{"id":4897,"date":"2007-12-09T23:49:56","date_gmt":"2007-12-10T06:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4897"},"modified":"2020-12-27T00:56:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-27T07:56:34","slug":"cabinet-of-dr-caligari-the-1920","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4897","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (1920)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I must know everything. I must penetrate the heart of his secret. I must <em>become<\/em> Caligari!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Cabinet-of-Caligari-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Cabinet-of-Caligari-Poster-139x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"139\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-26136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Cabinet-of-Caligari-Poster-139x300.jpg 139w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Cabinet-of-Caligari-Poster-59x128.jpg 59w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/12\/Cabinet-of-Caligari-Poster.jpg 220w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 139px) 100vw, 139px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA high-strung youth (Friedrich Feher) relates the story of mad Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) and his sideshow act, a gaunt somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) named Cesare who commits murders while sleepwalking. But is Dr. Caligari really who Feher says he is?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carnivals and Circuses<\/li>\n<li>Conrad Veidt Films<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>German Films<\/li>\n<li>Horror<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Mad Doctors and Scientists<\/li>\n<li>Mental Illness<\/li>\n<li>Mind Control and Hypnosis<<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Silent Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIn his analysis of this indisputable &#8220;masterpiece of the silent cinema&#8221;, Peary notes that <em>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari<\/em> was the first film to advance &#8220;the theory that what goes on in the mind, psychological horror, can be as frightening as physical shocks&#8221; &#8212; and that &#8220;one could express the emotional and\/or mental states of characters through the design of the sets they walk through.&#8221; To that end, nothing looks <em>real<\/em> here; the &#8220;backgrounds are obviously painted&#8221; and &#8220;everything &#8230; zigzags at odd angles so that the frame looks out of whack&#8221;, giving one the impression of watching an Expressionistic play rather than a film. <\/p>\n<p>Apart from its truly unique sets, what&#8217;s most distinctive about <em>Caligari<\/em> is its twisted narrative structure, in which our comprehension of what we&#8217;re seeing is continually shaken; a quick glance at the genres listed above indicates that this short film goes in <em>many<\/em> different directions throughout its scant hour-plus running time. There&#8217;s essentially a story within a story within a story here; to that end, <em>Caligari<\/em> is a film which nearly demands multiple viewings in order to &#8220;get&#8221; what exactly is happening. Indeed, Peary notes that <em>Caligari<\/em> was likely &#8220;the first &#8216;cult&#8217; movie&#8221;, given that it played &#8220;in one French theater for seven consecutive years&#8221; &#8212; for this reason alone, no film fanatic can afford to miss it. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Surreal Expressionist set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-visual2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-visual2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4898\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Conrad Veidt as Cesare the Somnambulist<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-veidt.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-veidt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4895\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The classic kidnapping sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-kidnapping.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-kidnapping.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4896\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A groundbreaking script (by Hans Janowitz), which posits that what&#8217;s seen on-screen isn&#8217;t necessarily &#8220;real&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-visual1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-visual1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4899\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The shocking twist-upon-twist ending<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-ending.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/codc-ending.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4894\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, most definitely. Discussed at length in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=5986\">Peary&#8217;s <em>Cult Movies 3<\/em> (1988)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0010323\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/classic-horror.com\/reviews\/cabinet_of_dr_caligari_1920\">Classic Horror Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s620kino.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1919.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I must know everything. I must penetrate the heart of his secret. I must become Caligari!&#8221; Synopsis: A high-strung youth (Friedrich Feher) relates the story of mad Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) and his sideshow act, a gaunt somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) named Cesare who commits murders while sleepwalking. But is Dr. Caligari really who Feher says he is? Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Carnivals and Circuses Conrad Veidt Films Flashback Films German Films Horror Living Nightmare Mad Doctors and Scientists Mental&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4897\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4897"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59873,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4897\/revisions\/59873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}