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The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1919); Robert Wiene
Topic Started: Mar 30 2008, 11:00 AM (298 Views)
Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer
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I saw this last night for the 1st time. A rather bizarre story yet when the whole thing was said and done, I enjoyed it very much. 72 mins long and it's from Image, whoever the hell they are!!!! The disc has a few scenes from another Wiene project titled - Genuine - A Tale Of A Vampire. There's also a commentary track for the film, and this is something I enjoy about older films.

The story starts out with 2 gentlemen chatting in a garden. Francis is a younger man and the other is an elderly man, but I didn't catch his name, so I'll call him.....Bubba. Bubba tells Francis how he was driven from hearth and home by spirits. Francis tells Bubba about events stranger than that happened to him. Around this time a rather lethargic young woman walks by and Francis tells Bubba, "That is my fiancee." Francis then procedes with the bizarre story from his hometown of Holstenwall.......

In Holstenwall the annual fair is coming to town. One strange gentleman goes to the Town Clerk so he can have an exhibit at the fair, but the clerk is in a foul mood and the man has to wait a bit. The next morning the clerk is found stabbed to death. He shoulda been in a better mood when dealin' with the public, ya know!

The next day Francis, his friend Alan and their friend Jane go to the fair and we find out that the strange man is Dr. Caligari and his exhibit is of a man named Cesare, a somnambulist. The exhibit has been sleeping for 23 years. The trio go inside to the show and Caligari wakes Cesare and informs the audience that Cesare can tell the future or the past. Any volunteers from the audience???? Alan asks the somnambulist, "How long will I live?" Cesare replies "Till dawn tomorrow!!!" Weird eh? As the 2 men take Jane home, they talk about which of them will be her fiancee. The men decide that whomever is chosen, they will remain friends. Of course Alan meets his demise the next morning, stabbed to death. This narrows the choice for Jane considerably.

The next day Jane goes to the fairgrounds looking for her missing father and meets Caligari. The Dr. is smitten and Cesare is on the prowl the next night for Jane. If you want to stop a somnambulistic Cesare, let's see, could you use an insomnious Brootis????? Thanks for stopping by....drive home safely!!!

The film uses the surreal art style of the times and I'd bet if you took the chairs and tables from the movie, you'd be hard pressed to find a 90 degree right angle.

Stony's favorite scene....The ending. Wraps the whole thing up very nicely and made the film much more enjoyable.

4.5 Bong hits
It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong."
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Black Tiger
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Caligari is great. Saw an off-Broadway version once that used nightmareishly angled sets like the silent film. It followed the film, but surprised the audience with an unexpected double switch ending.

If you liked Conrad Veidt in this one, you've got to see The Man Who Laughs - arguably his greatest performance. Deformed by gypsies as a child, his face cut into a rictus grin, for the amusement of bored noblemen, Veidt grows up to be a carnival performer in love with a beautiful blind girl who knows nothing of his deformity and sees the beautiful soul underneath. Their trials and tribulations make for an epic tale. Silent German expressionist filmmaking at it's best. And it has one of the best film dogs (weirdly named Homo). Veidt's appearance has been rumored to have been one of the influences on the Joker's visage. Hard to argue against that one. First-rate movie all the way.
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Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer
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Thanks for the recomendation BT....Netflix has it and I'll see it at some point soon.
It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong."
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panzer the great & terrible
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I've gotta know -- is GENUINE available? I've been waiting 45 years to see it.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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George Kaplan
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panzer the great & terrible
Apr 18 2008, 09:12 AM
I've gotta know -- is GENUINE available? I've been waiting 45 years to see it.

Can't swear to this, but I think the 1996 condensation by the Munich Filmmuseum, with a 43-minute running time, is the most complete version available. It's included on the Kino "Restored Authorized Edition" of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI.

Carl Bennett talks about it here:

http://www.silentera.com/DVD/genuineDVD.html
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panzer the great & terrible
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Thanks, Mr. Kaplan. I think we can settle this at a high altitude, over water.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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