Streszczenie:
German Expressionism was one of the essential movements in the history of cinema. From
the formation of the movement to its honorable end, German Expressionism was
revolutionary. It became the starting point for creators in post-war Germany to explore their
pain and show it though mentally ill characters, twisted decorations, and the image of death
in almost every movie. After the movement became popular all over the world, creators from
Hollywood picked up the idea of expressing emotions through dark narratives. Because of
this, we now have such films as Vertigo, 1958, by Alfred Hitchcock, Frankenstein, 1931, by
James Whale, Blade Runner, 1982, by Ridley Scott, and many more.
It seems like even nowadays German Expressionism has not lost its influence. Many
award-winning directors today were inspired by the German Expressionist cinema. One of
those directors is going to be the focus of this paper. Tim Burton is a brilliant and exceptional
director, with his eccentricities. From his early childhood, he was quiet and reserved, but it
didn’t stop him from becoming an artist with a very unique style that critics named
“Burtonesque”. In his works Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow, he uses different
amounts of Expressionist features masterfully mixing it in with his style.
In this paper, I would like to discuss how German Expressionism influenced Tim Burton's
style. And make a case for aspiring artists not to be afraid of being inspired. Inspired work is
still original.
