The Cabinet of Dr Caligari: or Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari.

16th February, 2017.

Have you ever heard of an actor called Conrad Veidt?

German chap, so you know.

Who’d done well for himself in German cinema and theatre: until he fled Germany before World War 2, as his wife was Jewish.

I had: but, in all honesty, couldn’t claim to have seen a film he’s in.

Oh, I know he crops up in Casablanca.

I’ve not actually seen it, though: yes, I know that’s possibly a hanging offence.

But there you go.

Sue me … !

~≈Ü≈~

At any rate?

At any rate, and just to re-iterate?

I’ve never actually seen a film with Conrad Veidt in it.

Not for lack of interest, either: more a lack of time, money … 

And possibly motivation, as well.

Tonight, though?

Tonight, though, I had a night off.

A desire to see a film.

And a copy of a film — with Conrad Veidt in a key role — that I’d been interested in for some time.

The film … ?

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari: or Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari, in the original German.

I wanted to catch it, not because Veidt’s appeared in the key role of Cesare.

But because the film has something of a reputation … 

~≈Ü≈~

The film opens: by introducing us to Francis — Friedrich Feher — who tells his unnamed, elderly, companion that the won who’s just passed them by is his fiancée, Jane, played by Lil Dagover.

It seems they have been through a lot.

The story shifts in to flashback mode.   And shows us Francis, and his old friend, Alan, deciding to go to a local fair.

A fair?   Where they’re drawn to a sideshow run by Dr Caligari (Werner Krauß), complete with his cabinet.

A cabinet containing the sleepwalker, Cesare (Veidt) … who, on cue?

Predicts Alan’s death, the following morning.

Needless to say, that’s the second mysterious death in the area … 

Both?

Seemingly tied to Cesare … and the mysterious showman, Dr Caligari

~≈Ü≈~

Now … 

Am I pleased to have seen The Cabinet of Dr Caligari?   And was my time and money well spent?

I think … that I can say yes.

Last question first, shall we?

My source for tonight’s film?

Was a blu-ray copy of the film that I picked up from Amazon: and one that seemed to come with quite a few extras, as well.

All of that for reasonable £9·99p, for a dual format film: containing identical content on both blu-ray and DVD.

Which seems reasonable: to me, at least.

On top of that … ?

My usual process of turning the blu-ray into something I could watch on my Apple TV — ripping the disc with MakeMKV, then turning the resulting .mkv into an .m4v with Handbrake — went well.

I’m just thankful I ripped the subtitles as part of the process.

My German’s not good!

~≈Ü≈~

The film itself?

Yes … 

I’ve walked away from a film, tonight: that tells us a story of a man who’s gone mad.

And spun a complex, coherent story, out of his delusions, surroundings, and fellow patients: emphasising these with it’s by now famous set design.

AND leaves us giving the director of the asylum — who Francis has turned into the evil doctor of the title — a second glance at the film’s ending: when he tells us he knows how to cure his patient.

I’ll try not to say much … but the phrase “You must become Caligari,” is pivotal towards the end of Act five.

All told?

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is the first film to try and project a person’s inner trauma onto the big screen: much in the same way Franklin, Gothika, and many others, do.

Not every one will be interested in cinematic history.

Those of us that do … ?

Will find The Cabinet of Dr Caligari worth watching.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

★★★★