[.ca] Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari

From Amazon.com:
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

A gothic omen:
The cabinet was one of the most remarkable films of the german expressionism. The bitter gaze about a hollow-eyed sleepwalker (Cesare) who commits murders underthe influence of Dr. Caligary was a clear methapor about what's going on in that dark times. After watching this film , please get the famous Edward Munch's painting titled The scream and establish the underground roads. The hopeless and the horror are depicted in this movie with a clear message behind the score. Beware about the hidden demons in your mind . Twelve years before the rise of Hitler, Caligari means obviously the word hypnotist who changes to Cesare in a murder; the anlogy is more than obvious. Don't you? The world evidently was in another mood , but this warning call from a bizarre film concerned to a few people. Today we are capable after eighty five years , of feel the message. Robert Wiene established a real pattern around the new possibilities of expression for the movies. He made The hands of Orlac also with Conrad Viet a legendary actor , and won too with that. But Caligari shocked the destiny of a whole generation of directors (Howard Hawks in Scarface , for instance , Freaks of Tod Browning , Edgar Ullmer, Andre de Toth , James Whale's Frankenstein , and more recently Werner Herzog , Roger Corman or Lars von Triers ) to name just a few , but specially to a young english film maker called Alfred Hitchcock and another giant Orson Welles . If you remember the chase sequence in The third man under the streets of Vienna , or countless sequences employed as dramatic visuals resources and narrative devices of the English master , remember that Caligari was the sparking light. A cul movie and one of the pioneers jewels of the german expressionism!

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919):
The story is told in a very simplistic manner and the pace is sluggish. The hammy, melodramatic acting really dates the film and causes what was once a horror film to seem comedic. The one high mark is that the twist ending actually surprised and impressed me.

Dream a little dream of me:
Two men are sitting on a cement bench by the garden wall. One casually says there are evil spirits all around. As a woman in white glides by the second man Francis (Friedrich Fehér) says that is my fiancée Jane (Lil Dagover) and let me tell you what happened to us. As his story begins we are subjected to a weird world of light and twisted shadows. A string Dr. (Caligari played by Werner Krauss) brings a somnambulist (sleeping man played by Conrad Veidt) to a local fair. The somnambulist knows all things and can predict the future; he prophesizes correctly Allan's (friend of Francis and rival for Jane's hand) murder and pilfers Jane from her bed chamber. But how can this be; as Francis has been keeping an eye on the doc and the snoozer all night and they have not moved? I leave you with this thought "Du musst Caligari warden"

Brilliant film but an explanation for all!:
It has been rumored for years that when the producers set out to make The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari they intended to end the film with Caligari getting captured and no framing story. Wrong! A first draft of the film's script shows there was always intended to be a framing story. But the one that was first intended was different than the one presented on film. Originally Francis and Jane were supposed to be at a picnic years later and reminiscing about their days in the town when murderer Caligari showed up. This was changed to the looney bin frame story probably so authority woudn't be depicted quite so negatively. Agreed the film is brilliant and powerfully scarey in it's final execution (no pun intended).

A mad doctor in pursuit of knowledge ?:
"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1919), directed by Robert Wiene, is one of the best examples of German Expressionism. This film has the distinctive mise-en-scne of that movement, with a scenography characterized by geometrical lines and sharp angles that along with a good use of light and darkness give the spectator the feeling of being immersed in a nightmare. Even though this is a silent movie, the viewer is never bored, but rather feels like part of what is happening, due to the fact that the story isn't slow, and also because the music helps to build the tension in the different scenes. The story is told from the point of view of a young man who saw his life almost destroyed by the main character, Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss). Caligari visited his town and brought death with him, in the form of a somnambulist who predicted the future , Cesare (Conrad Veidt). Dr. Caligari was intent on studying the effects of somnambulism, because he wanted to know how far a sleepwalker would go if persuaded to do some things that would be contrary to his nature while awake, for example murdering someone. Of course, the whole thing was nothing else than a experiment for Caligari, a mad doctor that would have done anything in his pursuit of knowledge. All in all, I think that this is a fairly entertaining film. It is short, but has an interesting plot and a twist at the end that you will never guess. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" isn't likely to be similar to other films you have previously seen, and even if you are familiar with German Expressionism, I sincerely believe you will enjoy it. Belen Alcat