THE FIRST TRUE HORROR MOVIE | Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Explained

Exactly 100 years ago, on February 26th, 1920, the world’s first TRUE horror movie debuted in Germany. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This silent film is widely considered to be the quintessential work of the German Expressionist Cinema. By Analyzing the best films from the past, we can learn more about films in our present. So here’s why The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the Greatest Films in History.

______________________

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST, THE PROFESSIONAL APPRECIATORS:

_____________________

🎵MUSIC🎵

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Soundtrack - Alfredo Antonini

Become a patron to download and license these tracks.

____________________

📱Connect with us on Social Media 🔽

_____________________

PATRONS
- Steven Webster
- Jacob Trexler
- Pat Werths
- Jacob Wieneman
- Aaron Hanson
- Chris Link
- Chris Nelson
- George Levin
- Kent Sanders

[TheMetalMachineMusic]

I think the actual quote is "We Queens are not free to answer the call of the heart". Her delusion is she believes she is a Queen. Hence the throne like chair and why she actually said that.

[tripleparakeetshoes]

Somnnabulist is just another word for sleepwalker. Dr. Caligari isn't the somnambulist, Cesare is.

[christianthomey]

I want to talk about Werner Krauss as Caligari. he is without a doubt, the best actor in this movie. outside of the set design, the isolated shots of Caligari smiling are in my opinion are the most unsettling and surreal parts of the film. his expressions are very exaggerated, very detailed. the light emphasizing his wide, unblinking eyes, the shadows contrasting with his devilish grin, and the heavy texture on his face bringing out his more subtle facial features adds to dreamlike creepiness of the character of Caligari. that is silent film acting at its absolute best.

[christianayalacruz]

Great review!

Important to note, though, is that what Jane actually says is, "Us QUEENS are not free to answer the call of our hearts". It's important to note this since it adds an extra layer of delusion to Jane's character and explains the her sitting on the throne. Why she was provided with a throne is a "who knows?" moment. I think it's also important to note the Queen aspect because it does slightly punch a hole in the totalitarian government theory, since it is not "we are not free" where the "we" signifies the normal people, but rather "we Queens are not free" which is far removed from the populist notion of "we the people".

Like I said though, great vid!

[magadag]

Hello from germany. The „cabinet“ in the title doesn't mean the box. The cabinet is his booth on the fair, an old name for an exhibition. The word remains in german in „Gruselkabinett“ (written nowadays with k and double-t), that means „horror chamber“.

[DanMcKay]

Vignettes were often used in the era for close-ups (and sometimes to establish POV). Really early on it started as a side-effect of the lense type and the distance of the lens from the film slate (particularly in photography) but became a stylistic device. It was a preferred method for portrait photography so maybe it came to be a sort of shorthand for intimacy, directing your eye to the centre of the frame and involving the spectator with the character as if they were a loved in a locket etc.

[KunalKumar-vnre]

You guys make extremely high quality and informative videos.... Now all you guys need, is a viral video and you'll be all set.... But seriously... Hats off to your content and you 👌🏻

[jeffmartin]

As for the look of the film - they were given the smallest studio the film company had to shoot the film. A lot of the forced perspective came about from the physical restrictions they were working under. They were also only given 1/2 the money they had asked for to make the film. In being after the war, silver nitrate was very expensive and hard to procure. They cut the film development time down in order to stretch the material they had. This led to a lot of the look of the film. It is amazing that such a (now) classic film was made with such restrictions. I think it led to a lot of why this film is the film it is today.

[gregorygourley]

I 100% agree, one of the best films ever made. Even today, there's nothing like it, and nothing that tops it. An important film that should not be overlooked. Very cool review, man. Bob. G

[chrisricketts]

I love staring at the backgrounds and sets

[thediamonddog]

I think that one important detail that, at the very beginning, can tell us that the main protagonist is actually a madman is his companion who sits besides him - he tells him that he sees spirits.
After that we see a main protagonist's girlfriend walking in a disturbed, sleepwalking matter (brilliant scene itself). So we can assume that a place where they are speaking is not really a common, everyday place.

And if a main protagonist is in company with two strange people, we can guess that he is somehow strange too.

Also, main protagonists is overdoing with his reactions, he is always at a very intense state of mind, he lacks control. Usually, main characters are the stable ones.
At the beginning of a movie i thought that he is probably just acting by popular standards of that time. But at the end, i thought that his constant exciteness actually tells us about some sort of nerve disorder, paranoia...

[GBOAC]

5:08 note that even though the film (together with Nosferatu) set the standard for this kind of shadow-murder imagery, it was not inventing it as there were similar set ups used in stage plays for ages already. It was merely the first time they transferred it from stage to film, I wouldn't necessarily call it 'ahead of its time' for that reason. On the timeline of just cinema it stands out because Hollywood horror took a much more conservative approach in imagery and thus delayed the adaption of this trope a lot (basically until Hitch' took it upon himself to reintroduce much of these in his neo-Horror work).

[heidibarker]

I find the naming if Cesare to be interesting. Julius Caesar, one of the most powerful men to ever live, so powerful that his name has become almost synonymous with Emperor and Empires; the Russian Tsars were named after him and more importantly so were the German kings, the Kaisers. Hence I believe Cesare from the cabinet (coffin) is a metaphor of the authority (Dr Caligari is the establishment) is using the death of the Kaisers to tell the future to the public. "Come one, come all, ask the dead king what the future has in store for us."

[gejopohl]

Excellent analysis! Greetings and appreciation from Germany!

[suzannetaylor-jones]

No mention of the fact that the ending described here is actually one imposed on the filmmakers by the production company.
The original ending shows the Director as insane, obsessed with Caligari and somnambulism. At the time, Germany being what it was, the production company didn’t want to show an authority figure behaving this way, so they instead depicted Francis as the person who is deluded. And the Director as his salvation, so to speak.
I like the Director as an insane whackjob much better, personally!

[kimackerman]

Came back to watch this video in its entirety. I watched the film years ago and i absolutely loved it, I adore seeing how much horror films have changed throughout the decades and this was truly the first horror film. I like German silent films but don't watch them a lot, this one I did. My family think I'm weird for watching these types of films haha but to each their own.

[NIGHTGUYRYAN]

ive seen several videos on Caligari, and youve really done an excellent job of highlighting how beautiful it really is

[rafaelhernandez]

seeing this after seeing the film. wow so true.

[omg]

Such a cool analysis. The last 5 minutes are great.

[khoiiifish]

While this video itself is now two years old, I came seeking some food for thought after viewing the film. Tonight, I watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for the first time. I was incredibly fortunate to see this film with a live accompaniment from the Pipe Organ performed by Dr. Filip Presseisen, who expertly improvised his score for the entirety of the film. I cannot express how much I enjoyed the experience and how much I now love this film. It was beyond a doubt revolutionary for its time, and I have been eager to hear what others thought of it. Thank you very much for this review and additional context. This is a film that is going to be in my mind for a long time. Even today, it's still very effective and suspenseful; A testament to the talents involved in its production.