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Film Review :- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Film Review :- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

 The cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a silent film release om 1919, directed by Robert Wiene, influenced by the German expressionism movement  as well as other modern ideas of the time. The movie is about the story one man tells another on a bench, the story is about how the Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist named Cesare to kill people. The movie is set in a physiological fantasy scape, In sets that use visual tricks and great design to aid the story.

While watching the movie I noticed how a lot of the sets where very similar to play theatre sets, many using painted backgrounds with wooden constructed sets in-front of it, with lots of steps and ladders into the set as well as paths in and out of the screen sides. Its sets change and warp throughout the movie helping to tell the narrative, that "lay down a template for today's scary movies, noirs and psychological thrillers." (Peter Bradshaw: The Guardian) This being how the story is being told through the eyes of a mentally ill patient. This gives obvious reason of the choice of strange sets and designs in the town.
Image 1

As shown in Image 1 the design of the town is surreal and impressionistic. This design adds the they physiological aspects of the movie as well as the horror as Jamie Dunn (the skinny) says "Every frame screams violence, dread and madness". This adds to the pay off at the end of the movie where we find out we are seeing the world through insane eyes. Outside of this visual story telling of sanity there are a lot of other instances visual short hand is used to convey ideas quickly to the audience. Lines are painted on stairs to make them look longer, all the outfits are designed to give instant impressions on the viewer. The best example of this can be seen in the establishing shot of the movies narrative as seen in image 2. This shows the story/ action of the scene and the movie in the foreground within a painting of the city, where the story takes place. a simple and un-extravagant way to get the location of the movie and what its about across to the audience at once.

Image 2

Common imagery is used too great effect in this movie. Images are shown before and after the veil of insanity is lifted, this causes the audience to make connection about location as well as events in the movie. The first in the Candy pin stripes of Dr. Caligari's tent at the fair, later this is shown on the floor of the insane asylum, making the connection that the tent in the story is actually just the asylums court yard and Dr. Caligari is actually just a doctor in the asylum. The more recognisable and obviously intentional one is in the room Dr. Caligari is placed after he is restrained. Through the eyes of the insane the walls are covered in vibrant paintings of bacteria however later we see these walls have been washed over dulling the imagery, showing the reality being less impressive then the subjects insane imagination.

The director Robert Wiene is praised heavily for his work on this movie many says things such as "[He] tapped into [his] fractured society to fill their films with equally fractured characters" (Ian freer). Robert Wiene was clearly inspired by the artistic environment surrounding him in Germany when he made this movie. The mood was sombre and as such art and films where pushed towards horror and physiological thriller. many scenes feel like other expressionist pieces such as Edvard Munchs 'The Scream' or the work of MC Echer. Warped perspectives and diversion of expectations create these whimsical and crazy world that are inhabited by the fractured characters of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Bradshaw, P. (2014) 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari review – occult scary-movie touchstone from 1920' In: The Guardian 28 August 2014 [online] At: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/28/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-film-review (Accessed on 7 October 2019)

How The Cabinet of Dr Caligari changed cinema - The Skinny (s.d.) At: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/opinion/how-the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-changed-cinema (Accessed on 7 October 2019)

de Semlyen, P. et al. (2016) Movie movements that defined cinema: German Expressionism. At: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/german-expressionism-movie-era/ (Accessed on 7 October 2019)
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