The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari backdrop
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari poster

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI

Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari

1920 • DE HMDB
February 27, 1920

Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.

Directors

Robert Wiene

Cast

Werner Krauß, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Fehér, Lil Dagover, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Rudolf Lettinger, Henri Peters-Arnolds, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Hans Lanser-Rudolf, Ludwig Rex
Dramma Horror Thriller Crime

REVIEWS (1)

MC

Marco Castellini

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Dr. Caligari presents to the public a somnambulist named Cesare capable of predicting the future. One of the attendees is told that he will soon die and punctually the man is murdered. A girl is kidnapped by the clairvoyant somnambulist but it will not be her who dies, but Cesare himself. In the end, we discover that all the characters in the story are patients of an asylum of which Dr. Caligari is the director. It has been defined as "the masterpiece of German Expressionism". This work from the early 1920s represents one of the earliest examples of horror cinema and has indelibly marked the history of horror cinema. The element that most strikes us today are the contorted and unsettling sets (work of three Expressionist painters) that reflect the nightmare lived by the protagonist of the story but at the same time the twisted human psyche that resolves into madness. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is certainly a small masterpiece of the genre but it must be specified that it is absolutely not an easy film: at times hermetic, inevitably slow and certainly not suitable for everyone. Recently available again on cassette, warmly recommended if you want to spend an hour (the film lasts just over 60 minutes) of great cinema.