The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

The film tells the story of the deranged Doctor Caligari, his faithful somnambulist (sleepwalker) Cesare and their connection to a string of murders in the German mountain village, Holstenwall. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari presents one of the earliest examples of a motion picture frame story in which the body of the plot is presented as a flashback, as told by Francis, a seemingly innocent bystander. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari plays off of fears by telling the story of a traveling magician with a hypnotized servant who does his master’s murderous bidding under the cover of night.

Stylized Set

The set could not be lit enough to produce the kind of dramatic lighting that Expressionism required. Instead, lighting effects were painted directly on the scenery and sets, creating an even more Expressionist vision. The hard contrast of white and black rays on the walls gives the sense that the action is taking place in the confines of a woodcut. This inelegant, primitive form of art was a popular medium for Expressionist artists of the time. It provided a harsh and jagged look to the already unnatural set. The sets are ridiculous in terms of architectural impossibility. Houses and walls sit atop each other and curve down onto the streets, entombing them in shadows. The twisted alleyways, lopsided doors, cramped rooms, overhanging buildings, and skewed cityscapes give the audience a very enclosed feeling. Every set is populated by numerous paper cut-outs, such as trees, houses or chimneys on a rooftop. Nothing seems real but together, the pieces of the world of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari create their own reality. There is a general lack of camera movement and very little editing within scenes. This set was all narrow halls and passageways. There were no shots outdoors. The illusion of the outside world was given only in the shadows painted on the walls. The totally studio-produced film emphasized the importance of the designer, whose job was to create enormous indoor cities. The designers came to films from painting and, especially, from architecture. It was these set designers who were responsible for creating the distorted world of Dr. Caligari.

Cinematic Techniques

The emphasis on in-studio production was an important aesthetic quality of the German cinema between 1919 and 1924. German directors found that they could exercise complete authority over every aspect of the film-making process when they worked in the controlled environment of the studio, as they could not when they worked on location. The only way to make sure that the lighting, the decor, the architectural shapes, the relationship of blacks and whites and grays were perfect was to film in a completely controlled environment. Even “outdoor” scenes were contrived and shot inside the four walls of a studio. The result was not only a perfect control of style and decor but also a feeling of claustrophobia that enhanced the mood of many of the best films, which were also claustrophobic in their content. Expressionistic touches applied not only to the sets but also extended to make-up and some of the acting, most notably Cesare’s. His pale complexion and the exaggerated dark circles under his eyes set the standard look for movie zombies. Cesare’s slow awakening to a wide-eyed look into the camera is somewhat frightening, partly because it’s one of the only close-ups.

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