Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari (B.F.I. Film Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Facts behind the myths of a former classic.
Review: 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' is a legendary film that has become buried in its own legend(s). There has been the ugly conflict between its various contibuotrs as to who actually 'authored' the film (with maligned director Robert Wiene, who died before the spats began, losing out). There has been the contentious issue of the framing story, where the screenwriters' conceived attack on authority is neutered as the ravings as a madman. There has been the notoriously influential thesis of art historian Siegfried Kracauer in his book 'From Caligari to Hitler', which claimed that films reflected the subconscious of a nation, and that, by virtue of the framing story, 'Caligari' somehow visualised the German desire for Nazism. Then there is 'Caligari''s position in the history of film, as the first example of Expressionist cinema, the most widely influential 'school' in the medium.

Legend and myth are anathema to the British critical mind, which prefers to deal with verifiable facts. By going back to primary sources - the original script, production memos, trade reports, advertising materials, contemporary reviews, as well as first-hand testimonies (which latter he treats with scepticism), David Robinson builds up a more prosaic, but convincing, picture of the conception and creaton of 'Caligari' (an appendix compares the original script with the finished film, allowing us to dismiss the main myth-disseminator, co-screenwriter Hans Janowitz), showing how subsequent legends were created for various self-interested reasons (e.g. as a calling-card for exiled screenwriters in World War II Hollywood).

'Caligari' is revealed as less the inspired breakthrough in Cinematic Art than a happy accident - the famously Expressionist sets were less a necessary visualisation of character subjectivity than a cynical attempt to cash in on the vogue for modern art and Grand Guignol. Wiene, derided in film history as a 'one-trick pony', is rehabilitated, as it the framing narrative once condemned as conformist. The study offers a fascinating history of film-making in the context of post-World War I Europe, the expectations of the public and the reactions of the press. He gives a precis of the wider Expressionist project, showing how 'Caligari' borrowed heavily from the art and theatre of its time (not just visually, but in acting technique), concluding that this style was 'bolted on' to a story that didn't really need it, rather than arising aesthetically out of it. 'Caligari' is no longer considered a great film, but it is important because people thought it was, encouraging film-makers and audiences to take more risks, paving the way for the genuine achievements of Expressionism (co-screenwriter Carl Meyer would write most of Murnau's great films).

This is all very interesting and a pleasure to read, but something is missing - the film itself. There is little analysis of 'Caligari' as a movie, why it can still exert a fascination for a sympathetic audience, what the various stylistsic choices actually mean or achieve. It's not enough to dismiss 'Caligari' as a ragbag of various accidents (so are most Hollywood 'classics') - it is still a film to be watched and understood, even if eventually dismissed.

Nevertheless, this book is a visual joy, full of crisp stills, sketches for sets, and, most pleasurably, various posters for the original exhibition run (including the lurid but mysterious one on the cover) which, I must confess, are more strikingly beautiful than anything in the actual film.

Rating:
Summary: Facts behind the myths of a former classic.
Review: 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' is a legendary film that has become buried in its own legend(s). There has been the ugly conflict between its various contibuotrs as to who actually 'authored' the film (with maligned director Robert Wiene, who died before the spats began, losing out). There has been the contentious issue of the framing story, where the screenwriters' conceived attack on authority is neutered as the ravings as a madman. There has been the notoriously influential thesis of art historian Siegfried Kracauer in his book 'From Caligari to Hitler', which claimed that films reflected the subconscious of a nation, and that, by virtue of the framing story, 'Caligari' somehow visualised the German desire for Nazism. Then there is 'Caligari''s position in the history of film, as the first example of Expressionist cinema, the most widely influential 'school' in the medium.

Legend and myth are anathema to the British critical mind, which prefers to deal with verifiable facts. By going back to primary sources - the original script, production memos, trade reports, advertising materials, contemporary reviews, as well as first-hand testimonies (which latter he treats with scepticism), David Robinson builds up a more prosaic, but convincing, picture of the conception and creaton of 'Caligari' (an appendix compares the original script with the finished film, allowing us to dismiss the main myth-disseminator, co-screenwriter Hans Janowitz), showing how subsequent legends were created for various self-interested reasons (e.g. as a calling-card for exiled screenwriters in World War II Hollywood).

'Caligari' is revealed as less the inspired breakthrough in Cinematic Art than a happy accident - the famously Expressionist sets were less a necessary visualisation of character subjectivity than a cynical attempt to cash in on the vogue for modern art and Grand Guignol. Wiene, derided in film history as a 'one-trick pony', is rehabilitated, as it the framing narrative once condemned as conformist. The study offers a fascinating history of film-making in the context of post-World War I Europe, the expectations of the public and the reactions of the press. He gives a precis of the wider Expressionist project, showing how 'Caligari' borrowed heavily from the art and theatre of its time (not just visually, but in acting technique), concluding that this style was 'bolted on' to a story that didn't really need it, rather than arising aesthetically out of it. 'Caligari' is no longer considered a great film, but it is important because people thought it was, encouraging film-makers and audiences to take more risks, paving the way for the genuine achievements of Expressionism (co-screenwriter Carl Meyer would write most of Murnau's great films).

This is all very interesting and a pleasure to read, but something is missing - the film itself. There is little analysis of 'Caligari' as a movie, why it can still exert a fascination for a sympathetic audience, what the various stylistsic choices actually mean or achieve. It's not enough to dismiss 'Caligari' as a ragbag of various accidents (so are most Hollywood 'classics') - it is still a film to be watched and understood, even if eventually dismissed.

Nevertheless, this book is a visual joy, full of crisp stills, sketches for sets, and, most pleasurably, various posters for the original exhibition run (including the lurid but mysterious one on the cover) which, I must confess, are more strikingly beautiful than anything in the actual film.

Rating:
Summary: Dr Caligari is an RX for suspense
Review: Dr. Caligari's cabinet is a wonderfully done piece of literature. The story is very original and suspenseful. Definately the book to read if you don't want to sleep at night

Rating:
Summary: Dr Caligari is an RX for suspense
Review: Dr. Caligari's cabinet is a wonderfully done piece of literature. The story is very original and suspenseful. Definately the book to read if you don't want to sleep at night

Rating:
Summary: Another great entry in a great series.
Review: The BFI Film Classics series is a consistantly stimulating guide to great films, and this is one of my favorites. Robinson is particularly strong in placing this film in its historical context. As wonderful as it is, Caligari is nevertheless a product of its time, and an awareness of this only increases its resonance. This book beautifully passes the only true test of film criticsm - it enhances our experince of the film itself.

Rating:
Summary: informative and interesting
Review: This is not the screenplay but a reconstruction made from a print of the classic 1919 expressionist film. The introductory material is more valuable than the text itself, as it includes little known historical detail. There are about 100 pages of text in the edition I bought in London, and 24 pages of b&w photographs.