Review of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

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