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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
In this book, David Robinson challenges long accepted versions of the history and reception of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, and seeks to redefine its relationship to the larger phenomenon of Expressionist art.
100 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 12, 2017
I enjoyed this German horror film because of the story itself but especially because of the unusual way it is presented, totally different than any other film that I saw. It is a 1920 75-minute silent film, slightly longer than other films of the time, that has been restored so that everything is clear, as if it were a new film. It made a huge impact upon people when it appeared because of the story and how it is told. It has the heavy-handed acting, often bulging eyes, and gestures typical of early silent films.
It is a German expressionistic film with German and English subtitles. Many people are familiar with expressionistic paintings. In this film, it is used in the strange designs of everything, doors, boxes, walls, streets, houses, drawings on walls, portrayal of the city from a distance, some strange clothes, and some strange makeup - there are no straight lines. The film has been given some colors: black, white, yellow, brown, and sometimes green and pink.
The film is presented in six acts and is about murders apparently committed by a man calling himself Dr. Caligari who has a man in a box and claims that the man is 23-years-old, has been asleep for 23 years, and is able to be awoken and foretell the future. Caligari appears before an audience in a side show at a fair. A murder is committed on the first night of his appearance and on the second night.
The film has a surprise ending prompting us to rethink what we saw.
It is a German expressionistic film with German and English subtitles. Many people are familiar with expressionistic paintings. In this film, it is used in the strange designs of everything, doors, boxes, walls, streets, houses, drawings on walls, portrayal of the city from a distance, some strange clothes, and some strange makeup - there are no straight lines. The film has been given some colors: black, white, yellow, brown, and sometimes green and pink.
The film is presented in six acts and is about murders apparently committed by a man calling himself Dr. Caligari who has a man in a box and claims that the man is 23-years-old, has been asleep for 23 years, and is able to be awoken and foretell the future. Caligari appears before an audience in a side show at a fair. A murder is committed on the first night of his appearance and on the second night.
The film has a surprise ending prompting us to rethink what we saw.
July 29, 2017
Naturally I eschewed all the introductory materials, and only read the scenario.
October 1, 2023
Dream a little dream of me (The Mamas and Papas)
Two men are sitting on a cement bench by the garden wall. One casually says there are evil spirits all around. As a woman in white glides by the second man Francis (Friedrich Fehér) says that is my fiancée Jane (Lil Dagover) and let me tell you what happened to us.
Forward by Andrew Sinclair
Caligari by Siegfried Kracauer
Carl Mayer’s Debut by Erich Pommer
Carl Mayer – An Appreciation by Paul Rotha
Credits and Cast
Then the screenplay of “the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” which as you may have suspected is not s verbal script as much as directions.
The whole book is peppered with stills from the movie.
Two men are sitting on a cement bench by the garden wall. One casually says there are evil spirits all around. As a woman in white glides by the second man Francis (Friedrich Fehér) says that is my fiancée Jane (Lil Dagover) and let me tell you what happened to us.
Forward by Andrew Sinclair
Caligari by Siegfried Kracauer
Carl Mayer’s Debut by Erich Pommer
Carl Mayer – An Appreciation by Paul Rotha
Credits and Cast
Then the screenplay of “the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” which as you may have suspected is not s verbal script as much as directions.
The whole book is peppered with stills from the movie.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews