If you're an average movie goer and you've never heard of this movie, I don't blame you. It came out in the 20's, so it's not like it's a current blockbuster. But if you're a film buff and you've never seen this, I have only two things to say: shame on you and go watch it now. Don't even wait to finish this post - just find it and watch it now, because it's too good to miss!
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is hailed to be one of the biggest influential films of the silent era and arguably the first horror film in existence. It is a classic that demonstrates the harsh, surreal style of German Expressionism and carries political undertones amidst the nightmarish story of a devious hypnotist and his tragic minion's evil-doings.
Here are some specifics.
The writers - Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer - both felt very bitter and distrustful of authority after World War I. With the encouragement of friend Gilda Langer (who was the inspiration for the heroine of the film), the two created the script for Caligari in six weeks in 1918 and the next year, they began filming it. Using experiences, memories, and other such inspirations, they created a world that was dark and bleak, filled with trapped, helpless characters.While Janowitz and Mayer stated that they hadn't thought of creating a blatant political message in the film, the signs of an anti-authority theme are there.
Curious about it already? Then let's take a look at the plot! WARNING: This is a framed story (a story within a story - storyception!) and on top of that, there's a twist. So if you feel confused, just know that that's completely normal.
Our story begins with our hero, a young man named Francis (Friederich Freher). He's talking in a garden with an older man, who claims that he's haunted by spirits. After Francis's "fiance" Jane (Lili Dagover) walks by, the older man asks why she looks so dazed. This prompts Francis into telling him his terrible tale.
We are then transported to Francis's home village of Holstenwall, which is perched on the top of a mountain. Through the sharp, curvy, topsy-turvy streets and buildings, Francis and his friend Alan decide to go to the village fair the next day. When Jane comes along and greets them, you can tell there is some competition between the two men for her affection, but they still wish to be friends.
In another part of town, a stranger named Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) goes to rent a tent space at the fair for his "somnambulist" exhibit. He gets irked when the clerk doesn't take him seriously, but eventually he's given a permit. Later that night, the clerk is discovered dead at home from a fatal, mysterious stabbing.
The next day, Francis and Alan go to the fair and visit Caligari's exhibit. There, Caligari boasts of his somnambulist, a young man named Cesare (the incomparable Conrad Veidt), saying that he can predict the future. He opens Cesare's box (the "cabinet"), and the pale, wide-eyed somnambulist is revealed to the audience, awaiting their questions. Even though Francis tries dissuading him, Alan stands and asks, "How long will I live?" Cesare's startling answer is, "Until dawn."
In the night, Alan gets stabbed by a knife-wielding shadowy figure.
Francis, torn apart by the loss of his friend, goes to the police in the morning and tells them to look into Caligari, mentioning how Caligari's somnambulist had predicted his friend's death. They don't really believe him, but he gets their authorization (through Jane's father Dr. Olsen (Rudolf Lettinger)), and they do investigate Caligari's home. Nothing unusual or suspicious is discovered, though, leaving Caligari in the clear temporarily. To top it all off, the police catch a criminal who almost killed a woman with a knife. However, when questioned about the deaths of the town clerk and Alan, he swears he wasn't responsible for either.
In the midst of all this, Jane ends up visiting the fair grounds, where she runs into Caligari. He invites her into his tent and asks if she'd like to see Cesare. Though scared, she agrees and the moment the box is open, Cesare's eyes are fixed on her. Shocked at his haunting and ghastly appearance, she runs out. When she finds Francis again, she tells him of what happened and he decides to spy on Caligari that night.
Francis keeps watch at Caligari's house, thinking he sees Cesare asleep in his box. Unfortunately, what he sees is only a dummy and the real Cesare has escaped into the night, intent on killing Jane. Once he looks upon Jane in all her slumbering beauty, though, Cesare finds himself unable to kill her and instead, he kidnaps her in the most iconic scene of the movie.
With a mob coming after him and almost no energy left, poor Cesare sets Jane aside on the road and after running only a little further off, collapses and dies.
