the rise and fall of analog anti-naturalism: beginning in the late 70s, many films, especially hollywood genres, began to move away from the focus on verisimilitude and location-shooting that became prominent in the 50s and fully flowered in the early 70s. neo-expressionism fully became the default style of many famous films from 1983-1996. it faded in the mid-2000s, as greenscreen began to replace sets and lighting in the american cinema began to flatten and resemble television. tim burton, alex proyas, russell mulcahy, early ridley scott, and clive barker are the masters of neo-expressionism.
the essential characteristics of neo-expressionism:
/// 1. the embrace of artifice. these are films which no longer pretend to be set in our own world, but instead…
the rise and fall of analog anti-naturalism: beginning in the late 70s, many films, especially hollywood genres, began to move away from the focus on verisimilitude and location-shooting that became prominent in the 50s and fully flowered in the early 70s. neo-expressionism fully became the default style of many famous films from 1983-1996. it faded in the mid-2000s, as greenscreen began to replace sets and lighting in the american cinema began to flatten and resemble television. tim burton, alex proyas, russell mulcahy, early ridley scott, and clive barker are the masters of neo-expressionism.
the essential characteristics of neo-expressionism:
/// 1. the embrace of artifice. these are films which no longer pretend to be set in our own world, but instead inhabit a constructed dream-world of sets, matte paintings, and often special effects.
/// 2. the post-MTV/commercial hyper-aesthetic. liquid lighting, wet streets, reflective surfaces, strong monochromatic colors, hard shadows, weather effects, gauze, lens flares, dutch angles.
/// 3. subtextual horror/noir. many neo-expressionist films are visually oriented in classic horror/noir plots, often featuring monsters, detectives, killers, and assorted goth trappings. even if the film is not a noir or horror story, it is constructed using the classic visual grammar of those works.
/// 4. decadence. these are films which prioritize a visual experience over narrative cohesion or the minutia of plot, as opposed to the more actorly/scriptural focus of new hollywood films. the actors are here to be in harmony with the overall aesthetic, not to showcase their talents. the scripts are often full of dead-ends.
/// 5. practical effects, first and foremost. some later neo-expressionist films utilize advances in CGI, but everything is always first grounded in real optical effects, whether that be constructed sets, matte paintings, gels, smoke, stop motion, suitmation, or compositing. the CGI is used to augment the practical effects, never to replace it.
there's a million hong kong films that have this aesthetic, so let me know if i forgot any. i'm also largely avoiding horror films that don't have the liquid lighting look, or that mostly are shot on-location.
