149-555: Caligari may refer to: Dr. Caligari, a major character in the 1920 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Caligari Corporation , an American software company acquired by Microsoft "Caligari's Mirror", a song from the album Dub Housing by the American music group Pere Ubu John Caligari (born 1960), a lieutenant general in the Australian Army Caligari Carnival,
298-429: A Rahmenerzählung , or frame story ; a prologue and epilogue establish the main body of the film as a delusional flashback, a novel technique. Lang has said that, during early discussions about his possible involvement with the film, he suggested the addition of an opening scene with a "normal" style, which would lead the public into the rest of the film without confusion. It remains unclear whether Lang suggested
447-542: A "foreign invasion". Nevertheless, the film remained popular in the United States. Several American reviewers compared it to an Edgar Allan Poe story, including in a 1921 review in Variety magazine, which praised the direction and "perfect tempo" of the film, as well as the sets that "squeeze and turn and adjust the eye, and through the eye the mentality". A New York Times review likened it to modernist art , comparing
596-490: A brilliantly high bar for the genre – and remains terrifying nearly a century after it first stalked the screen." Akira Kurosawa , the Japanese director, named this movie as one of his 100 favourite films. Caligari is the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, and by far the most famous example of it. It is considered a classic film, often shown in introductory film courses, film societies and museums, and
745-513: A bronze bust of Franz Joseph II at the entrance, a collection of weapons, stamps, and important historical documents from the Principality, paintings from the Prince's personal collection, and exhibits showcasing Liechtenstein's industry, landscape, and religious history. Also featured in the building was an interior garden with a circular walkway enabling visitors to browse the entire pavilion. This
894-449: A combination of realistic and artistic elements so the films would be accessible to American audiences, yet also distinctive from Hollywood films. Pommer has claimed while Mayer and Janowitz expressed a desire for artistic experimentation in the film, his decision to use painted canvases as scenery was primarily a commercial one, as they would be a significant financial saving over building sets. Janowitz claims he attempted to commission
1043-730: A common characteristic in Expressionist theatre. However, David Robinson notes even the performances of the more naturalistic supporting roles in Caligari have Expressionist elements, like Hans-Heinz von Twardowski's "strange, tormented face" as Alan. He also cites Feher's "large angular movements", especially in the scene where he searches the deserted fairground. Other minor roles are Expressionistic in nature, like two policemen who sit facing each other at their desks and move with exaggerated symmetry, and two servants who awaken and rise from their beds in perfect synchronisation. Vincent LoBrutto said of
1192-420: A contract was signed, and he purchased the script from them that night. The writers had originally sought no fewer than 10,000 marks, but were given 3,500, with the promise of another 2,000 once the film went into production and 500 if it was sold for foreign release, which the producers considered unlikely. The contract, today preserved at Berlin's Bundesfilmarchiv , gave Pommer the right to make any changes to
1341-476: A film could be effective dramatically when not photographic and finally, of the greatest possible importance, that the mind of the audience was brought into play psychologically". Likewise, Arthur Knight wrote in Rogue : "More than any other film, ( Caligari ) convinced artists, critics and audiences that the movie was a medium for artistic expression". Entertainment Weekly included Caligari in their 1994 "Guide to
1490-444: A force that seems to emerge from a constant toxic state, a twisted authoritarianism of no human scruple and total insensibility". Most of the other actors besides Krauss and Veidt have a more naturalistic style. Alan, Jane and Franzis play the roles of an idyllically happy trio enjoying youth; Alan in particular represents the archetype of a sensitive 19th-century student. Mike Budd points out realist characters in stylised settings are
1639-415: A fortune teller, who predicted that Janowitz would survive his military service during the war, but Langer would die. This prediction proved true, as Langer died unexpectedly in 1920 at the age of 23, and Janowitz said it inspired the scene in which Cesare predicts Alan's death at the fair. Although neither had any associations with the film industry, Janowitz and Mayer wrote a script over six weeks during
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#17328834908071788-410: A full transcript was published. The script revealed that a frame story was part of the original Caligari screenplay, albeit a different one from that in the film. The original manuscript opens on an elegant terrace of a large villa, where Franzis and Jane are hosting a party and the guests insist that Franzis tell them a story that happened to him 20 years earlier. The conclusion to the frame story
1937-567: A horrible failure for all of us!" As with the making of the film, several urban legends surround the film's premiere. One, offered by writers Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel in The German Cinema , suggests the film was shelved "for lack of a suitable outlet", and was only shown at Marmorhaus because another film had fallen through. Another suggested the theatre pulled the film after only two performances because audiences demanded refunds and demonstrated against it so strongly. This story
