Light Research and Caligari

After viewing “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, I found myself, as so often happens, skimming through different reviews and related articles on the Internet. While much of the time it’s wonderful having such a vast amount of information so readily available, I can’t help but wonder that without every answer at my fingertips, perhaps my own ability to inquire, reflect, and discover my own interpretation to films, readings, and what have you, would be greatly furthered. It is in this manner that while nodding along to Roger Ebert’s review of “Caligari’s” bizarre set design, with the disconcerting landscape and sharp angles, that I had to shut the computer for a few minutes, realizing that I was getting awfully close to crossing the line between gathering background research and becoming someone eagerly willing to regurgitate the words of a dozen different critics mashed together.

Having cleared that up, back to Mr. Ebert. He offers an interesting review of the film that coincidentally references Kracauer’s From Caligari to Hitler. He discusses the disjointed world displayed in “Caligari’s” set design, which in fact is the aspect of the film that impresses itself best on most audience members, myself included. When viewing the film, I was completely mesmerized by the set design with the slanting buildings, distorted streets, long staircases, high ceilinged rooms, and eccentric color scheme on top of it all. It was as if it had all been taken from a rather frightening childhood nightmare brought on by an afternoon trip to the carnival.

This distorted look, with sets that resemble expressionist paintings, mirrors the deceptive storyline and is what sets “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” apart from earlier films. Ebert refers to it as the first example of German Expressionism in film. He also suggests that “Caligari” is arguably the first true horror film. While earlier ghost stories and crime fiction existed in film, “their characters inhabited a recognizable world.” “Caligari” represented a new unimaginable, our deepest fears projected into reality.

Another stab at horror alluded to in Ebert’s article is the creepy crime serial, Fantômas, produced by the French director Louis Feuillade in 1913-1914 (7 years prior to “Caligari”).

Starring Rene Navarre as Fantômas, the five-part serial is considered a masterpiece of silent film. While very different from the alien landscape of "Caligari", you can see for yourself how the eerie master of disguise, Fantômas, would have brought chills to his 1914 audience. Here's a trailer if you're interested.