The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Posted by Cordelia Mitchell on June 14th, 2019

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the first outstanding silent horror movie that represents a bright example of German expressionism. The story focuses on the shifts in human consciousness and the ways it is manipulated. The main protagonist of the story is Dr. Caligari who imagines himself an ancient monk who can manipulate somnambulists to kill other people. Although the movie represents realistic characters and plot lines, the setting itself is represented from strange angles and looks like a combination of reality and cartoon decorations. The play of shadows, unusual decorations, and close-ups are among the distinguishing features of the film.

The play of shadow starts after the fair when the scene of Alan’s murder occurs. This effect is properly used and persuades the audience that Alan was killed. It also conceals the face of the killer. However, the director leaves it for the audience to guess who stabbed Alan. At the same time, the prophecy of Dr. Caligari adds to the mystery of the case. The main hero Francis together with his beloved Jane try to find out what happened with their friend. After Alan’s death, many questions arose concerning Alan's killer and whether the suspicion of Dr. Caligari was the truth or just a coincidence. The plot is amplified by weird and constantly transforming settings due to different angles and strange decorations. This particularly concerns the scene when Cease accompanied Jane when a mob was following them. The crowd was chasing them through the streets up to the mountain trail. Meanwhile, Francis was following Caligari when he returned home, which turned out to be an insane asylum, and the doctor was a director of an institution. He discovered the evidence about Caligari’s intentions to subject Cesare to hypnosis and manipulate his actions while he was sleeping.

Angles, changes in settings and hero’s close-ups are also among the important techniques used by the director in order to render the mystery and suspicion. Distorted angles of buildings, also distorted proportions, and strange backgrounds make it difficult for viewers to distinguish between reality and the mysterious world. In such a way, the director manages to adhere to the stream of German expressionism. Strangely built houses, asymmetric streets and surrealistic settings render the spirit of Expressionist horror films, which differ a bit from classic film noir. In this respect, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a viewing example which is untypical for the audience’s perception in the 1920s. The director of the movie has managed to deliver the perfect use of settings and decorations developed by Walter Reimann, Walter Roehrig, and Hermann Warm. These settings attract the eye and transform the audience’s conscious and perception. Therefore, the film introduces a visibly constructed world without streets and spaces, and it is not possible to find cars, horses, or any people in these streets. The scenes are surrounded by high walls, which set the heroes in close contact and allow the audience to enjoy frequent close-ups. So, it explains the fact why long-shots are rarely used by the operators.

The use of close-ups is also explained by the author’s intention to add an emotional and thrilling atmosphere. In fact, close shorts make it possible to keep the audience attached to the screen due to sudden changes in settings and heroes in the scene. Besides, there are no specific transitions between the scenes, which also contributes to the surrealistic representation of the movie scenes which are timeless.

Throughout the movie, the director makes use of an iris shot, which is typical of early horror films. In such a way, it was a powerful approach to enhancing the thrilling effect on the audience. While watching the horrified facial expression of the major protagonists, especially, Cesare and Jane, or, in contrast, displaying the indifferent and coldblooded response of the movie characters, it is possible to understand their intentions, feelings, and emotions without words. Apparently, this technique compensates for the lack of dialogues. By using the iris short, the directors persuade the audience that it looks at something privileged which is displayed to a closed circle of people. In addition, stylized titles and words emphasize the expressionist spirit of a salient picture. The use of superimposing words express the emotions of the heroes, which are sometimes not understandable through the use of facial expressions.

While tracing the role of the Somnambulist, it is possible to draw the parallel between this character and notorious Frankenstein’s monster who is also endowed with charisma. However, Wiene’s personage is not as expressive as Shelley’s hero, but the Somnambulist is the first prototype of the horror personage. Although the Somnambulist is a creature, he is still subjected to Dr. Caligari’s hypnosis. Therefore, his actions cannot be controlled. Nonetheless, there are some glimpses of consciousness. In the scene of Jane’s abduction, Cesare is unable to murder Jane because of her beauty and, therefore, he decides to kidnap her. In such a way, the director tries to emphasize that the sleeper still has a chance for recovery and rescue from Dr. Caligari’s mysterious plans.

A frame story was used in the film, but this technique was innovative at this period. The director of the picture Robert Wiene supported the novelty and decided to add the frame story because it makes the entire plotline more attractive to the audience. Furthermore, the use of the framed story had a political context because this particular approach was a revolutionary trend that was met with mixed responses. Some of the directors criticized it because it did not conform to cinematic standards. In response to criticism, Wiene supported the idea, assuming it contributes to the symbolism in the film and meets the requirements of the expressionist spirit. It also focuses on rapid political changes in making a movie.

The expressionist tendencies revealed in the film are not only displayed by surrealist settings, distorted angles, and transformed buildings and streets, which break the audience’s perception. The avant-garde approach can also be viewed by the intersection of the unconscious and the different realities in which the movie characters are set. In the film, one scene simultaneously changes to another. One place is changed to another without a reference to time. However, time flashbacks frequently occur in the movie, which makes it difficult for the audience to understand what refers to the present and which scenes happened in the past. The loss of time and reality is probably another intention and purpose pursued by the director of the film. At the same time, the use of expressionist techniques is often criticized because many critics believe this approach to be trivialized and commercialized.

It could be stated that The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari mixed features of cubism, avant-garde, and surrealism. The duality of the protagonists and their double life contributes to the expressionist and surrealist vision of the picture. Hence, the main character of the movie, Dr. Caligari, is represented as the main narrator of the story, an insane tyrant controlling the asylum, and respected authority. Leading a dual life, he is suspected by the audience in all killings despite the evidence demonstrating that he cares for his patients. The ambivalence of the character is enhanced when the director adds the story of an ancient monk called Dr. Caligari who also practiced hypnosis. Francis, the antagonist of the story, also leads a double life being the heroic protagonist who wants to unmask Mr. Caligari. At the same time, he is a patient of a mental institution as it is revealed at the end of the movie.

The major distinctive feature of the film is the intersection of realities and representation of different viewpoints. The suspicious individual characteristics enhance the expressionist style, as well as the setting that slightly resembles reality. The realistic codes of representation are not congruent with imitative streets, buildings, and landscapes. In such a way, the director emphasized originality and innovation. Although the movie introduced real plot lines and characters, the scene and the picture itself rejected the reality. This is of particular concern to the scene when the police discover the dead body of the Somnambulist. In fact, it was a doll, not a real body. However, it further transforms into the real body at the end of the movie. Also, the director introduces the crowd in which a woman bears a doll, although it is believed to be a child.

In conclusion, the picture is full of special facts, specific decorations, and close-ups; thus, it contributes to the expressionist representation. Specifically, the author resorts to the play of shades, iris shot, and choice of surrealistic decoration. Formless streets and buildings, high walls, and cartoon landscapes emphasize the overall idea of the movie. Specifically, the story is the line-shaped between conscious and subconscious world, in which the protagonist cannot find the difference between real life and illusion. Nonetheless, the ambivalence does not prevent the movie from winning the award of the classic horror film.  I look forward to your feedback and next week I'll write my book review.