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CGAA Unit 2 Space: Worlds Apart: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari 24/10/2011



Summary:
Hugely influential silent horror film. Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr Caligari pioneered the use of expressionist sets in cinema, where deformed, wholly artificial and non-realistic sets were used to express the often delirious themes of the film.

Analysis:
“In Caligari, an evil psychiatrist compels a young man, through hypnosis, to kill people... His skewed perspective is depicted visually in the skewed and surreal set design: crooked houses, windows, and roads; outdoor scenes that are obviously shot indoors, misshapen and disproportionately-sized furniture that looks to be designed by Dr Seuss. Painted Shadows.” (Sipod, 2010:44)

“Caligari’s expressionist mise-en-scéne supports both story and theme. Dramatically the set décor and acting help to render a tale told from a lunatic’s perspective. But these elements also work thematically. Caligari has been interpreted as a metaphor for the then recently concluded First World War...” (Sipos, 2010:44)

Sipos, Thomas M. (2010) Horror film aesthetics: creating the visual language of fear. North Carolina: Mcfarland & Company Inc.

Release:
1920

Director:
Robert Wiene

Screenplay by:
Hans Janowitz, Carl Meyer

Produced by:
Rudolph, Erich Pommer

Genre/subgenre:
Horror, Silent

Country:
Germany

Cast:
Werner Kraus, Conrad Veight, Freidrich Feher, Lil Dagover, Hens Heinrich von Twardowski, Rudolph Lettinger

Selected Director Filmography:

Related Films:

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