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A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center,
Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but
Caligari still casts a considerable spell.
--Jeff Shannon
Review
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a towering landmark film in cinematic history; it had a profound stylistic impact on much of German cinema before WWII, it was the progenitor of the moody chiaroscuro look of 1940s
film noir, and, according to Siegfried Kracauer in his seminal book From Caligari to Hitler, it was a harbinger of the rise of Naziism. Originally scripted as a bizarre fever dream about the sick soul of Weimar Germany,
Caligari had a prologue and epilogue added over the objections of screenwriters Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz that explained the tale as the ramblings of a madman. Though its political subtext may have been subordinated, its artistic achievements remained potent. Marked by off-kilter sets, lighting, and costumes, the visual style of
Caligari brilliantly fuses into a seamless exterior projection of the narrator's demented interior state of mind. The acting is similarly stylized, featuring striking performances by Werner Krauss as the sinister Dr. Caligari and Conrad Veidt as his somnambulist plaything. The international success of
Caligari spawned a series of Expressionistic films, including such prominent works as Der Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922), and Metropolis (1927). Its canted grotesque look has proven a major influence on such diverse directors as Kenji Mizoguchi, Kenneth Anger, and Tim Burton. In spite of its age, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a hypnotic masterpiece that still manages to unnerve and provoke. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
DVD ~ F.W. Murnau
DVD ~ Fritz Lang
DVD ~ Luis Buñuel
DVD ~ Sergei Eisenstein
