I like psychological thrillers, but I just could not wrap my mind around this one. I understand that it was an early film, however, it gave me a headache in all honesty. It is hard for me to follow silent films, because my attention wanders. With that being said, I do think it was fascinating as the work did not seem too different from the present psychological thriller movies. The movie followed a plot as the man in the beginning described how weird Dr. Caligari and the somnambulist were in his life. He also describes the chaos they brought to the town. This reminded me of the stories of Jack the Ripper in England, because no one knew who he was and he brought a lot of terror. The acting was very dramatic which made it easier to follow the plot. One could see when something was negative if the characters started crying or covering their faces. In other scenes, we could see Caligari’s contempt with himself when he threw his hands in the air. In my opinion, the lighting stayed pretty constant except for when they were in the mountain or forest. I think these changes displayed the difference between day and night. There was also the use of dramatic make-up and fashion. An example is the scary eye makeup the somnambulist had. Also, the somnambulist had a skeleton like figure.The most notable element for me was the music. The music displayed the different events in the film very well. The music would speed up to show climax, slow down to show sorrow, or it would have a sudden increase in sound when there was a realization in the film. The scene where the somnambulist killed the first man, you could see a sfrozando in the music. This indicated the swift death of Mr. Alan. Also, when the men were reading Caligari’s diary at the end, the music had a crescendo to display it nearing a climax. The intertitles also displayed some drawings and symbols to emphasize certain words or concepts.
If I were to create my own silent film, I would also focus on my music element. It is the most effective way to wake up readers and set the mood. The city has many police precincts, so if I was filming a thriller I would go to a precinct at night. Most of the horror would happen at night, because the darkness would signify the horror in the actions, and it is easier to get away with things at night. I would also use parks, especially Central Park. I would use the parks, because they have many hidden places that would be easier for someone to commit a crime in. I would use a criminal court as a place of truth. All of these aspects exploit certain places and stereotypes in a city. New York is big enough for all of these symbolic elements. I would also frequently use the crescendo feature to show multiple climaxes.
-Marie Traore
Marie, I appreciate your honesty. I also found the film to be a little scattered and quite boring at times. I’m really glad to hear that it wasn’t just me.
I like the connection you drew between Dr. Caligari and Jack the Ripper. They have many similarities – they both terrorized cities and deceived a lot of people.
Overall, great work. Your post was really enjoyable.
I like your emphasis on music. It definitely plays a huge role on how a scene is perceived. It also emphasized and reinforces the emotions the characters are feeling. This film in particular gave me an eerie feeling and had the most impact on me out of all of the elements. Without the music I wouldn’t have been as interested in the film.