2086-531: A lone actor. Expo 58#International film poll Expo 58 , also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair ( French : Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958 , Dutch : Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958 ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels , Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under
2235-535: A major influence over other German directors, and many of the film's Expressionist elements – particularly the use of setting, light and shadow to represent the specific psychology of its characters – became prevalent in German cinema. Among the films to use these elements were Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) and The Last Laugh (1924), G. W. Pabst 's Secrets of a Soul (1926), and Lang's Metropolis (1927) and M (1931). The success of Caligari also affected
2384-561: A north-eastern suburb of Berlin. Decla had been making films at the Lixie studio since October 1919, having previously released three titles, The Plague of Florence ( Die Pest in Florenz ) (1919) and the two parts of The Spiders ( Die Spinnen ). The relatively small size of the studio (built some five years earlier in 1914) meant most of the sets used in the film did not exceed six metres (20 ft) in width and depth. Certain elements from
2533-460: A painting of the Holstenwall town as a background; throngs of people walk around two spinning merry-go-round props, which creates the impression of a carnival. The script also made references to modern elements like telephones, telegrams and electric light, but they were eliminated during the filming, leaving the final film's setting with no indication of a specific time period. Several scenes from
2682-414: A precursor for arthouse films . The film helped draw worldwide attention to the artistic merit of German cinema, and had a major influence on American films, particularly in the genres of horror and film noir . In what appears to be a park, Franzis sits on a bench with an older man who complains that spirits have driven him away from his family and home. When a dazed woman passes them, Franzis explains she
2831-536: A purposefully primitive and imitative style, and the entrance of the exhibit featured a bust of King Leopold II , under whose colonial rule millions of Congolese died. The 700 Congolese chosen to be exhibited by the Ministry were educated urbanites referred to by Belgians as évolués , meaning literally "evolved," but were made to dress in "primitive" clothing, and an armed guard blocked them from communicating with white Belgians who came to observe them. The exotic nature of
2980-692: A record that remained intact until the release of Emmanuelle (1974). According to Janowitz, Caligari was also shown in such European cities as London, Rome, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest, as well as outside Europe in China, Japan, India and Turkey, and also in South American nations. There are differing accounts as to how Caligari was first received by audiences and critics immediately after its release. Stephen Brockmann, Anton Kaes and film theorist Kristin Thompson say it
3129-401: A resemblance to the German films of the 1920s, and film historian Roy Armes has called him "the true heir" of Caligari . Bergman himself, however, has downplayed the influence of German Expressionism on his work. Caligari has also affected stage theatre. Siegfried Kracauer wrote that the film's use of the iris shot has been mimicked in theatrical productions, with lighting used to single out
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#17328834908073278-416: A result the distorted visual style takes on the quality of his mental breakdown, giving the viewers the impression that they are inside the mind of a madman. As with contemporary Expressionist paintings , the visual style of Caligari reflects an emotional reaction to the world, and the film's characters represent an emotional response to the terror of society as embodied by Caligari and Cesare. Often in
3427-460: A revolutionary film. Film reviewer Roger Ebert called it arguably "the first true horror film", and critic Danny Peary called it cinema's first cult film and a precursor for arthouse films . In October 1958, Caligari was ranked as the twelfth-best film of all time during a poll organised at the Brussels World's Fair . With input from 117 film critics, filmmakers and historians from around
3576-455: A sense of anxiety and terror to the viewer, giving the impression of a nightmare or deranged sensibility, or a place transformed by evil, in a more effective way than realistic locations or conventional design concepts could. Siegfried Kracauer wrote that the settings "amounted to a perfect transformation of material objects into emotional ornaments". The majority of the film's story and scenes are memories recalled by an insane narrator, and as
3725-459: A set with long vertical painted shadows resembling arrowheads, pointing down at the squatting prisoner in an oppressive effect that symbolises his broken-down state. Stephen Brockmann argues the fact that Caligari was filmed entirely in a studio enhances the madness portrayed by the film's visuals because "there is no access to a natural world beyond the realm of the tortured human psyche". The sets occasionally feature circular images that reflect
3874-608: A shadow against the wall during the scene in which Cesare kills Alan, so the viewer sees only the shadow and not the figures themselves. Lighting techniques like this became frequently used in later German films. The visual style of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is dark, twisted and bizarre; radical and deliberate distortions in perspective, form, dimension and scale create a chaotic and unhinged appearance. The sets are dominated by sharp-pointed forms and oblique and curving lines, with narrow and spiraling streets, and structures and landscapes that lean and twist in unusual angles, giving
