Film review of Robert Wiene's "Das Cabinet des Dr. Calgari" (word count 1677)

Robert Wiene’s Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) is a German silent horror film that is significant for being representative of early German Expressionist cinema. In addition to being renowned for its eerie and bold set and character designs, much of its worldwide success comes down to its production design being a strong narrative of the plot.

Caligari has become particularly influential to Directors such as Tim Burton; with this being seen through Burton’s films Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride and Dark Shadows. Burton’s character design of Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows bears a striking resemblance to Wiene’s Cesare in Caligari; with both characters depicting over exaggeratedly dark under eyes, ghostly pale skin, tight black clothing and askew jet black hair. This could be due to both characters’ being notorious for being arcane and macabre and inflicting death upon others. Along with this, there are reoccurring twisted and angular sets in both Caligari’s and Corpse Bride’s town which could also be an indication of decay and death being evident in both atmospheres. The production design of the city of Holstenwall – “The small town where I (Francis) was born” in Caligari also creates an angst through the conflict of it being both physically engaging but also being unearthly. Similar to the design of the city of Metropolis in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), it inspires the idea that the city is deteriorating more and more as its inhabitants are suffering due to the narrowing and illogically jarring buildings and structures.

Cesare’s coffin like inhabitance induces the idea that he takes up a supernatural form – almost that of Dracula or Frankenstein, and denotes an idea that he is to be treated like something inhuman even though he is a normal human being who “Has slept for twenty- three years”.  The house in which Dr. Caligari resides is also somewhat irregular as it is extremely small and isolated from the rest of the town, and has a noticeable crooked window and door. This portrays it not as a homely house, but a ominous residence for Dr. Caligari to to prepare his deadly tasks. The character of Jane represents the character-type of the damsel in distress, especially through her being a target for a murderer which whom Francis has to defeat in order to save her. It is also interesting how out of the entire set of the movie; her bedroom is the only set that is plain white. This adds emphasis on her innocence and pureness for being the only main woman of the film, and the fact that her room is quite regal and delicate also demonstrates that she is of a high status and that she needs to be protected.

One of the more dramatic moments in Caligari that demonstrate Cesare’s attempt to murder and then instead kidnap the character of Jane portray a wide range of significant examples of production. One of the significant sets used is one singular long wall, in which inhibits a barrier-like purpose. It is used by Cesare in which to hide him en route kidnapping Jane, yet ironically, it is meant to be used as a protective device Jane for where she lives.

The numerous staircases that are used are more or less all black and white, yet they each have different patterns and styles that seem irregular and very untraditional. The numerous patterns include intersecting triangles and singular continuous long black lines, along with ranges of other spontaneous patterns, however, their purpose could be to imply that there are peculiar happenings in the buildings that they are in, but could also be decorated as a warning to those willing to use them that the paths that they would need to undertake are not always predictable and plain. One of the more dramatic uses of staircases is used when Cesare takes Jane to the top of one of the buildings as a threat, portraying him to have an exemplified twisted and unmerciful character type. There is also the highly acclaimed bridge that is used by most of the main characters which perfectly illustrates the alarming levels of impracticality and threat through the wild and untamed vines, and the fact that it is viewed full on from the front reflects the impact of a lack of escape and a need to overcome obstacles in order to escape.

Other expressive forms of production design in Caligari include the single chair in Francis’s that has multiple tops of back frames piled onto one another, which could entail the yet to come heightening and build up of the plot, along with mould to Francis’s ability to work out a puzzle. Another significant prop that is used is the giant book and the giant pedestal that are being used by the Clerk in his office. An obvious assumption would be that this is to add power and elaborateness along with present a strong set of rules and history that the town of Holstenwall is run in a proper and professional manner. The larger sizes of props could also be to demean the character of Caligari to seem unworthy enough to speak with the Clerk, making us as an audience feel sorry for him. They could also be to show that by denying a seemingly harmless character a chance to speak, that choice could be later regretted once they get their revenge.

The great twist at the end of Caligari where there is a possibility that the character of Francis is an unreliable narrator and that Dr. Caligari is in fact innocent sparks concern in the audience’s judgement in good and evil. Ironically, this scene takes place in a mental asylum – a place which is meant to categorise the mentally sane from the insane and declare those that need mental help, in which case it seems to be Francis: “You all think I'm insane-! it isn't true - it's the director who's insane! - He is Caligari... Caligari... Caligari!”. It also appears highly legitimate that Francis discovers Dr. Caligari’s criminal past in a genuine and highly acclaimed room of authority and truth.

What is also interesting about this ending is that both Dr. Caligari and Francis’s appearances change in terms of the way their sanity is projected. In the majority of Caligari, Dr. Caligari’s character consisted of having scraped back white hair under a tophat and thick glasses. The scraped back hair under a hat provokes the idea that he has something to hide, and the overemphasize glasses frames infers a heavy and bold impact on his perception of vision. Caligari portrays a roughly similar ending to Martin Scorseses’ Shutter Island (2010), as it also reverses the roles of the mental patient and the Doctors.

During the first couple of scenes of Caligari, we as an audience are unsure of the immediate plot of the movie. The starting scene involves a young man (who we later know to be the

character of Francis) seated on a bench with his unnamed friend and they discuss the concept of the supernatural and its impact on life and death, comparing one another’s contrasting experiences. Francis’s friend explains that he had been driven from his home and family by spirits so he has a more negative outlook, yet Francis exclaims that “What (my betrothed) and I have experienced is yet more remarkable than the story you have told me…”. This statement infers Francis’s affairs with spirits to be more thought provoking and extraordinary, which introduces the idea of its involvement in the film to be an experience to reflect upon, encouraging further interest and engagement from audiences. The production design later shows the impact of the supernatural in Caligari when there are shadows and streaks of light painted directly onto the set when the series of murders have occurred. This derives that the impact of spirits is so strong that it literally scars the atmosphere and its inhabitants. During the early stages of the film, we see Francis’s interest in the supernatural to be evident when he volunteers his friend Allan to ask the somnambulist when he will die. Even when the somnambulist states that Allan’s death will happen “Before the break of dawn”, and a series of murders have occurred long after, he still chances an interest. This inflicts the idea of Francis deteriorating into madness at the end of Caligari to be derived from his interaction with the somnambulist.

Unlike most silent films, the intertitles of Caligari change depending on the mood of the scenes and plot. They are also stylized in a variety of ways depending on the emotion of the dialogue said by the characters. For example, the titles and intertitles are green to start off the movie, portraying an exciting. They exceedingly correspond with the different filters of the later scenes, such as the intertitles using brown tones during the scenes that revolve around the fairground and the black tones used during the scenes that occur within the city of Holstenwall. The brown tones reflect the welcoming and down to earth atmosphere of a social environment, along with provide a sense of security which initiates the audience to feel at ease with the situation. However, it is not very spontaneous, which adds shock to the audience later when the Somnambulist is introduced and completely changes the tone of the movie.

At the very end of Caligari, we return to the rest of the opening scene in which we view Francis and his friend with more versatile and experienced character types. We also learn of the diversity of people’s perceptions of the paranormal and that their experiences happen for either enlightenment or to engage in complex thought. As Thomas Hobbes quoted: “All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain”, this links to the  consideration that the hard truth of Francis’s experience with the supernatural was to view someone’s abuse and exploitment of it, but yet it could have also been a chance to build character and to create justice for those who have been wronged through it.