Robert Wiene's 1920 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the prime examples of German expressionism in film. In the movie, a man who later we find it is Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), expresses interest in showing off something of his at the local fair. We are shown the fair and Dr. Caligari later reveals that he has a 23 year old man who has been sleeping for 23 years, and tells the audience he is to awaken him. Additionally, his somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt), can allegedly answer any question about the past, present or future. A man named Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) asks how long he is to live, and Cesare tells him only until dawn of the next day. This prophecy is fulfilled and sets off a series of tangled events involving murder, kidnapping, and inmates of an insane asylum.
The entire story is told in a flashback by Alan's friend Francis (Friedrich Feher), one of the first movies to be told using frame story. This becomes important as the final plot twist provides ample space for ambiguity in the storyteller's tale.
The aforementioned German expressionism is prevalent through-out the film. Some theories suggest that because of Germany's lack of access to American films during World War I, the Germans developed their own unique style, clearly influenced by the works of expressionist painters. This comes through to us almost exclusively through the art direction. In fact, the art direction of the film was done by Hermann Warm, Walter Röhrig, and Walter Reimann, who were expressionist artists. The sets feature distorted and oddly angled buildings and shadows (which were actually painted shadows as it was cheaper than actually setting up the lighting) gloom ominously on the set. This is not done without reason, and was indeed done to show the manic states of one of the characters (exactly which remains ambiguous).
Unfortunately, and despite making some masterpieces, many German expressionist filmmakers, including Wiene in this film, may not have lived up to the full potential of their ideas. While they missed out of American movies of the World War I era, filmmakers like D. W. Griffith were progressing film-making techniques. The shots in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are mostly long and medium shots, with minimal use of close-ups. Additionally, the camera remains completely static the entire time. The expressionism comes solely out of the art direction, whereas camera movements and cuts could have expressed the same insanity in more cinematic terms. However, this expressionism is still seen today in cinema (likely influenced by films such as these), in films like those of Tim Burton.
The screening I saw of the film featured a contemporary score. The score certainly helped in setting the mood for the film, and at times highly intensified the situation. I was slightly off- put however when the saxophone solos occurred. It seemed off in a way I can't personally fully explain. It exuded an odd feel for what was essentially a horror score, and gave off more of dystopian ambiance to me.
Although the static camera will always represent a slightly missed chance, Robert Wiene's film is still considered a masterpiece and will always be a poster child for the German expressionism of the silent era.
The entire story is told in a flashback by Alan's friend Francis (Friedrich Feher), one of the first movies to be told using frame story. This becomes important as the final plot twist provides ample space for ambiguity in the storyteller's tale.
The aforementioned German expressionism is prevalent through-out the film. Some theories suggest that because of Germany's lack of access to American films during World War I, the Germans developed their own unique style, clearly influenced by the works of expressionist painters. This comes through to us almost exclusively through the art direction. In fact, the art direction of the film was done by Hermann Warm, Walter Röhrig, and Walter Reimann, who were expressionist artists. The sets feature distorted and oddly angled buildings and shadows (which were actually painted shadows as it was cheaper than actually setting up the lighting) gloom ominously on the set. This is not done without reason, and was indeed done to show the manic states of one of the characters (exactly which remains ambiguous).
Unfortunately, and despite making some masterpieces, many German expressionist filmmakers, including Wiene in this film, may not have lived up to the full potential of their ideas. While they missed out of American movies of the World War I era, filmmakers like D. W. Griffith were progressing film-making techniques. The shots in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are mostly long and medium shots, with minimal use of close-ups. Additionally, the camera remains completely static the entire time. The expressionism comes solely out of the art direction, whereas camera movements and cuts could have expressed the same insanity in more cinematic terms. However, this expressionism is still seen today in cinema (likely influenced by films such as these), in films like those of Tim Burton.
The screening I saw of the film featured a contemporary score. The score certainly helped in setting the mood for the film, and at times highly intensified the situation. I was slightly off- put however when the saxophone solos occurred. It seemed off in a way I can't personally fully explain. It exuded an odd feel for what was essentially a horror score, and gave off more of dystopian ambiance to me.
Although the static camera will always represent a slightly missed chance, Robert Wiene's film is still considered a masterpiece and will always be a poster child for the German expressionism of the silent era.
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