(Robert Weine, 1920)
Following
the strange tale of a somnambulist who performs at fairs and around
whom a strange series of murders occur. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
is a landscape of expressionism, complete with wonky and jagged sets,
presented in a very theatrical way. The set for the fair, for
example, could easily be a physical theatre stage, complete with it's
own painted frame (like curtains) and it's canvas backgrounds.
The
buildings in the foreground, as well as in the canvas background,
appear very abstract, similarly in a way that much of the furniture
featured in the film is highly impractical and stylised.
For
the actual representation of murder, in true horror style, we see the
actual act unfold as an exaggerated and stretched shadow against a
wall. The film is widely considered to be one of the greatest
silent-horrors ever made and the twist ending is said to be the first
of it's kind. It's evident nowadays that director, Tim Burton, has
likely taken heavy influence from Weine (though he denies knowing of
the films existence until recent years!).
No comments:
Post a Comment