critique of the cabinet of dr

At the time of its release in America, horror films were virtually unheard of because filmakers felt that the subject matter was tasteless or even repulsive, not to mention difficult to

Critique Of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

Tamala Garrett

English 376

Due 1/29/96

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari was written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer,

and directed by Robert Weine It was produced in 1919 by Erich Pommer for

Decla-Bioscop 1919 was a year in which the movie industry was transformed into

a giant industry Although the movie was produced in 1919, it was not released

in the United States until 1921 A time when film makers were out to prove that

film was indeed art In the year 1921 525 films were released out of those 525,

50 still exist today, one of those 50 is The Cabinet of Dr

Caligari At the

time of its release in America, horror films were virtually

unheard of because

filmakers felt that the subject matter was tasteless or even repulsive, not to

mention difficult to adjust to the silent screen The first horror film on

record was Frankenstein in 1910 Elements from Frankenstein are evident in The

Cabinet of Dr Caligari

When the demonic somnambulist Cesare creeps into Lil

Dagover's bedchamber,

director Robert Wiene was exploiting a fear common to us all Prone and

sleeping the woman is uttlerly helpless She is carried off into the

expressionist labyrinth that Wiene used to symbolize the darkest torments of the

human mind and soul A beautiful woman is carried off by evil, a play on the

Beauty and the Beast themes that would become so popular in

horror films

Used expressionism, films that explored dream, nightmare and psyche and

that found their narrative shape determined less by action than emotion Used

angular sets and heavy shadows to develop a macabre and horrific atmosphere for

its tale of murder and madness The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

intentionally uses

sets that look artificial The deliberate distortions were meant

to portray

what a tormented soul might perceive German expressionism, known as dada, and

surrealism rejected notions of reality, the German expressionist movement,

modern art was underway Used tilted sets, and twisted cardboard trees Light

and shadow were used to create a response, and get the viewer

connected

Two films imported from Germany named Passion and Sumurun starring a

popular actress named Pola Negri opened the door for other German imports The

popularity of Negri and Caligari combined helped to create a small art-house

market

The expressionistic style was widely distrusted at the time but even so was

copied by American directors looking to add European culture to their films

The style soon became so well known that a spoof was made of Caligari in 1928

called The Life and Death of a Hollywood Extra which is a tale about a Hollywood

extra whose dreams of fame and fortune are frustrated

Caligari had a lot of effect on the content of future

Hollywood movies

It's influence can be seen in later films such as The Bells

(1925) and Murders

in the Rue Morgue (1932)