Throughout history, particularly the last few centuries, photographs and filmography have been used as an effective means of conveying reality, or at least a perception of it. As we’ve discussed in class, photographs are used to depict a specific moment, and even then, it only depicts one dimension, or “reality” of that moment. On the contrary, yet very similarly, films are used to depict a series of moments, but the aspect of reality remains the same, as film, like photography is merely a medium for depicting a reality, but with more freedom to augment “reality.”
The 1920’s film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a staple of the german expressionist movement. After World War two, the German government was obliged to pay massive war reparations, and in effect, lacked the resources and necessary funding needed to produce high quality films. Producers, as well as other people in the industry including directors, artists, and writers were required to create novel methods of using the then-new technology of filmmaking, in order to manipulate reality and produce films that would earn widespread popularity. One of the methods in which the early twentieth century horror The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari manipulated reality, especially compared to modern horror films, was its unorthodox use of lighting. The film, as many critics claim, was one of the first silent films to experiment with the concept of using light and shadows to reflect the mysterious psychology of the characters. In many scenes throughout the film, extreme contrasts of light and darkness are used to create dramatic shadows and further convey the sense of fear and unrest as well as contribute to its deranged depiction of reality. Signature to the expressionist movement, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari displayed frequent use of painted designs and figures serving as the setting of many scenes in the film, laying the framework for a film depicting a twisted psyche and a sense of anxiety and terror. The musical accompaniment to this film was, I felt, extremely appropriate for the genre. After researching the film, I discovered the music contained sections, or excerpts from works by Johann Strauss III, Arnold Schoenberg, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Since silent films were played in theatres, accompanied by live music, theatre owners hired musicians to compile musical selections based on the themes of silent films., In the case of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, I learned that musician Erno Rapee was hired to create a piece of music that matched the dark mood of the film and “had to be made eligible for citizenship in a nightmare country” as Rothafel described. The musical accompaniment of this film was definitely one of its characteristics that coincided with the disturbing, and definitely horrific nature of the plot.
One of the first things I thought of when considering making a silent horror film in the landscape of New York was to definitely utilize the underground subway system. The constant darkness, occasionally illuminated with the light of a passing train would definitely be effective in creating a dramatic plot full of unforeseen twists. I would center the film around establishing a dark and empty train track being where all crimes mysteriously take place with no witnesses to account for how they happened. One of the sounds I would include would obviously be that of a train entering and leaving a station, as well as a simple soundtrack of instruments which would compliment the tone of mystery and obliviousness of city people to the murder streak occurring in one of the most populous stations in New York City. With regard to expressionist characteristics, the scenes in my film would alternate from crime scenes to unsuspecting people going about their day, to emphasize the people’s lack of understanding of the horrific happenings in their city.
Ronald Osherov