Upon finding Jane, Francis asks her who took her. With a terrified look, her sole response is, "Cesare."
After finding the dead Cesare, Francis and the police go to Caligari's house to arrest him. Caligari flees and only Francis follows. Where Caligari leads him, much to his horror, is an insane asylum (of which Caligari is the director). With the help of the staff, Francis learns that the asylum director had learned of a man from the 18th century named Caligari who, through a somnambulist named Cesare, committed many murders in several Italian villages. Obsessed with understanding the man, the director determined that he, too, "must become Caligari" and set about it by experimenting on a somnambulist patient. Through the experiments, he made Cesare his puppet to use in his dastardly crimes.
Francis and the staff immediately call the police, and when they come, the director enters and finds Cesare's corpse (brought along by the police). In rage and anguish, the director immediately falls into a fit, requiring him to be put into a straitjacket and thrown into a cell in his own asylum.
QUICK WARNING: If you forgot about the frame story/confusion I mentioned before, I thought I'd mention it again, because this is where things get complicated very quickly!
We return to the original circumstances, with Francis and the older man talking outside. Once Francis finishes his tale, he leaves the older man and steps into...
...the same insane asylum featured in Francis's story.
Yes, Francis is an asylum inmate along with Cesare (who is alive) and Jane. Cesare is seen wandering aimlessly and tenderly holding a bouquet of flowers, while Jane sits in the center, all the while believing she's a queen. Neither of them seem to show any signs of recognition towards one another.
To make things even stranger, it is revealed that the man who was Caligari in Francis's story is the asylum director. Upon recognizing him, Francis tries attacking him. However, he's put in a straitjacket and sent into a cell (exactly like Caligari in the end of his story). The director then reveals that he thinks he knows the cure to Francis's delusions...followed by a dramatic cut to black. And that's literally how it ends!!
Did Francis lie to us? Is the whole story true - some of it? Or is it all a big metaphor for a truth he can't bring himself to speak of?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of those movies that feels like the kind of nightmare you can't wake up from. It ensnares you to the point where you can't look away because it's so beautifully eerie in its style and composition. The sets do a wonderful job of creating a world that looks false and manipulated, but beautiful and enticing all at once. And on top of that, the cast is great, too. I know some modern audiences might think there isn't much to offer with acting in silent films, but if you look at the cast in this film, they do a splendid job in spite of the fact that they have to be over-the-top at times. Easily the two greatest stars of this film are Werner Krauss as Caligari and Conrad Veidt as Cesare. The relationship between both of these characters is played out perfectly with a combination of showmanship and menace. Krauss creates this image of a charming yet volatile sideshow man who can be funny and scary in a pinch. As for Veidt? He plays the unfortunate Cesare with such a haunted look and such strange movements that you really do forget it's all an act. With the makeup and the black costume added on, he presents a boogeyman that not only scares you but also makes you look twice into his eyes to search for that desperate soul within.
Personally speaking, this has to be one of my favorite films of all time. It plays out the horror elements well, which you don't see a lot in modern horror flicks, and the premise itself is very interesting. I also loved the German Expressionist style used in creating the world of Holstenwall and the insane asylum. The highly defined shapes and cuts combined with the great contrast of light and shadow present a world that would probably make Tim Burton envious. And I love to think about that ending a lot.
However, I have a deeper connection with this film than just an appreciation for its art.
The first time I saw this was around midnight. I hadn't researched the movie much, but I was diving right into it anyway and was enjoying it so far. Cesare's box opened and I sat up straight, curious. The instant his eyes opened, I realized, "Wait a minute...I know that face!" And it was true. In a nightmare years ago, I had seen him. I swear I'm not kidding.
I'd had a dream about being chased in the dark by a tall thin man in black with a face and eyes exactly like Cesare's when I was about seven...long before I'd ever heard of the movie.
I got chills as he stepped out of the box towards the camera...
~Maud,
Official Night Owl
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