Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr Caligari) review
Quick plot summary: Some weird dude hypnotises this guy who sleeps a lot to kill people)(Oh and the sleepy guy knows the future for some reason). Main dude's friend gets killed by sleepy guy, so he goes off to prove that the creepy dude was behind it all. BUT THEN, PLOT TWIST, they're all crazy, the end.
Ok, so first off this film was in German (English subtitles) and it was a silent film, which I'm not really a fan of because it feels like I'm missing out on key dialogue and then I get confused with the plot, it just makes the overall experience of watching the movie difficult. Despite this, I found the movie to be quite enjoyable as it had a decent story and incredible set design.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said in his review that the film "lay(s) down a template for today's scary movies, noirs and psychological thrillers[1]", which I agree with. Such things like an evil character predicting the death of someone, or the bad guy explaining their plan (even though in this the villains plan was explained though his diary, which is another thing modern films do, explain things through diaries and such things). Also the overall look of the film reminds me of Tim Burton films, for instance the characters look like they have dark circles under their eyes which is pretty much Tim Burton's style.
Many reviews have said that this film predicts the rise of Nazism in Germany. To me, this view feels like it has been shoehorned in just to make another reference to the Nazis. However, looking into it, it seems like there is some evidence to support this claim. Comments comparing Caligari's control over Cesare to Hitler's control over the German people, "Hitler’s rhetoric and use of propaganda echoes Caligari’s ability to draw a crowd and his control of Cesare.[2]"
1. Peter Bradshaw, "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari review – occult scary-movie touchstone from 1920", The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/28/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-film-review
2.Clayton Dillard, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Dark Relationship With Postwar Germany",The Artifice: https://the-artifice.com/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-dark-relationship-with-postwar-germany/
Ok, so first off this film was in German (English subtitles) and it was a silent film, which I'm not really a fan of because it feels like I'm missing out on key dialogue and then I get confused with the plot, it just makes the overall experience of watching the movie difficult. Despite this, I found the movie to be quite enjoyable as it had a decent story and incredible set design.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said in his review that the film "lay(s) down a template for today's scary movies, noirs and psychological thrillers[1]", which I agree with. Such things like an evil character predicting the death of someone, or the bad guy explaining their plan (even though in this the villains plan was explained though his diary, which is another thing modern films do, explain things through diaries and such things). Also the overall look of the film reminds me of Tim Burton films, for instance the characters look like they have dark circles under their eyes which is pretty much Tim Burton's style.
Many reviews have said that this film predicts the rise of Nazism in Germany. To me, this view feels like it has been shoehorned in just to make another reference to the Nazis. However, looking into it, it seems like there is some evidence to support this claim. Comments comparing Caligari's control over Cesare to Hitler's control over the German people, "Hitler’s rhetoric and use of propaganda echoes Caligari’s ability to draw a crowd and his control of Cesare.[2]"
1. Peter Bradshaw, "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari review – occult scary-movie touchstone from 1920", The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/28/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-film-review
2.Clayton Dillard, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Dark Relationship With Postwar Germany",The Artifice: https://the-artifice.com/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-dark-relationship-with-postwar-germany/
Hi Ollie,
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm not going to comment at length on this review, as I see you have also just posted the one for 'Metropolis'... what I would urge you to do however, is look at the film review writing tips I posted here -
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/fao-1st-yearsfilm-review-tips.html
...and Phil's academic writing tips here -
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/fao-caa-yr-1-invisible-cities-2017.html
I'm sure once you look at these bits of advice, and the accompanying examples of what a film review should look like, you will be able to reflect on the areas you need to concentrate on for the next one :)
In short -
1.Keep it professional - no 'dudes', 'guys' etc.
2. Include images
3. Include at least 3 quotes
4. Use Harvard method to reference images and quotes
5. Write in the 3rd person
6. No highlighting of text!