4023-534: Is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer . The quintessential work of early German Expressionist cinema , it tells the story of an insane hypnotist ( Werner Krauss ) who uses a brainwashed somnambulist ( Conrad Veidt ) to commit murders. The film features a dark, twisted visual style, with sharp-pointed forms, oblique, curving lines, structures and landscapes that lean and twist in unusual angles, and shadows and streaks of light painted directly onto
4172-486: Is a common characteristic for dream narratives to have some normal elements in them, and that the normalcy of Jane's house in particular could represent the feeling of comfort and refuge Franzis feels in her presence. Mike Budd argues while the Expressionistic visual style is jarring and off-putting at first, the characters start to blend more harmoniously as the film progresses, and the setting becomes more relegated into
4321-487: Is because early film reviewers attempted to assign fixed definitions to the young art of cinema, and thus had trouble accepting the bizarre and unusual elements of Caligari . Some critics felt it imitated a stage production too closely. Other commentators, like critic Herbert Ihering and novelist Blaise Cendrars , objected to the presentation of the story as a madman's delusion because they felt it belittled Expressionism as an artform. Theatre critic Helmut Grosse condemned
4470-514: Is disputed: Janowitz claims the duo repeatedly refused to allow any script changes during production, and Pommer claimed Mayer was on the set for every day of filming. Hermann Warm, however, claimed they were never present for any of the shooting or involved in any discussions during production. Caligari was filmed in the Lixie-Film studio (formerly owned by Continental-Kunstfilm ) at 9 Franz Joseph-Strasse (now Max Liebermannstraße), Weißensee ,
4619-410: Is his "fiancée" Jane and that they have suffered a great ordeal. Most of the rest of the film is a flashback of Franzis' story, which takes place in Holstenwall, a shadowy village of twisted buildings and spiraling streets. Franzis and his friend Alan, who are good-naturedly competing for Jane's affections, plan to visit the town fair. Meanwhile, a mysterious man named Dr. Caligari seeks a permit from
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4768-418: Is missing from the script. Critics widely agree that the discovery of the screenplay strongly undermines Kracauer's theory, with some, like the German film historian Stephen Brockmann, even arguing it disproves his claims altogether. Others, like John D. Barlow, argue that it does not settle the issue, as the original screenplay's frame story simply serves to introduce the main plot, rather than subvert it as
4917-465: Is not a somnambulist but awake, quiet, and not visibly dangerous. The man Franzis refers to as "Dr. Caligari" is the asylum director. Franzis attacks him and is restrained in a straitjacket, then placed in the same cell where Caligari was confined in Franzis's story. The asylum director announces that he now understands Franzis's delusion, and that he is confident he can cure him. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
5066-579: Is one of the most famous German films from the silent era. Film scholar Lewis Jacobs called it the "most widely discussed film of the time". Caligari helped draw worldwide attention to the artistic merit of German cinema, while also bringing legitimacy to the cinema among literary intellectuals within Germany itself. Lotte Eisner has said it was in Expressionism, as epitomised in Caligari , that "the German cinema found its true nature". The term caligarism
5215-408: Is sleeping. The writings reveal his obsession with the story of an 18th-century mystic named Caligari, who used a somnambulist named Cesare to commit murders in northern Italian towns. The director, attempting to understand the earlier Caligari, experiments on a somnambulist admitted to the asylum, who becomes his Cesare. The asylum director screams, "I must become Caligari!" Franzis and the doctors call
5364-414: Is typically absent from the film, heightening the sense of darkness prevalent in the story. However, lighting is occasionally used to intensify the uneasiness created by the distortions of the sets. For example, when Cesare first awakens at the fair, a light is shone directly on a close-up of his heavily made-up face to create an unsettling glow. Additionally, lighting is used in a then-innovative way to cast
5513-489: The Atomium , a giant model of a unit cell of an iron crystal (each sphere representing an atom ). During the 1958 European exposition, the molecular model hosted an observation of more than forty-one million visitors while refining an astonishment for atomism by distant global communities. The atomistic model was opened with a call for world peace and social and economic progress, issued by King Baudouin I . The Atomium
5662-566: The Belgian Government under Prime Minister Achille Van Acker decided to forego celebrations in 1955 to have additional funding for the 1958 Expo. Since Expo 58, Belgium has not organised any more world's fairs. More than forty nations took part in Expo 58, with more than forty-five national pavilions, not including those of the Belgian Congo and Belgium itself. The site is best known for
5811-536: The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) after World War II . Expo 58 was the eleventh world's fair hosted by Belgium, and the fifth in Brussels, following the fairs in 1888, 1897 , 1910 and 1935 . In 1953, Belgium won the bid for the next world's fair, winning out over other European capitals such as Paris and London. Nearly 15,000 workers spent three years building the 2 km (490 acres) site on
5960-476: The Heysel/Heizel Plateau , 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north-west of central Brussels . Many of the buildings were re-used from the 1935 World's Fair, which had been held on the same site. The theme of Expo 58 was "Bilan du monde, pour un monde plus humain" (in English: "Evaluation of the world for a more humane world"), a motto inspired by faith in technical and scientific progress, as well as post-war debates over
