The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Reviews

As someone who appreciates silent film and films in the Expressionist style(think FW Murnau), I simply love The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. True, to some people the acting may seem exaggerated and some of the movements stilted. However I felt these added well to the paranoid and sometimes weird(in a wonderfully strange way) atmosphere and also to the titular character psychopathic state of mind. Werner Krauss is the epitome of creepiness as Caligari and Conrad Veidt also makes a memorable impression. The story is interesting, and Robert Wiene directs beautifully. But it is the way it was made that makes The Cabinet of Dr Caligari so unique and a milestone of its genre. The scenery is appropriately sumptuous and their lopsidedness added further to the atmosphere, while the camera work, sometimes deliberately odd, is the best aspect. In conclusion, a great film and a milestone. 10/10 Bethany Cox

(YT) A benchmark of a style and a very clear, neat film with the Frankensteinian theme of a mad doctor impelling a victim (Veidt can be always moving, eveng sonnambule) but in a asylum mad tale frame....

Welcome to the beginning of Monsters Mash 2012 we will be covering the basic history of horror films from the silent era all the way to the golden age. Let's go to the 1920 the German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. It tells the story of a doctor named Caligari
who has a sleep walker Cesare whom he keeps in a cabinet to kill all the doctor seeks vengeance on.
(Caligari) (Cesare)
The idea of a mad scientist controlling a monster is staple in Science-Fiction and Horror. Also the sleep-walker falls in love with a girl in which he has know business with another topic use in horror like Frankenstein (1931), Creature from the black Lagoon (1954) and most notably King Kong (1933)

Is also notable for setting an example or type of genre know as the German expressionist films where warped scenery and...mirrors are anything shaped the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a fine a example to silent film and horror films and that what makes it #1 in our Monster Mash


- Stay tune for Haxan

If I recall it correctly, I saw this movie when I was living in England. There, I took a movie course which I found just great. Every week we would watch a movie starting with 'Cabiria' released in 1914 (even though it is considered a classic, it was an awful 3 hours long silent epic, I think only 3 of us stayed until the end). So, we started from the very beginning of motion picture history and moved slowly towards more recent work. Anyway, I think this flick was the 2nd one we watched during this course. Honestly, except for the funny masterpieces by/with Charles Chaplin, I always found it difficult to get really interested in silent movies. But don't misinterpret my words though! I do enjoy other silent movies but they never really blow me away and this movie is a good example. Basically, it is one of the famous movies representing the German expressionism and it was indeed quite gorgeous to look at. However, even though the story was intriguing, I got restless due to the lack of dialogs and I had a hard time investing myself in the story and the characters. To conclude, it remains a beautiful and fascinating movie and since it is such a classic, it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

''I must know everything. I must penetrate the heart of his secret! I must become Caligari!''

A horror film that surpasses all others. Alan relates the story of traveling magician Dr Caligari and Cesare. Their arrival in a town coincides with savage killings.

Werner Krauss: Dr. Caligari

A 1920 silent film, directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari is one of the most influential German Expressionist films, thus often considered one of the greatest psychological horror movies of all time. The film introduces and birthed the twist ending in cinema history.



The beauty of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. is the puzzle, the art and the silent medium the piece follows.
When anything is displayed delicately upon each frame it is not without reason. The storytelling transcends art and becomes a combination of genres that border upon thrilling, horror, art and dramatic acting using ones gestures and movements alone.
Narration nicely knits together sequences and draws audiences in, with it's whimsical tide of tremendous marvelling.
Werner Krauss as Dr. Caligari, embodies the part down to the last drop of Methodism acting.
Famed Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover, Jane Olsen, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, and Rudolf Lettinger gather together to make an impressive cast which compliments the stylish locations and black and white uniqueness.

''Spirits surround us on every side... they have driven me from hearth and home, from wife and child.''

