El gabinete del Dr. Caligari

The original message of this film is fairly pedestrian (an outcry against the weak authority in Germany at the time), although the political intrigue surrounding the production led to a fascinating framing story which re-established "the authorities," and in turn made the UFA happy enough to distribute the film. This suggests that in its own time the political message of the film was fairly powerful, but compared to the work done in such films as The Golem, Nosferatu, and Metropolis it is not so far-reaching.

What sets this film apart from its contemporaries is its absolute commitment to the expressionist movement. Mutated sets, heavy dark/light makeup, light and shadow, and a Gothic storyline are classic expressionism. The photography is beautiful and so crisp that it creates an eerie sense that this hellish scene is actually the real world, and that our everyday lives are the delusional Technicolor dream of a madman.

While there are many better movies made in this period, I feel that this one is the pinnacle of the imagery that is characteristic of the expressionist art form. It is an absolute must-see for anyone who is interested in the Expressionist movement.

This movie was shot between 1919 and 1920, a few decades since the motion picture camera was invented, and the Lumière brothers were in the middle of their experiments with it. At the time, cinema was being considered as a new way of making art, and yo make art you had to marry with a serie of ideas: ideology, aesthetics, cosmogony, etc. In these terms, this movie belongs to the German expressionism, which is reflected in the entire setup: from characters make up to the background of the set.

Having an average murder-mystery plot, the movie can be defined as a painting with some action occurring in it. The whole scenario was displayed following the same criteria as in expressionist painting: all diagonal and curve lines, evading the straightness and the cardinal orientation of things, wicked perspectives and proportions. Even the more minimum detail was carefully considered to fulfill the aesthetics needs. The result couldn't have been better, considering that the only visual trick they could do was to shrink/enlarge the camera's diafragma. Think that this was before the concept of travelling was even developed.

Concerning the plot, yet it's true that it isn't really the great thing and that many people now a days find it boring, I got to enjoy it, further than its aesthetical function (I even got to laugh in a couple of scenes), and I highly recommend it, as a good old piece of art from which many of today's film makers may take some good lessons on how to approach movies. I'm sure that if they got understand that, then there would be much lesser crappy movies than there are now a days.

With a story as twisted, buckled and demented as the scenery and set design, and a tortured score to boot, was the lunatic in charge of the asylum? Must have been a moment to remember coming across this cinematic marvel back in 1920. I wonder how many of today's pieces of cinema will stand the test of 100 years, albeit with a lot more competition.

"The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" is upheld as one of cinema's greats, and in a number of regards, I can understand why. It is hauntingly beautiful and wonderfully stylised. It's Expressionistic cinematography is wonderful and suspenseful; it's no wonder that this film has influenced many subsequent directors and producers many years later.

However, whilst it surely wouldn't have seemed like this back in 1920, it is rather boring through contemporary eyes. I'm sorry if this makes me sound ignorant, but today it plays rather slow-paced and un-scary, even compared to some of the other greats of Weimar cinema (such as "Nosferatu").

Not a bad film by any means (I would recommend it), but "Caligari" seems more something of historical value and academic study to me.

It struck me last night that I've never seen a serious silent film. Everyone's seen a silent comedy: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the Keystone Cops... They've all been immortalized in the minds of every film viewer, and I enjoy them as much as anyone. But it seems a strange and almost disrespectful lack to never have seen anything but comedy; so many silent films were created, and the only ones I've seen starred waddling tramps.

It was partially for that reason that I rented this movie. I had read about it on a film review site (the name of which escapes my memory) and decided it was worth the half-hour drive to the video store. The basic premise is that of a man relating a story that happened to him and his friends - their unnerving discovery of a crazed mountebank, Dr. Caligari, and his prophetic sleepwalker. It follows a series of murders and growing madness, keeping you in constant suspense and confusion until the very last scene.

There's a period of adjustment when watching it - unfortunately necessary for a modern audience. The titles seem too slow. The camera seems to hold on scenes too long. The makeup on the actors' faces seem ghostly and horrible - even on the hero.

But before long, the movie has you in its grip. You spend time staring at the architecture - buildings, doors, and windows that would have been funny in a Dr. Seuss book. In the film, they make you uneasy. The whole atmosphere is of a world gone wrong; like a dream worthy of Salvador Dalí. Nothing is square or straight. The buildings loom in on you; windows sweep upward, slanted or curved; doors are obscenely angled holes beckoning you to enter and be trapped inside.

Throughout, the story defies expectations. Small plot twists confuse and mislead you until the final surprise, completely tearing down everything you thought the movie was about. Strange shadows and shots from inside alleys paint the film's world as something terrible, never allowing you a normal look at the village, never allowing you to enjoy the quaintness of it. Through it all, the grinning, hunched figure of Dr. Caligari hangs in your mind, pushing out rational thought.

The movie is well worth your time; there's a certain pleasure in trying to capture the feeling of terror an early audience, unaccustomed to the visual effects we see every day, would have had the first time they saw this movie. It's an intellectual terror in the grand old style, giving you the same thrill you get from reading Frankenstein or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. At the risk of sounding cliché: two thumbs up!