THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Robert Wiene Writers: Han Jonowitz and Carl Mayer Starring: Werner Krauß, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Rudolf Lettinger
It's amazing how older films like "Metropolis" hold up today: even when we can do pretty much anything with special effects, films like this still astound us, not just because it's incredible that the filmmakers were able to do such wild things, but also because they just look amazing. What would otherwise be interpreted as "inefficient" by today's standards is labeled as "moody" and "incredible."
"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is a simple, subversive film made all the more interesting because of its style, some of which is due to exactly how old it is. For instance, the sets are incredible as they are, but are given an extra eery tone precisely because of the lack of technology available at the time of its creation. Any film which would use lighting this bright in some cases would be deemed awful and its crew incompetent. But here, it creates a great sense of atmosphere which is unavailable today.
"Dr. Caligari" is also a pretty amazing film, not just be a technological standpoint, but also becaues the story is so fascinating and creepy. The story deals with a crotchity white-haired old man, Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauß), who gets a booth at a traveling fair to show of a zombie-like somnambulist named Cesare (Conrad Veidt), who has the ability to tell the future to any paying customer. But at night, Caligari sends Cesare out to kill innocent people.
One of the victims is a friend of a student named Francis (Friedrich Feher), who becomes obsessed with tracking down the friend's murderer. When his fiance (Lil Dagover) is almost killed by Cesare also, the evidence leads him to Caligari, who, as it turns out, is the director of the local Insane Asylum. From here, there's the fantastic finale, and big twist which concludes this film (which is only about an hour long).
This film, along with such films as Georges Melies' "Trip to the Moon," Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," and King Vidor's "The Crowd," is heralded as one of the best examples of the silent era, and perhaps the best example of German Expressionism at its most expressionistic. The sets are some of the best ever put in a film: every building is designed so it looks crooked, and everything is grand and wild. The ligthing, which would be off today, puts every shadow in the correct place, giving the film an intense atmosphere. The costumes and make-up, particularly that of Cesare's, are out of a nightmare, sticking in the mind long afterwards. Some images are just incredible, such as the look of Dr. Caligari, who is one of the scariest characters ever put on celluloid.
Apart from being visually stunning and ultimately engrossing, the film is a protest against the government's attempts to control the population like zombies. Cesare is the representation of society in the film, blindly following the mad Caligari, who's thoughts and orders are totally devoid of contemplation or reasoning. It's a film that is so angry that it's difficult to believe that it was ever given the get-go in the beginning.
But, as the story goes, the government interfered with Robert Wiene, the director, who was then forced to tack on a beginning and ending to his film where the entire message was supposed to be reversed. In it, the entire story, which works as angry, perfect satire against the government, is revealed to be a lunatic story by a member of the asylum. But looking back at it today, especially with that final shot, it actually makes the film creepier and scarier. We wonder if the story did or did not happen, and this the fact that we never really find out is even scarier.
One of the things I like most in films are when they combine a great stylistic atmosphere and an intriguing story, which holds our attention, and may even carry a strong political message. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is a perfect example of this kind of film. Here's a film which was made when film was still in the pioneer stages, and it takes advantage of everything it has, turning any kind of fault it may have into an advantage.
Afterwards, we're left with not only an idea of how many people felt of themselves being a society as well as their government, but we also see some of the best example of style ever put on celluloid. Images like that of Dr. Caligari looking up at Francis midway through the film, and the streets of the city are what remain with us forever. A scene like that where Cesare tries to kill Francis' sleeping fiance and the following chase are what we'll always remember. And "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is a film which is not only one of the best films of the silent era (or the German Expressionist era), but also one of the best films ever made.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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