Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Grand-daddy of horror film, it's artsyfartsy AND quite cool!, 20 Jun 2001
This is a film that time nearly forgot, but that truly is the shadowy seed out of which both the horror film and film noir genres have developed over the last 75 years. (Woo-hoo!) But even if you aren't into all that German Expressionist, history of cinema stuff, you should know that this film is HUGELY entertaining in itself, if not even a good bit creepy (in a silent, 1919 sort of a way)! How could a dark story about a murderous sleepwalker, controlled by a demented madman, terrorizing the inhabitants of an old-world European village, centered around an insane asylum not be interesting?!? Not to mention that the film has a real twist/suprise ending... And then there are the visuals! Creepy, dark, jagged images that you could very well end up dreaming about later... For the film buff, this is essential viewing. And for the every-day man, the unknowing post-modern viewer, this is a film that will be a real suprise and treat... including the amazing sight of a german Edward Scissorhands gliding like a spectre across the screen, nearly 40 years before Tim Burton was even born. Not to be missed!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Courageous film making, 18 April 2002
By A Customer
Robert Wiene's 1919 classic "Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari" is, in every way, a courageous piece of film making. The Expressionistic set design, as the backdrop to the story of a mad doctor and his manipulation of a somnambulist, is brilliantly conceived, especially when considering the twist at the end of the film. The sets give the film a definite and appropriate dreamlike quality. The importance of the film cannot be overstated since it undoubtedly influenced the later Universal monster movies that proliferated in the 30's and 40's as well as later horror films.
It seems certain James Whale was inspired by German Expressionism, if not "The cabinet of Dr Caligari", for the set design on his version of "Frankenstein". The DVD has been designed to emulate the Expressionism of the film. Good production values and attention to detail with an in-depth audio overview of the film. This film is essential viewing for anyone interested in early German cinema or the history of horror films but, it is equally valid as an important piece of German Expressionist art.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
The classic German Expressionist horror film of 1919, 8 Feb 2004
When we talk about the history of the "movies" it is "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" ("Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari") that has almost always represented the first prime example of the "cinema," where we treat films as art. This is the best example of German Expressionism with angular sets and exaggerated performances by the actors that represented the dementia of the title character. Werner Krauss is the mad doctor, who uses his somnambulist Ceasar (Conrad Veidt) from his carnival sideshow to do his evil deeds, with Lil Dagover is the damsel in distress. The film is framed by a rather clever plot device that turns the narrative upside down in the end, as a young man (Friedrich Feher) tells the story of Dr. Caligari's visit to the small German town of Holstenwall to an older one, as they sit together on a park bench. There is also a strong sense of how the film serves as a metaphor for the destruction of post-war Germany. Whatever the films shortcomings, the classic status of this 1919 film directed by Robert Wiene is assured by the striking art direction. The abstract, expressionists designs provide severely angled corners, crooked lines, and objects highlighted by decorative stripes. If "Then Battleship Potemkin" opens us up as students of cinema to the possibilities about montage, then "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" does the same for mise-en-scene. The film also establishes many of the conventions of the horror film (e.g., the mad scientist, beauty and the beast), although, surprisingly enough, the basic storyline has never been remade.
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