The Golden Age of World Cinema 1918-1932: A Study Guide

THE GOLDEN AGE OF WORLD CINEMA, 1918-1932
CHAPTER 3: ‘THE WORLD EXPANSION OF STYLE’

Key Themes and Contextual Background

  • Post-War Cinematic Evolution (1918)

    • Cinema in 1918 was initially too technologically and narratively immature to fully process the complex sociological and psychological traumas of the First World War and the Russian Revolution.

    • From 1918 to 1928, filmmakers transitioned from the "Cinema of Attractions" (focusing on spectacle) to applying sophisticated visual techniques to internal and external human experiences, triggering a global creative renaissance.

    • The Hollywood 'Dictatorship':

    • Writer Henry Miller characterized the emerging Hollywood production line as a "dictatorship" where the commercial interests of the studio silenced the individual artistic voice, prioritizing standardized formulas over technical experimentation.

Notable Studio Executives and the Power Structure

  • The era was defined by the rise of the "Movie Moguls" who established the architectural foundations of the industry:

    • Adolph Zukor: Founder of Paramount Pictures; established the model of vertical integration.

    • Louis B. Mayer: The head of MGM who focused on high-production values and the development of the "Star System."

    • Warner Brothers: Notable for their leaner, grittier production style and for eventually pioneering sound in 1927.

    • William Fox: Innovator in theater exhibition and newsreel technology (Movietone).

Influential Filmmakers and Their Stylistic Contributions

  • Stylistic Innovators:

    • F.W. Murnau: Famous for the "unchained camera" technique, removing the camera from its tripod to create fluid, expressive movements as seen in The Last Laugh (1924).

    • Sergei Eisenstein: Developed the theory of montage, viewing editing as a "collision" of shots rather than a smooth transition.

    • Fritz Lang: Master of German Expressionism and architectural composition; his film Metropolis (1927) defined science fiction aesthetics for a century.

    • Oscar Micheaux: A pioneer of "Race Films," producing over 40 features for Black audiences that countered the racist caricatures of mainstream cinema.

    • Alice Guy-Blaché: The first female director and studio owner (Solax Company), often credited with the invention of narrative storytelling in film.

    • Erich von Stroheim: Known for his uncompromising realism and excessive attention to detail, often leading to clashes with studio heads over budgets and film lengths.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD

The Studio System: Definition and Timeline

  • The Big Five and Little Three:

    • The "Golden Age" refers to the dominance of the Big Five studios (MGM, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros., RKO) which controlled production, distribution, and exhibition. They were supported by the "Little Three" (Universal, Columbia, United Artists).

    • Timeline: Often marked from D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915)—which introduced sophisticated cross-cutting and close-ups while simultaneously fueling the resurgence of the KKK—extending through the late 1910s to the early 1960s.

Challenges in Preserving Film History (75\% Loss Rate)

  1. Material Recycling: Early studios viewed film as temporary entertainment; they often melted down celluloid to reclaim the silver content or sold it for use in manufacturing other products.

  2. Chemical Instability: The nitrogen-based (nitrate) celluloid was highly flammable, prone to auto-ignition if kept in warm environments, and susceptible to "vinegar syndrome" (decomposition).

  3. Lack of Archival Infrastructure: Before the creation of institutions like the Library of Congress or film archives, there was little political or financial incentive to preserve master negatives.

INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENTS AND AVANT-GARDE

Dadaism in Cinema

  • Anti-Art Philosophy: The Dada movement rejected logic and aestheticism, utilizing film to create nonsensical, rhythmic experiences intended to shock or confuse audiences.

  • Key Artists: Marcel Duchamp (who experimented with "rotoreliefs"), Man Ray, and Viking Eggeling (pioneer of abstract animation).

  • Impact: Dadaists were instrumental in subverting gender norms and providing platforms for female perspectives in the avant-garde space.

German Expressionist Movement

  • Visual Distortion: To reflect the internal angst and socioeconomic instability of post-WWI Germany, filmmakers used stylized, non-naturalistic sets, jagged shadows, and heavy makeup.

  • Key Technique: Chiaroscuro (extreme high-contrast lighting) and the rejection of realism.

  • Legacy: This style directly informed the American Horror genre and the Film Noir of the 1940s.

Soviet Montage Theory

  • The Kuleshov Effect: Lev Kuleshov demonstrated that the audience derives meaning not from a single image, but from the juxtaposition of two images (e.g., an actor’s neutral face followed by a bowl of soup creates the impression of hunger).

  • Eisenstein's Five Methods of Montage: Metric, Rhythmic, Tonal, Overtonal, and Intellectual montage.

CASE STUDIES IN CINEMATIC SCALE

Erich von Stroheim’s Greed (1924)

  • Production: Shot entirely on location, including the grueling Death Valley, to achieve absolute realism.

  • The Cut: Originally 42 reels (roughly 8 to 9 hours), it was forcibly edited down to 10 reels (140 minutes) by MGM executives, a move that destroyed von Stroheim's original vision but cemented the film's status as a masterpiece of social critique.

Abel Gance’s Napoleon (1927)

  • Technological Innovation:

    • Polyvision: Use of three separate screens to create a panoramic triptych (the precursor to Cinerama).

    • Dynamic Camera: Gance strapped cameras to horses, sleds, and even swinging pendulums to capture the kinetic energy of the French Revolution.

    • Post-Production: Utilized split-screens and intricate superimpositions, sometimes layering up to 16 separate images in a single shot.