wall and breaking the rules of the" realistic" world more than other more "serious" genres.
Expressive cinema can also refer to genres and narrative that are less concerned with everyday life and ordinary reality such as science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic dramas.
An early example of expressive escapist anti-realist filmmaking with manipulation of mise-en-scene was Melies' Trip to the Moon ( 1902)
Other expressive film movements of the time you may want to compare silent comedy to include the following :
T
Soviet montage theory ( a modern explanation )
Meaning is created through editing and cuts.
An example of montage in action in narrative cinema
from Battleship Potemkin ( Eisenstein 1925 )
German expressionism e.g Nosferatu ( Murnau 1922) ,
Sunrise, (Murnau 1927) defined : another expressive film movement of the 1920s ( and 1930s ) that helps you put Silent Comedy in context .
Top 10 narrative films of the 1920s (includes some mentioned above)
One ideological issue with the development of narrative cinema and expressive film could be be that films could be used to express some unpleasant ideas and ideologies to an audience not used to the manipulative techniques of film. For example , D.W Griffith's 1915 film Birth of a Nation was technically and narratively progressive but expressed racist beliefs and the representation of the KKK as the heroes and saviours of America.
The short films of Buster Keaton fall within the expressive category and use elements
such as montage editing to create meaning. However Keaton liked to show his jokes visually within the frame and create as much meaning as possible for the audience in the frame rather than simply relying on cuts, so there are links in his work to "realism". He can also be described as bridging the two worlds of early " Cinema of attractions" ( in his set pieces and cartoon gags ) and narrative cinema. It's also worth remembering that comedy tends to use techniques like breaking the fourth wall and breaking the rules of the" realistic" world more than other more "serious" genres.
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