Steve-Calvert.co.uk
Steve-Calvert.co.uk
A Passion For Horror
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The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)(a.k.a Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari)
Directed by Robert Wiene
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a silent film, made in Germany in 1920. It is often believed to be the first ever horror film and I would probably agree with that, but there is a French horror film called The Devil's Castle (Le Manoir Du Diable) made in 1896, and so obviously it could also lay claim to being the first, but with a runtime of only around three minutes I am not sure if it can really be called a film. First horror film or not, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari seems to be available in various lengths, the shortest of which is the Spanish version which has a runtime of just 50 minutes. The French version is the longest one and has a runtime of 78 minutes. The story is told in flashback by a young man named Francis who is explaining to an older gentleman the events that happened when a carnival came to the mountain village of Holstenwall, bringing with it the strange and sinister Dr Caligari, who kept his travelling companion in a box. The man he traveled with and displayed in his act at the carnival was called Cesare and he was a somnambulist. Cesare, let me tell you, is one strange and freaky looking dude, who remained asleep until his master, Caligari, commanded him to awake. Part of Caligari's act was a boast that, once awakened, Cesare couls answer any question. Francis had his best-friend Alan with him at the carnival and Alan asked Cesare how long he would live. Cesare told Alan that his time was short and that he would die at dawn. Sure enough poor old Alan was murdered at dawn while still in his bed. Francis was devastated when he heard of Alan's death and he and his girlfriend, Jane, for whom he and Alan were love rivals (though highly sporting about it) began to investigate Caligari and Cesare. It didn't take long before Jane was kidnapped from her bed and the plot, as they say, thickened. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari does
not offer
edge of your seat excitement, but it is quite an enjoyable and darkly
atmospheric film to watch and I must say that the distorted
way that the scenery is painted gives the film a surreal kind of feel
to it. Surreal is the word that I would use, but
Related
pages: If you want to watch it yourself and form your own opinions about it there is a player further down the page and also a download link.
CAST Werner
Krauss
... Dr. Caligari
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Also available to buy from Amazon
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