Das Kabinett Des Doktor Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919)

From The Book:

"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the keystone of a strain of bizarre, fantastical cinema that flourished in Germany in the 1920s and was linked, somewhat spuriously, with the Expressionist art movement.  If much of the development of the movies in the medium's first two decades was directed toward the Lumiere-style "window on the world," with fictional or documentary stories presented in an emotionally stirring manner designed to make audiences forget they were watching a film, Caligari returns to the mode of Georges Melies by constantly presenting stylized, magical, theatrical effects that exaggerate or caricature reality."

I'm not usually a big fan of Expressionism, and the scenery for this film was no exception.  It was almost Seussian in style, but badly done.  I wanted to like it.  I really did.  It was meant to be a flashback to memories in the mind of a crazy man, and the scenery was supposed to reflect that, but it really got distracting after awhile.  However, the story was great; a patient in a mental hospital recounting the events that put him there, though the events are a bit inaccurate in his own mind.  Despite the distraction of the scenery, I very much enjoyed seeing Caligari again (I'd seen it years ago, but didn't remember it very well).  It was a rather simplistic film for the period, most filmmakers were trying new techniques, trying to come up with something that would make the process better, faster, or more innovative, and Wiene went for the simpler methods of a still camera, painted backdrops, and theatrical devices instead of camera tricks. 

I would highly recommend this to any fan of the horror genre; it's got some great moments of suspense and a fantastic story behind it.

Want a clip?  Here you go:



Next movie: Broken Blossoms (1919)