M&M: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Dear reader,

I hesitated for a long time, to watch this movie. When I finally did it a couple of days ago, I knew by the end of it, which would be my next M&M movie: “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” from 1920. This film is a silent film and for the colour and spoken words spoiled viewers, this is certainly not a film for everyone to enjoy. With a running time of just a bit over an hour though, it's not taking up too much time and certainly shouldn't stop you from watching it! Also it's a german film, though english subtitles for the text cards do exist. So English-speaking readers of my blog can relax and go watch it, too, if you're interested!

Francis (Friedrich Feher) tells a friend of the very strange and scary experiences, he and his friend Jane (Lil Dagover) went through at the holstenwall fair. It was there when Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) exhibited the somnambulist Cesare (very brilliantly played by Conrad Veidt). Somnambulist is the more technical term for sleep walking, to sleep very deep and yet move around and do things as if in a waking state. Dr. Caligari says that Cesare is 23 years old and has been asleep for 23 years! Cesare isn't a wonder for just sleeping for 23 years though. He can also see into the future. When Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) asks him, for how long he, Alan, would live, Cesare tells him “Until dawn.” In fact Alan is dead the next morning. Francis suspects Cesare to be the murderer right away and starts spying after him. The next victim should be Jane. But when Cesare sees how beautiful she is, he can't stab her, but kidnaps her instead. Jane's father wakes up from the noise so that Cesare eventually puts Jane carefully on the ground, before he can flee. Dr. Caligari is able to run away from an inspection of his caravan. He finds refuge in a madhouse. Is that the right place for Francis, to find the truth behind Dr. Caligari's secrets? See for yourself!

The style of the film is much like that of a Tim Burton film. Many angles are just odd, also for example shapes doors. The character of Cesare bares close resemblance to Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands. Certainly Tim Burton found inspiration in this film for Edward. The film is quite similar to a theatre play in terms of the set design and, among other things, the fact that it is separated into 6 acts. A theatre stage, especially with odd angles, can create feelings of claustrophobia and restriction. In that respect this horror film is created in a very interesting way, especially since it was made when the history of film was still rather young. If you like Tim Burton movies and enjoy a bit of a fright, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” might be one for you. Don't be afraid of silent movies, be brave. I didn't regret it! If you should be afraid of Dr. Caligari is another question...

Thanks to Mark Gatiss (yes, “him” again...), who with his three part series "A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss" brought my attention to this movie.

Until next blog,
sarah