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari impresses upon every note it plays. Whether it's the accompanying music provided by Alfredo Antonini and Giuseppe Becce, or whether it's the expressionist visuals birthing twisting paths, contorted shapes, eerie darkly formed architecture or the spooky macabre characters, it's fairly obvious The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a timeless classic equalling mystery and suspense. In fact, it rivals and is mirrored in practically every, in many films and stories which followed the 1920s and even today in modern cinema, so much is borrowed and recycled from this origin of originality.
As for German Expressionism featured, it is meant to use its bizarre forms, dramatic lines and strange angles to give physical shape to the artists' emotions.
The Expressionist style in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari creates a world of madness and disorder. However, its effectiveness doesn’t make it any less strange and trying to watch, especially for those not familiar with the movement. The world is disorienting, at times distracting and impossible for the scientific mind to reconcile. And then comes the framework. Suddenly the irrational, visceral Expressionist world is explained in a rational, logical way, making the film more versatile and accessible to most anyone, regardless of the political, scientific and spiritual movements of the era.

At 71 minutes, Caligari’s story is perhaps considered straightforward, almost mundane by today’s standards. The story opens with our hero, Francis (Friedrich Feher) speaking to a stranger in a garden. As the tale begins, the garden scene fades out, and we enter what appears to be a flashback. As events unfold, we discover that a stranger has come to town, a man by the name of Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) and with him Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a somnambulist (for these purposes, a person whom is in a death-like trance). Shortly after their arrival, people around the village begin to die, including Francis’s close friend. As Francis, suspecting Caligari, begins to investigate the strange somnambulist, the danger only grows. When Francis's love interest, Jane (Lil Dagover) is threatened, the film rushes towards a haunting climactic conclusion.

Overall, the plot seems almost enigmatic, as if it has nothing new to offer yet has everything to hide. It seems obvious from early stages in the film that Caligari is controlling Cesare in order to commit these murders. It’s hardly a surprise when Cesare attacks Jane, the only pretty woman on the screen available for damsel-in-distress duty, and the shocking twist ending is so predictable you’re almost surprised they actually follow through with it. However, while Caligari may seem mundane, it’s imperative that we remember this was made in 1919. Every cliché has to start somewhere, and this one? It started right here. This is the real deal, and it would do any film aficionado a favour to concentrate when viewing. Caligari is invaluably educational and untouchable. How can you expect to appreciate modern film if you cannot understand where it came from?
Caligari is indeed one of the parents responsible for paving the way forward for future projects.

It should be noted that this framework, was ground-breaking at the time. It laid the foundation for later films, such as Psycho, in which the reality we see is, in fact, nothing more than a madman’s delirium. The whole psychoanalyst explanation segment at the end, also, was a first, and something that would be used by later films across genres. However, while the implementation complimenting this twist, itself, is responsible for great things in cinema, it was a decision that was both detrimental and beneficial to Caligari’s long-term success.

''How long shall I live?''

"Spirits surround us on every side... they have driven me from hearth and home, from wife and child."

Prior to F.W. Murau's Nosferatu there was Robert Weine's silent horror masterpiece Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (translated to the more common title; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). In the annals of the horror genre, these two instances of German Expressionistic cinema stand above all others as pivotal filmic creations. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is amid the few archetypal horror films accountable for influencing fundamental elements of horror. These aforementioned elements include: a mad scientist, a "monster" slave to its master (think Frankenstein...even though the novel was published a century beforehand), and the pangs of guilt triggered by beauty or kindness.

This is a strikingly different piece of cinematic history due to its sheer artistry and eerie atmosphere. Visually, the film is unmistakably Expressionistic: weird, contorted angles, dark shadows, as well as bizarre, surrealistic sets and just about anything else that could assault the normal perception. Cinematic Expressionism (often referred to as "Caligarism") fundamentally involves images speaking for themselves more than any text or speech. This film abides by said law. To design the stylised décor of the movie, director Weine hired Hermann Warm, Walter Rohrig and Walter Reimann. These men turned to the paintings of Edvard Munch and the Expressionist stage designs of revolutionary impresario Max Reinhardt to find inspiration for the cramped, crooked town of Holstenwall. It's a fairly dated film, but the sheer audacity of the film's physical and psychological conceit will haunt you forever.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a film that boasts numerous firsts - the first horror film, the first psychological thriller, and the first German Expressionist film. This is a true classic of international cinema, and one of the most avant-garde horror films of its generation. The horror may be superficially insipid and tame, and the acting is unsurprisingly relatively hammy, but the eerie and unsettling atmosphere in addition to the eccentric imagery generates a lingering feeling of haunting unease - and that's what horror films should do.

