Shortly after a traveling showman, Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), arrives in the town of Holstenwall with his cadaverous somnambulist, Cesare (Conrad Veidt)—who, the doctor claims, is able to predict the future—a number of persons are murdered. Following the first of these killings, two locals, Francis (Friedrich Feher) and his friend Alan, attend a performance given by Caligari and Cesare, at which the latter prophesies that Alan will die before the next dawn. When his friend is killed that same night, Francis begins to suspect that Caligari and his strange companion may be responsible for the murders. The young hero’s subsequent efforts to protect both his town and Jane (Lil Dagover), the woman he loves, reveal, however, that there is far more to this story than is at first apparent. –movierapture.com
Robert Wiene, born April 27, 1873, in Breslau, studied law in Berlin and Vienna from 1894 to 1896 before he changed his subject and became a Doctor of Philosophy. In spring of 1908 he became the head of Kleines Schauspielhaus in Vienna for a short period of time and was a leaseholder in the foundation of Neue Wiener Bühne, after Kleines Schauspielhaus was closed in August. But in May 1909 he already left the management of Neue Wiener Bühne.
From 1912 on, Wiene worked in Germany and Austria as a writer and director in the film business. From 1915 on, he worked as a dramaturg and writer for Messter-Film GmbH, wrote screen plays for comedies of errors, melodramas, and other light entertainment movies. Until 1919, Wiene participated in altogether 18 Henny Porten films, and even directed three of them. Furthermore, he wrote screen plays for Deutsche Bioscop and Graf Kolowrat’s Sascha-Filmindustrie in Vienna where he also worked as a director in 1919.
In 1919/20, he directed… read more
‘Caligari’ is a definite classic and great film. I really enjoyed Caligari as a character, throughout and was disappointed that although Francis was telling the story, I felt he was quite secondary, in character portrayal. Lastly, the film was eerie in some parts and gritty exaggerated in others. I understand the popularity it has achieved, since its release.
Yes the film is important historically, yes the sets - cribbed from the then popular expressionist stage - were great, but all that said, does it still sing AS a movie? Is it's direction at all remarkable? Conrad Veidt for the little while he is shown in action is captivating. And apart from the 'influence' it has had & the feeling that I SHOULD enjoy this paranoid classic it is however not a movie I enjoy
Nothing apart from some of David Lynch's films can horrify with their sheer alien hostility and strangeness like the great silent films.
Karl Heinz Martin's Von Morgens Bis Mitternacht (From Morn to Midnight, 1920) comes on like a parody of a German Expressionist classic
As influential as Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is, the first thing one notices about the movie is its surreal backdrop, making it a prime example of German Expressionism. With its jagged… read review
The sets are crazy. That’s German expressionism for you. The movie moves a little slow at times. The story has influenced many later works, but this original does not always keep you on the edge of… read review
i rarely love silent movies.it’s not that i hate them. i respect them.,its just,.for me,watching silent movies today,with the growth of technology and all, is just an irrelevant thing to do.i barely… read review