Tag Archive: Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari


ORLAC’S MURDERING HANDS

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October 6, 2013

THE HANDS OF ORLAC directed by Robert Wiene (Austria, 1924)

How do you follow up a bona fide silent classic like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?

Well, it helps to have that movie’s star actor Conrad Veidt in the lead role for a start.

Here, Veidt plays a concert pianist who is gravely injured in a train crash.

Surgeons are forced to amputate the hands that are his livelihood but are able to sew on a new pair. The problem is that these come from Vasseur, a convicted killer who has just been executed. Continue reading →

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THE MAD WORLD OF DR. CALIGARI

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July 18, 2013

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI directed by Robert Wiene (Germany, 1920)

Dr Caligari and Cesare the somnambulist

Cesare seizes the maiden.

One of the great things about You Tube and other online streaming sites is that cinema history is always just a click away.

Most silent classics are freely available, including this groundbreaking and highly influential work. I’ve seen so many clips and stills from it but I don’t ever remember watching it in its entirety.

This film is important because it launched the German expressionist film movement and established a stylised look that became blueprint for countless noir movies.

Made in just three weeks, the stylised jagged sets and dramatic lighting effects make this a highly theatrical production. It lays waste any notion that cinema has to contain reassuring messages or serve any higher moral purpose. Continue reading →

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