Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant film but an explanation for all!
Review: It has been rumored for years that when the producers set out to make The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari they intended to end the film with Caligari getting captured and no framing story. Wrong! A first draft of the film's script shows there was always intended to be a framing story. But the one that was first intended was different than the one presented on film. Originally Francis and Jane were supposed to be at a picnic years later and reminiscing about their days in the town when murderer Caligari showed up. This was changed to the looney bin frame story probably so authority woudn't be depicted quite so negatively. Agreed the film is brilliant and powerfully scarey in it's final execution (no pun intended).
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Film, Terrible Transfer.
Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is an excellent film, and others have covered this fairly well. I give the film five stars.
However, I give these cheap prints of the film one star, and so my score of three is a reminder to potential buyers that you get what you pay for. I have one of the cheap $6 DVDs of this film, and will not make this mistake again. The transfer on these cheap versions is simply terrible. Invest in the more expensive version if you want to purchase this; the cheap ones are murky and somewhat trying to watch. Since a major part of this film is the innovative interplay of light and shadow used to create the mood, a crisp transfer (as much can be expected from such an old film) is paramount. What else is paramount is being able to see what's going on and which character is which, issues that aren't always easy with the cheap versions. Spend the extra $10, buy the good version, and save yourself the frustration of trying to figure out what's going on in almost every scene.
Rating: 
Summary: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)
Review: The story is told in a very simplistic manner and the pace is sluggish. The hammy, melodramatic acting really dates the film and causes what was once a horror film to seem comedic. The one high mark is that the twist ending actually surprised and impressed me.
Rating:
Summary: "There are spirits all around us..."
Review: This is the film that set the pace for German expressionistic films. Its dark, its creepy, its strange. Its Edward Gory meets Frankenstein. If you like Tim Burtons work, you will appreciate the skewed perspectives, the painted sets, and the Edward Scissorhads-esque "Somnambulist". In a world where nothing is as it seems and nightmares are reality, Robert Wiene takes you to the edge of sanity and hurls you off the ledge.
This is the digitally mastered version of the 1923 German re-issue of the 1919 original. I'd call it a black and white silent film, but it has been tinted in sepia, purple, and green at times supposedly to better reflect the original director's intent. This version also has a new score by Timothy Brock which fits the eerie film very well, in my opinion. Very avant-garde.
*As a bonus, this edition also has an excerpt of another Wiene film "Genuine" whish is supposedly about a vampire, but theres not enough footage to really tell you what its about- only teases you and leaves you wanting more.
Rating: 
Summary: The classic German Expressionist horror film of 1919
Review: When we talk about the history of the "movies" it is "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" ("Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari") that has almost always represented the first prime example of the "cinema," where we treat films as art. This is the best example of German Expressionism with angular sets and exaggerated performances by the actors that represented the dementia of the title character. Werner Krauss is the mad doctor, who uses his somnambulist Ceasar (Conrad Veidt) from his carnival sideshow to do his evil deeds, with Lil Dagover is the damsel in distress. The film is framed by a rather clever plot device that turns the narrative upside down in the end, as a young man (Friedrich Feher) tells the story of Dr. Caligari's visit to the small German town of Holstenwall to an older one, as they sit together on a park bench. There is also a strong sense of how the film serves as a metaphor for the destruction of post-war Germany. Whatever the films shortcomings, the classic status of this 1919 film directed by Robert Wiene is assured by the striking art direction. The abstract, expressionists designs provide severely angled corners, crooked lines, and objects highlighted by decorative stripes. If "Then Battleship Potemkin" opens us up as students of cinema to the possibilities about montage, then "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" does the same for mise-en-scene. The film also establishes many of the conventions of the horror film (e.g., the mad scientist, beauty and the beast), although, surprisingly enough, the basic storyline has never been remade.
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