How does `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` relate to German Expressionism? By Jamie Guichard
German Expressionism started in Germany during the 1920s and was only short lived. This was Germany’s way of getting away from Hollywood and European cinema and wanting to create a style for Germany. German Expressionism is best known for its horror or fantasy genre with such films as `Nosferatu` and `Metropolis`. All German Expressionist films consist of many different techniques with the use of biomechanical acting, distorted two dimensional sets, the use of dark shadows, the make up worn by the actors and cutting from scene to scene. German Expressionism often relates to German society at the time and how the society would react to the things going on throughout the film. This essay will look at how `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` relates to this idea of a German Expressionist film and what techniques they have used to enhance this idea of German Expressionism. Also what influences German Expressionism and this film has had on modern directors such as Tim Burton.
As a German Expressionist film `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` is certainly one of the most influential. This was due to it being one of the earliest films of this genre and also the fact that it is considered one of the first horror films ever made. As a film this shows a great resemblance to German society at the time as it shows the way that the public feel about German leadership. It shows how the people in charge can be considered as evil and it is the leaders that are causing deaths within the country. It also shows a element of propaganda as it says that although how the leaders are handling things can be considered as a bad thing they are saying that all the leaders are doing is trying to help. This is evident in the film with the story that `Francis` is telling to the old man sitting with him and how the director of the hospital is considered a bad man causing this creature `Cesare` to kill the population of the town but it is in fact in his head and `Dr Caligari` the director is actually trying to help mental patients as he is the doctor of the mental institute that ‘Francis` is in.
The Essay on Films Created In The Golden Age Of German Film Camera Murnau
Both The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, produced by Robert Wiene, and The Last Laugh, produced by F. W. Murnau, are excellent examples of films created in the golden age of German cinema. These two films make use of the camera in order to see inside a character's mind, a technique greatly refined throughout German Expressionism. The ideas, feelings, thoughts, and dreams of a character are carefully ...
`The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` uses almost all of the methods within German Expressionism. One of the main aspects of this film when relating to Expressionism is a rand of distorted two dimensional sets. The way that Robert Wiene (the director of the film) has used the sets was a very uncommon way. He decided to have the distorted sets in the part where `Francis` is telling the story of `Dr Caligari` and he used symmetrical building during the times that the story was not being told. He did this so that there was a distinct distinction between the two worlds. The way that Robert Wiene uses the distorted settings is to show his unstable state of mind. He uses the symmetrical settings to contrast this idea of this distorted world and makes the audience immediately feel that this is a world they can trust as it is familiar to them as an audience.
The other thing that is used well is this idea of the dark shadows. During `Francis’` story there is a lot of dark shadows used as a part of the feel of the film. There is a scene during `Francis’` story where there are a set of stairs and the shadow is half way up the stairs. This automatically makes the audience feel that there is something dark up the stairs.
This style of film has influence many different directors in history for example Alfred Hitchcock, Tim Burton, etc. There is a real distinct similarity between `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` and Tim Burton’s film `Edward Scissorhands` and the way that they look. With `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` the character of `Cesare` there is a real distinct look to this character with his while face and dark eyes to his leather costume. This can be linked to the way that Tim Burton developed the character or `Edward` from `Edward Scissorhands`. `Edward` like `Cesare` has a pale face and dark eyes and he also wears a leather outfit. This therefore shows the affect that `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` has had on modern film directors.
The Essay on Expressions in Horror: Dr Caligari and Nosferatu
Two of the earliest examples of German Expressionism in film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu are classics remembered as some of the best horror films of all time. These two films, directed by Robert Wiene and F. W. Murnau respectively, share several key aspects in common, while still retaining their own uniqueness that has left people debating which film is paramount, even nearly a ...
Overall `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` is a prime example of what is meant by German Expressionism. This is due to the fact that it uses biomechanical acting, distorted two dimensional sets, the use of dark shadows, the make up worn by the actors and cutting from scene to scene as well as its horror of fantasy genre. It has become a huge influence on many other directors for example Tim Burton. This film also creates a clear link between the fantasy world and what is going on in Germany at the time. This idea of Expressions had become a genre of its own and one of the first films of this genre is `The Cabinet of Dr Caligari` and is recognised as the panicle of German Expressionism.