This chilling tale is of a fairground barker who misuses his hypnotic powers to compel a mournful cipher into doing his evil bidding. Beginning with a harmless day of fun, Francis and his good friend Alan (Von Twardowski) attend a fair that recently rolled into town. The fair's main attraction is the enigmatic Dr. Caligari (Krauss) who's exhibiting a Somnambulist named Cesare (Veidt). Cesare has been in an uninterrupted sleep for twenty-three years, and he knows the secrets of the past and the future. A curious Alan inquires when he will die...and Cesare reveals he'll be dead by dawn tomorrow. The small town is held under a grip of fear when the prediction proves true and Alan is murdered. However, this is not the first in recent days. Caligari and his Somnambulist soon become the prime suspects in a series of killings. Francis vows not to sleep until he catches the killer.

"You fools, this man is plotting our doom! We die at dawn! He is Caligari!"

For a time during pre-production, Fritz Lang was originally assigned to direct. He claims he worked extensively on the screenplay, although this has never been proven. Given the brilliance of Lang's work (he went on to make masterpieces such as M and Metropolis) it would be fairly interesting to see what he'd have done with the film. If anything, the film could've used stronger direction. Robert Weine's direction is competent, but occasionally lacking solidity. Weine never made a masterpiece like this again, though he tried.

The final screenplay was written by Czech poet Hans Janowitz and Austrian artist Carl Mayer. A copy of the original shooting script disproves Janowitz's contention that the film's remarkable visual appearance had been devised by the writers. The design of Holstenwall was conceived by a separate creative team (whose names were mentioned before). On a more pragmatic level, an electricity shortage meant it was more efficient to paint in the lighting effects as opposed to using precious power. This subtle touch generates a heightened sense of menace.
Krauss and Veidt (who played Caligari and Cesare, respectively) were both Reinhardt alumni and were capable of fashioning their own grotesque make-up and exaggerated gestures.

German Expressionism can be perceived as inspiration for the depiction of supernatural images due to the techniques in relation to lights, shadows, out-of-focus images, and image juxtaposition. In spite of the surrealism depicted in Expressionistic movies, they always told a story related to common matters of human society. For example: the outsider (as shown in Murnau's Nosferatu) as well as prejudice and ignorance (Metropolis). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari conveys a theme in relation to corruption that can easily affect humans, compelling them to act foolishly.

Robert Weine's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has always been considered a keystone of the horror genre. This is mainly a moody film, with its tone set by grotesque art direction. The deliberately ambiguous twist ending will come as a substantial jolt for a viewer. Rather than providing visceral shocks (ala Hostel, Saw, etc), Weine's masterwork plays games with the mind. It's interesting that while Germans created films with artistic merits, Americans were cranking out brilliant slapstick comedies (like the works of Charlie Chaplin) or morality tales. Thanks to the subversive nature of their films, the Germans ushered in a new era of filmmaking. Whether or not the film works depends entirely on your tolerance for silent cinema. If you have an interest in cinema in general, or if you're a horror fan keen to visit the roots of the genre, I recommend you check this one out. Robert Weine literally wrote the book of screen horror in 1920, and filmmakers have poured over it ever since.

"I must know everything. I must penetrate the heart of his secret! I must become Caligari!"

8.2/10

I have absolutely loved this movie!

The ambiance was deeply disturbing and the plot was most interesting in its twists. I find both good and bad in the ending that had to be added (the one where the narrator is in the asylum).

If you dislike the plot, you can still enjoy the beautiful sets.