the cabinet of dr caligari

Tamala Garrett English 376 Due 1/29/96CRITIQUE OF THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, anddirected 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 until1921. A time when film makers were out to prove that film was indeed art. In the year1921 525 films were released out of those 525, 50 still exist today, one of those 50 is TheCabinet of Dr. Caligari. At the time of its release in America, horror films were virtuallyunheard 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 wasFrankenstein in 1910. Elements from Frankenstein are evident in The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari.When the demonic somnambulist Cesare creeps into Lil Dagover's bedchamber, directorRobert Wiene was exploiting a fear common to us all. Prone and sleeping the woman isuttlerly helpless. She is carried off into the expressionist labyrinth that Wiene used tosymbolize the darkest torments of the human mind and soul. A beautiful woman is carriedoff by evil, a play on the Beauty and the Beast themes that would become so popular inhorror films. Used expressionism, films that explored dream, nightmare and psyche and that found theirnarrative shape determined less by action than emotion. Used angular sets and heavyshadows 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 deliberatedistortions were meant to portray what a tormented soul might perceive. Germanexpressionism, known as dada, and surrealism rejected notions of reality, the Germanexpressionist movement, modern art was underway. Used tilted sets, and twistedcardboard trees. Light and shadow were used to create a response, and get the vieweremotionally connected.Two films imported from Germany named Passion and Sumurun starring a popular actressnamed Pola Negri opened the door for other German imports. The popularity of Negriand Caligari combined helped to create a small art-house market.The expressionistic style was widely distrusted at the time but even so was copied byAmerican directors looking to add European culture to their films. The style soon becameso well known that a spoof was made of Caligari in 1928 called The Life and Death of aHollywood Extra which is a tale about a Hollywood extra whose dreams of fame andfortune are frustrated.Caligari had a lot of effect on the content of future Hollywood movies. It's influence canbe seen in later films such as The Bells (1925) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). . Tamala Garrett English 376 Due 1/29/96CRITIQUE OF THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer,. art. In the year1921 525 films were released out of those 525, 50 still exist today, one of those 50 is TheCabinet of Dr. Caligari. At the time of its release