The Cinema of Dreams - A Short History of Fantasy Cinema

Part Two - Early Fantasy Feature Films

THE FEATURE FILM

The feature film did not begin D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1914), or even with Griffith's Judith of Bethulia (1913). The feature film evolved over time, as the average length of individual movies expanded, and multi-part stories that were initally released separately were presented in single screenings. (This was particularly true with filmed passion plays. Individual exhibitors would sometimes acquire as many film versions of the life of Christ that they could locate, and edit together their own presentation from the different films.)

By the time that Birth of a Nation was released, several significant feature-length fnatasy films had already been released. Giuseppe di Liguoro's adaptation of Dante's Inferno applied the trick effects of Méliès to the artwork of Doré with striking results; Stellan Rye and Paul Wegener's The Student of Prague presented a mature tale of a Faustian bargain complete with precise double-exposure camerawork; and even D.W. Griffith had released a feature-length fantasy film, with the Poe-inspired The Avenging Conscience (1913).

Although fantasy filmwork had palayed a key role in the introduction of the feature film as a viable format, American filmmakers showed little interest in feature-length fantasies in until the 1930s. A number of notable U.S. fantasy features were released in the silent era, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (John S. Robertson, 1920), The Thief of Bagdad (Raoul Walsh, 1924), and The Lost World (Harry Hoyt, 1925). But in general, most American features favored less-fantastic themes and storylines. Westerns, comedies, melodramas and mystery movies were plentiful; fantasies were not. Even the horror films of Lon Chaney were more likely to be character-driven crime thrillers than tales of the fantastic.

Although the fantasy feature was relatively neglected in the U.S., the genre received more attention in Europe. The Student of Prague was an international success, and the poularity of The Golem (Paul Wegener, 1914) confirmed that there was a stable market for feature-length tales of the uncanny. Over a span of about fifteen years, dozens and dozens of feature-length fantasies were produced in Europe. German filmmakers were responsible for many of these films: Paul Wegener directed three films featuring his Golem (in 1914, 1917, and 1920); Fritz Lang directed Destiny (1921), Metropolis (1926), and Woman in the Moon (1929); and F.W. Murnau directed Nosferatu (1922), and Faust (1926). Other major fantasy films included The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1919), Sumurun (Ernst Lubitsch, 1920), Waxworks (Paul Leni, 1924), and The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Lotte Reiniger, 1923-26).

The success of the German films was influential throughout Europe, and filmmakers tried to equal the popularity (and sometimes imitate the style) of the German films. A series of science fiction films were produced in Hungary (then part of Austria) between 1917 and 1918, and Robert Weine directed The Hands of Orlac (1924) in Austria as well. In France, René Clair directed three fantasy features inspired by themes common in Méliès' films, The Crazy Ray (1923), The Phantom of the Moulin-Rouge (1924), and The Imaginary Voyage (1925). In Sweden, Benjamin Christensen directed the docu-drama epicWitchcraft Through the Ages (1920).

These films are often described as being "expressionist horror films." Not all of them were horror movies, however, and only a few were actually expressionist in their design. But even if these European horror films were not strictly expressionist, many were highly stylized, and their elaborate sets and striking lighting and cinematography gave the films a distictly non-Hollywood look. Also, a dark mood permeated most of the films, possibly reflective of the overall effect the Great War had on European culture. Certainly, the ratio of happy endings to sad endings was a fairly even match among these films, and even the "happy" endings were often bittersweet or laced with tragedy.

Part Three - The Sound Era Begins.