Film is seen as photography long distant cousin that keep in touch but don’t really share the same interests, so they don’t have much to talk about. But one thing they do share in common is creativity, along with the underlying factors of art, cameras, etc. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German murder-mystery silent film created in 1920 about an insane doctor who uses “dark magic”, as it seems, to use a somnambulist to literally haunt others and end up killing them. The film is one of the earliest examples of silent films in the world and it’s easy to say it was very different from today’s film. Besides the fact the viewer must use intertitles to read off what the actors are saying, the lighting, acting, scenery and overall display of the movie is what makes these silent films so different from today’s films.
Going into The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the film was unlike any other detail for detail. Starting off with the overall story line, it took a different approach to murder-mysteries than today’s film. What seemed so utterly scary was overall reality. In today’s film, pop-ups and images that make the viewer uncomfortable and sleepless for the night are what we consider “scary films” in today’s culture. However, it seems that back in the day, overall real-life events and actual possible events are what really shakes up the viewer and leaves them almost as if they actually saw a ghost. Along with the story line, is the music. The music, classical, used to this very day in modern day horror films. Suspenseful, trembling, and overall a huge boost to the actual film’s meaning. One thing to take into account for is how early these movies were made with little to no actual idea of how to act or even express emotion to a camera lens. This goes to show that the acting of the film, was surprisingly amazing. True emotion of each actor such as the doctor when he interacts with the somnambulist in Act V. It absolutely amazes me that with such little idea of film and acting as an art that the actors would be so passionate and seem so experienced with their roles. The lighting almost ties along with the scenery. We must take into the fact that at this time, technology was not as developed and people didn’t waste millions of even close to the equivalence to develop these “films.” People weren’t that into them or couldn’t afford/have time to seem these films. The scenery was as expected, not professional and absolutely beautiful but also not lacking in any aspect. Overall, very impressive once again for the fact film was still anew in this era. I won’t tell a fib, the movie was not my cup of tea or anything I would watch over and over again, but the fact that this movie was made with such utter passion, precision, and handled with time and care makes this by far the most technically impressive movie to this date. It still amazes me that these actors, cinematographers, stage crew, etc. can have put together this incredibly long film with such a tight budget and little to no real technology.
This film draws the question, what about my own murder mystery silent film? One of my most favorite resources would be New York City. I would use the city as representation of raw truth. The scariest of images that the Caligari film portrayed, reality. The image of a dog eats dog world where you only get one shot and you must fight your way to make it to the top, as NYC is known for. The images of a corporate boss being harshly rude to his employees results in his death days after firing a handful of people. But who is the real murderer? More and more thoughts go into the idea of this murder mystery film I can portray such as the acting, music and the lighting which I believe, with good lighting, you can turn anything around.
Overall, the experience of watching The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was step outside my comfort zone. It showed images and ways of the film-making process I was never familiar with and truly showed me the “other side.” The “other side” such as the struggle, budget shortages, and unfamiliar/untrained aspects. It definitely is a movie I will remember but not so much a movie that I’d want to sit down again and re-watch in complete silence. Still, an amazing time and my curiosity still flourishes.
-Kevin Hasa
