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How did German Expressionism help shape the visual style of film noir?

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Fritz Lang directing Woman in the Moon (1929) — Fritz Lang Although it took Fritz Lang some 21 years to make 22 Hollywood films, arguably at least half of them are noirish masterpieces of menace. His time in Hollywood, which began in 1934, followed a directing career in Germany during the 1920s that included several landmark films.

German Expressionism significantly shaped the visual style of film noir by introducing techniques designed to externalize internal psychological states and evoke a sense of unease.12

The most prominent influence is the use of stark high-contrast lighting, which creates the signature shadowy atmosphere of noir. This aesthetic originated in silent-era German films, such as Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, where bizarre patterns of light and shadow were used to represent a character's madness.12

Directors like Fritz Lang, who were trained in this tradition, brought these visual sensibilities to Hollywood. Key stylistic elements adopted from German Expressionism include:31

Dramatic Lighting: The use of deep shadows and shafts of light to heighten a somber, pessimistic tone.14
Distorted Perspectives: The use of tilted camera angles and skewed imagery to reflect a character's disturbed mental state or a sense of instability.14
Subjectivity: A focus on conveying thought and emotion through visual style, decor, and atmosphere rather than relying solely on narrative.312

These techniques helped define the claustrophobic and cynical world of film noir, mirroring the disillusionment of the post-World War II era.34