Figure 1. Das Cabinet des Caligari poster (1920)
Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (see fig.1.) is a film inspired by Janowitz and Mayer's experience with authoritarian figures in the military during World War 1, the story is of the Dr.Caligari (Werner Krauss) who uses a somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) to commit murders.
The backdrops were hand painted and designed to create an unsettling atmosphere that adds to the story. (See fig.2.)
Figure 2. Jane, Alan and Francis Talking (1920)
The musical score was composed by Giuseppe Becce who uses drastic changes in tempo to create a chilling atmosphere of a mystical nature while instilling a sense of confusion, fear and dream-like nonsense in the viewer.
In Siegried Kraucuer's From Caligari to Hitler (1947) (See fig.3.) Kraucuer describes the movie as being a reflection of the subconscious need in German society for a tyrant, and is an example of
Germany's obedience to authority and unwillingness to rebel against
deranged authority. He says the film is a premonition of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and says the addition of the frame story turns an otherwise 'revolutionary' film into a 'conformistic' one.
After World War 1 German films were restricted to only being viewed in Germany but in 1920 the restrictions were becoming more lenient and as such The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari saw an international release.
Not much is known about it's initial release aside from Stephen Brockmann, Anton Kaes and film theorist Kristin Thompson saying it was popular with both the general public and was well-respected by critics. Modern critics have praised the film calling it such things as 'The first true horror film' - (Roger Ebert 2009), and It holds a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (a website that lets the public rate and review movies) based on 48 reviews.
The ending is often seen to be up for interpretation, some consider it to be the workings of a mind gone insane while others see it as a tragic story of the villain beating the hero while convincing everyone around them that they are in fact the hero.
The film's budget was an estimated $18,000 (£13865.03) and was filmed between December 1919 - January 1920, it was produced by Decla-Bioscop AG (as Decla Film-Gesellschaft - Berlin).
Caligari is considered by many to be the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema.
Figure 3. From Caligari to Hitler (1947)
After World War 1 German films were restricted to only being viewed in Germany but in 1920 the restrictions were becoming more lenient and as such The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari saw an international release.
Not much is known about it's initial release aside from Stephen Brockmann, Anton Kaes and film theorist Kristin Thompson saying it was popular with both the general public and was well-respected by critics. Modern critics have praised the film calling it such things as 'The first true horror film' - (Roger Ebert 2009), and It holds a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (a website that lets the public rate and review movies) based on 48 reviews.
The ending is often seen to be up for interpretation, some consider it to be the workings of a mind gone insane while others see it as a tragic story of the villain beating the hero while convincing everyone around them that they are in fact the hero.
The film's budget was an estimated $18,000 (£13865.03) and was filmed between December 1919 - January 1920, it was produced by Decla-Bioscop AG (as Decla Film-Gesellschaft - Berlin).
Caligari is considered by many to be the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema.
Bibliography:
Figure 1. Das Cabinet des Caligari poster (1920) Poster [Advertisement] in Germany 1920
Figure 2. Jane, Alan and Francis Talking (1920) Movie still [Movie Still] in Germany 1920
Figure 3. From Caligari to Hitler (1947) Book [Published Study] in New Jersey 1947
Figure 1. Das Cabinet des Caligari poster (1920) Poster [Advertisement] in Germany 1920
Figure 2. Jane, Alan and Francis Talking (1920) Movie still [Movie Still] in Germany 1920
Figure 3. From Caligari to Hitler (1947) Book [Published Study] in New Jersey 1947
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Wikipedia [Online] Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cabinet_of_Dr._Caligari [Accessed 22/09/2016]
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - IMDB [Online] Available at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0010323/ [Accessed 22/09/2016]
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. - Rotten Tomatoes [Online] Available at https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1003361-cabinet_of_dr_caligari/ [Accessed 22/09/2016]
Kraucuer, S. (1947) From Caligari to Hitler.
New jersey: Princeton University Press.
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. - Rotten Tomatoes [Online] Available at https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1003361-cabinet_of_dr_caligari/ [Accessed 22/09/2016]
Kraucuer, S. (1947) From Caligari to Hitler.
New jersey: Princeton University Press.
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteStructure and content-wise, this is much better, although you might have spoken in a little more depth about the use of the set design to evoke atmosphere...
Have another look at how you need to reference your source material correctly - at the moment, I ma not sure if those are direct quotes or paraphrases, but either way they need to be attributed to the original author. If they are quotes, then they need to be set within ' ...' and have the author and date in brackets after them. Full details here - http://www.uca.ac.uk/library/academic-support/harvard-referencing/
You will also find details there on how to set out your bibliography.
You need to include images in your review; this will help when you are describing the visuals, as you can refer directly to the image - 'as seen in figure 1', for example. Images also need to references using Harvard (see above).
I made some alterations but I'm not sure what to do with internet material, the Harvard reference only mentioned how to write a bibliography for books and images, or at least that's all i could find.
DeleteWith a website who's information can be changed by almost anyone i can't really put a name in the bibliography, should i leave it and just put the year the post was last updated?
Hi David,
DeleteTake a look at how I've referenced websites here.
http://tromacorp.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/rosemarys-baby-1968-review.html?m=1#comment-form
Thanks Joseph! I'll be sure to use what you have done in my future reviews
Delete