I know...very few people actually enjoy sitting through old silent movies. But "The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari", a German film produced in 1920, is one of those silent films that is worth watching. As I put the movie into my VHS (yes, you heard me, VHS) and saw the aged image shine through my Sony TV I said "Oh no...not again". I had recently seen the silent 3-hour long, 1915 G.W Griffith movie "Birth of a Nation" and wasn't very excited to go through similar torture. But I was pleasantly surprised. The eerie expressionist setting, and the creepy unease used throughout the movie made me really engage with the plot.
The movie is told as a flashback from the main character Frances. This, in and of itself, was a revolutionary mechanism of its time. The "framed narrative", or "the flash back" was a device unseen in the film world. Frances retells the 'terrifying' story of the mysterious murders that occurred in his hometown. We then accompany Frances through his investigation which is sparked by the murder of his best friend. The success of this horror film is that it creates fear out of unease rather than gore. It's not about the blood, or the violence; it's the mystery. Many subsequent directors, such as Alfred Hitchcock,were very much influenced by the way this movie created suspense through setting, camera angles and the overall mise-en-scene (definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_scène). I didn't expect to get freaked out. I've seen movies by M.Night.Shyamalan
and Stanley Kubrick...How could an old silent film scare me? Surprisingly enough, it really did.
I guess the most amazing part of this movie is the twist ending....I don't want to ruin it for you, so I'll stop there.
I love this film! I had to talk about German expressionism and the Baroque movement in my Media and Crime class! I should send you some of the readings, I feel like it's stuff you would like.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna follow your blog regularly now! :)
Muaaaah