The first feature-length horror movie ever made (not counting the hundreds of shorts made in the previous two decades, usually under five minutes each), this is classic stuff and rightly so. With an age-barrier of nigh on a century you might think that this movie, seen today, is very dated, and you'd be right. The lack of dialogue (although there's a fine music score), the theatrical acting and static direction may make this movie an effort to watch but the effort is well worth it. My main problem with these older films is that sometimes they can be very boring with little action, but that's not a problem here; the pacing is fast and the film is short which makes the time fly by.
The plot, involving Caligari and his murderous somnambulist, may seem deceptively simplistic at first glance, but there are lots of little tricks thrown in to fool the viewer. Also, other characters whose lives act as other plot strands, flowing in and out of the central thrust of the story. All this and a twist ending to boot.
The acting is generally top-notch, if you allow for the acting style of the period. Werner Krauss makes the most of his bookish Caligari, complete with horn-rimmed glasses and odd-looking attire; his outlandish and very atypical character makes him highly watchable. Stealing the show, though, is a very young Conrad Veidt (later to go on and pursue a successful Hollywood career) playing the somnambulist, around whom most of the action is centred. Veidt's striking appearance (black clothing, white eyes, black sunken eyes) fits together well with his understated acting approach so that he appears very deathly and almost like a living corpse; just looking at him gives you the creeps. The supporting characters are humane and normal and thus forgettable, but fine.
What is most striking about this movie are the sets, most of which were constructed form paper or cardboard. The abstract drawings, and the oddly surreal, angular walls create a visually stimulating fantasy world for the sinister events to take place in. Much has been made of the "painted shadows" employed to give the movie more of a balance between black and white and the effort pays off. Karl Freund's photography certainly brings out the atmosphere of the sets and they're unforgettable. Like Tolkien did with Lord of the Rings, all involved with the making of this film transpired to create a believable fantasy world which is similar to, yet very different, from our own; an alternate reality perhaps. Whatever the motivation, the expressionist art displaying itself here made the movie a classic.
Seen today, the horror is subtle and all of the murders offscreen (aside from one memorable shadow-play). A far cry from the movies of today and, indeed, the wealth of absurdly violent (heads, bodies being chopped apart) shorts made in the early 1900s. Yet the image of Veidt stalking his victims through long corridors have undoubtedly influenced all that has come after it, from Lugosi's Dracula to Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN. Altogether, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is a horror classic which should be seen at least once by any fan with a passing interest in the genre, or indeed in the cinema, as this is a highly influential and important film in every respect.
The plot, involving Caligari and his murderous somnambulist, may seem deceptively simplistic at first glance, but there are lots of little tricks thrown in to fool the viewer. Also, other characters whose lives act as other plot strands, flowing in and out of the central thrust of the story. All this and a twist ending to boot.
The acting is generally top-notch, if you allow for the acting style of the period. Werner Krauss makes the most of his bookish Caligari, complete with horn-rimmed glasses and odd-looking attire; his outlandish and very atypical character makes him highly watchable. Stealing the show, though, is a very young Conrad Veidt (later to go on and pursue a successful Hollywood career) playing the somnambulist, around whom most of the action is centred. Veidt's striking appearance (black clothing, white eyes, black sunken eyes) fits together well with his understated acting approach so that he appears very deathly and almost like a living corpse; just looking at him gives you the creeps. The supporting characters are humane and normal and thus forgettable, but fine.
What is most striking about this movie are the sets, most of which were constructed form paper or cardboard. The abstract drawings, and the oddly surreal, angular walls create a visually stimulating fantasy world for the sinister events to take place in. Much has been made of the "painted shadows" employed to give the movie more of a balance between black and white and the effort pays off. Karl Freund's photography certainly brings out the atmosphere of the sets and they're unforgettable. Like Tolkien did with Lord of the Rings, all involved with the making of this film transpired to create a believable fantasy world which is similar to, yet very different, from our own; an alternate reality perhaps. Whatever the motivation, the expressionist art displaying itself here made the movie a classic.
Seen today, the horror is subtle and all of the murders offscreen (aside from one memorable shadow-play). A far cry from the movies of today and, indeed, the wealth of absurdly violent (heads, bodies being chopped apart) shorts made in the early 1900s. Yet the image of Veidt stalking his victims through long corridors have undoubtedly influenced all that has come after it, from Lugosi's Dracula to Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN. Altogether, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is a horror classic which should be seen at least once by any fan with a passing interest in the genre, or indeed in the cinema, as this is a highly influential and important film in every respect.