Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920)

Director:

Robert Wiene

Writers:

Hans Janowitz (writer)
Carl Mayer (writer)

Release Date:

19 March 1921 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You must become Caligari.

Plot:

Dr. Caligari's somnambulist, Cesare, and his deadly predictions.

Plot Keywords:

Public Domain | Avant Garde | Somnambulist | Enigma | Mind Control

Cast

Werner Krauss	...	Dr. Caligari
Conrad Veidt	...	Cesare
Friedrich Feher	...	Francis (as Friedrich Fehér)
Lil Dagover	...	Jane
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	Alan (as Hans Heinrich v. Twardowski)
Rudolf Lettinger	...	Dr. Olson

Also Known As:

Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das (Germany) (alternative spelling)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (USA)

Runtime:

71 min | France:78 min | Spain:50 min | USA:67 min | USA:51 min (video version)

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:PG | Germany:12 (bw) | Spain:7 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:U (video rating) (1993) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Lixie-Atelier, Weißensee, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Decla-Bioscop AG

Trivia:

In the May 12, 1921 edition of the Chicago Daily News, Carl Sandburg wrote of the film: "It is a healthy thing for Hollywood, Culver City, Universal City, and all other places where movie film is being produced, that this photoplay has come along at this time. It is sure to have healthy hunches and show new possibilities in style and method to our American Producers."

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In most prints, many of the shots have a bar across the top of the frame resembling the bottom edge of the same frame. This flaw may have been present in the original version.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Man in garden: Spirits surround us on every side... they have driven me from hearth and home, from wife and child.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

Expressionism At Its Finest

The original message of this film is fairly pedestrian (an outcry against the weak authority in Germany at the time), although the political intrigue surrounding the production led to a fascinating framing story which re-established "the authorities," and in turn made the UFA happy enough to distribute the film. This suggests that in its own time the political message of the film was fairly powerful, but compared to the work done in such films as The Golem, Nosferatu, and Metropolis it is not so far-reaching.

What sets this film apart from its contemporaries is its absolute commitment to the expressionist movement. Mutated sets, heavy dark/light makeup, light and shadow, and a Gothic storyline are classic expressionism. The photography is beautiful and so crisp that it creates an eerie sense that this hellish scene is actually the real world, and that our everyday lives are the delusional Technicolor dream of a madman.

While there are many better movies made in this period, I feel that this one is the pinnacle of the imagery that is characteristic of the expressionist art form. It is an absolute must-see for anyone who is interested in the Expressionist movement.