Winding alleys, twisted buildings, overtones of dark ambient imbued in the imagery, and a profound tone of the elusiveness of comprehending a truly insane mind. These are all characteristics of the prevailing theme of "The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari," yet each, within the limitations words are innately confined to, are not sufficient in providing a broad and general understanding of the true meaning of the film. What is clear is the tremendous influence the overall composition of the story has had in contemporary film. My initial reaction to the film when witnessing the first flash back and subsequent immersion into this fantastic world, was that this was probably the first film director Tim Burton viewed when he decided that film making would be his fated life work. Every aspect of the film from its sinister undertones of dark fantasy and the potential for spiritual phenomenon which was then supported by an artistic sense of design and overall composition of the film, it all just seemed to be a vision Burton would idealize to include in his earlier works.
Now to be perfectly fair and honest I must admit that upon initial exposure to "Dr. Caligari" the thought of having to sit through over an hour of dialgoue which was provided only in the form of cue cards and 19th century style piano chords drifting and floating me along this nostalgic revisting of early film was not exactly the most thrilling of experiences I looked forward to having. i mean I was obviously intrigued once I started paying attention to the overall artstic design of the film and the fact that it seems so out of place for the era, but it wasn't until we are first introduced to Cesare that I thought "wow this movie is way more then I ever anticipated." I mean the actors capacity to capture the essence of a dead corpse returning to life to deliver a message to the living from the careful fluttering of his eyes opening once again, to the look of astonishment on his face that life had in deed returned to his rigid corpse, to his slow and eery stride toward the front of the stage, the whole performance just emmerses you into the film. Its here where I began asking myself "what the hell is actually going on here?"
Although I rarely found "Dr. Caligari" to be a horrofying or frightening film, I completely approve of its categorization as a horror film. The eery atmosphere that is so delicately strung together, the hollowed and engaging performances of the actors involved, and the profoundly scencere message of questioning what madness looks like contrasted to what madness is, it all comes together in this brilliant and intriguing piece of film. After the film ended I was left astonish by the notion that these individuals were capable of creating something so creative, so expressive, just so artistic in a time when film is just beggining its rise.
"Dr. Caligari" is truly a film ahead of its time and it is a story, given a few modern film cosmetic updates, that could easily thrive in our current film market. With such limited knowledge and exposure to other movies in its time, this particular film is truly unique. "Dr. Calagari" is not the height or precedent of film in the early 20th century, it can better be described as a catalyst for films evolution or better yet the exceeding of the limits of the potential behind film making.
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