March 18, 2009

6. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)


The Doctor himself

Conrad Veidt as Cesare, the somnabulist (the sleepwalker)

the eye make up is brilliantly done - Veidt's eyes chill


he stood like an experienced ballet dancer - full of grace

..what NOT to ask from Cesare


a light...

...is lit

Caligari is about to feed Cesare.
It was a beautiful scene but I wasn't able to get a clear enough a screen shot of it no matter how much I tried.

the curious girl sees the somnabulist poster


after the funeral

Cesare creeping around with great slow cat-like steps

look at Veidt's expression change from calm -

to something wholly other.

grasping the girl

great set design.
it was one of the best i've ever seen, full of surreal painted elements



*
Directed by Robert Wiene

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous30/9/12

    I came across your blog, as I was looking up information on Unheimliche Geschichten. I love silent films, and I am also a huge Conrad Veidt fan. Your reviews are great, and are helping me find even more movies that I simply must watch. I can't wait for more reviews.

    I have noticed you have shown interest collecting Veidt memorabilia. As a fellow Veidt fan, I felt it my duty to tell you about The "Silent Screamers" toyline. If you don't already know about it, it was a 2000 toyline created by Aztec Toys in honour of silent horror films. One of the figures is of Cesare The Sleepwalker. It's a great figure, that really captures the likeness and feel of the character. You can find them on ebay for pretty decent prices. So now, you can have your own Veidt action figure, if you don't already. ;)

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    1. Woops, didn't mean to post as Anonymous.

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  2. Anonymous9/2/15

    Hi Kid,

    Fascinating site, given me loads of film titles to search out. I (and several friends) find silent films to be totally fascinating - though my (and theirs) special interest is German expressionism - and on this note I'm surprised that you haven't got "Von morgens bis mitternachts" ("From Morning to Midnight"), the successor to (and, IMHO, superior to "Calgari"). It is available in full on the 'net - on YouTube - and long out of copyright. Check it out if you haven't seen it).

    Another silent which I can't find on your site is Lotte Reiniger's (with help from Walter Ruttman and others) "Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed" ("The Adventures of Prince Achmed"), a very charming and excellent (both in technique and content) animation made between 1923 and '26 - the oldest surviving animated feature. It's in full, and very good quality, on 'The Internet Archive' and, IMHO, well worth watching.

    Thanks for the site lots of reading and researching ahead of me, I can see.

    Anthony

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