The Cabinet of Dr Caligari was made after world war 1 in 1920 and follows themes of murder, insanity, magic, horror and physiological fantasy. This would have been quite a shocking film to come out in these times for people of Germany because of the war. It was also one of the first horror films to be made so people weren’t used to watching this genre on film.
Something which is very noticeable about this particular vision is its introduction to surrealism through the set as it is all angled very oddly with wonky tilted walls, spiky trees and enclosed rooms; all the walls are painted with different patterns and they disproportionate doors. This imitates the theme of insanity and madness that is carried throughout the story with the sleepwalking Ceasar and Dr Caligari’s character however it is especially exposed to the audience at the end when we as an audience discover that it’s Francis himself telling the story from a mental asylum and he is in fact the insane one.
The costumes for the ensemble are all very true to 1920 Germany after the war with the men wearing a lot of top hats and suits however each main character had a different costume to the rest to add to their character and help them stand out ton the audience. For example Dr Caligari is dressed in glasses and a long black robe that drapes over his body which gives connotations of wizardry and magic again linking to the original themes. Ceasar is also dressed in black but displays the complete opposite structure within the garments he wears. He is dressed in a tight silhouette with legging like bottoms and a tight polo neck top this symbolises his difference to the average human as he’s the sleepwalking man.
I thought that overall it was a very interesting film and the use of change in lighting and music throughout helped to tell the storyline and eject emotion as it was a silent film. I throughout the plot twist at the end was a very interesting aspect of the film and made the storyline a lot more exciting. Overall I enjoyed the film and thought the surrealism embedded within it was done very cleverly in line with the theme.
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