6109-828: The University of California Marching Band which had financed its own way to the fair under the direction of James Berdahl. The United States pavilion consisted of 4 buildings, one of which hosted America the Beautiful , a 360° movie attraction in Circarama made by Walt Disney Productions . The film would subsequently travel to the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959, and would find its first American audiences at Disneyland in Anaheim in 1960. The pavilion of Yugoslavia
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6258-534: The Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi Palace, agriculture; Catholic missions; insurance, banks, trade; mines and metallurgy; energy, construction, and transport; a village indigène (indigenous village). The Belgian Congo section was, above all, intended to display the "civilizing" work of the Belgian colonialism. The village indigène is of the most notable modern "human zoos" of the 20th century. Another exhibition at
6407-454: The Belgian pavilion was the Congolese village that some have branded a human zoo . The Ministry of Colonies built the Congolese exhibit, intending to demonstrate their claim to have "civilized" the "primitive Africans." Native Congolese art was rejected for display, as the Ministry claimed it was "insufficiently Congolese." Instead, nearly all of the art on display was created by Europeans in
6556-608: The Cesare character in particular, influenced the Universal Studios horror films of the 1930s, which often prominently featured some sort of monster, such as Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Black Cat (1934), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The Expressionism of Caligari also influenced American avant-garde film , particularly those that used fantastic settings to illustrate an inhuman environment overpowering an individual. Early examples include The Fall of
6705-577: The Expressionist movement dead by the time Caligari arrived in theatres. Few other purely Expressionistic films were produced, and Caligari was the only one readily accessible for several decades. Among the few films to fully embrace the Expressionist style were Genuine (1920) and Raskolnikow (1923), both directed by Wiene, as well as From Morn to Midnight (1920), Torgus (1921), Das Haus zum Mond (1921), Haus ohne Tür und ohne Fenster (1921) and Waxworks . While few other purely Expressionistic films were made, Caligari still had
6854-421: The German war government, with Cesare symbolic of the common man conditioned, like soldiers, to kill. Other themes of the film include the destabilised contrast between insanity and sanity, the subjective perception of reality, and the duality of human nature. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was released when foreign film industries were easing restrictions on the import of German films after World War I, so it
7003-478: The Greatest Movies Ever Made", calling it a "landmark silent film" and saying, "No other film's art direction has ever come up with so original a visualization of dementia". The film holds an approval rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 80 reviews, with a weighted average of 9.30/10. The site's critics' consensus states: "Arguably the first true horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari set
7152-514: The House of Usher (1928), The Last Moment (1928) and The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra (1928). LoBrutto wrote, "Few films throughout motion picture history have had more influence on the avant-garde, art, and student cinema than Caligari ". Caligari and German Expressionism heavily influenced the American film noir period of the 1940s and '50s, both in visual style and narrative tone. Noir films tended to portray everyone, even
7301-673: The Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957 for an international spectators observation from the surface of the earth. The spacecraft completed the geocentric orbit upon depleting the silver zinc battery capacity for an atmospheric entry of the earth's atmosphere on 4 January 1958 . The Belgium exposition highlighted a model of the Soviet Union's watercraft vessel Lenin the first nuclear-powered icebreaker , and Soviet automobiles: GAZ-21 Volga, GAZ-13 Chaika , ZIL-111 , Moskvitch 407 and 423, trucks GAZ-53 and MAZ-525 . The Soviet exposition
7450-437: The acting in the film: The acting style is as emotionally over-the-top as the narrative and visual style of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari . The behavior of the characters represents the actors' emotional responses to the expressionistic environment and the situations in which they find themselves. Staging and movement of the actors respond to the hysteria of Caligari's machinations and to the fun-house labyrinth that appears to be
7599-411: The audience. Despite Franzis' protests, Alan asks, "How long shall I live?" To Alan's horror, Cesare answers, "The time is short. You die at dawn!" Later that night, a figure breaks into Alan's home and stabs him to death in his bed. A grief-stricken Franzis investigates Alan's murder with help from Jane and her father, Dr. Olsen, who obtains police authorisation to investigate the somnambulist. That night,
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#17328834908077748-399: The background. Robinson suggested Caligari is not a true example of Expressionism at all, but simply a conventional story with some elements of the art form applied to it. He argues the story itself is not Expressionistic, and the film could have easily been produced in a traditional style, but that Expressionist-inspired visuals were applied to it as decoration. Similarly, Budd has called
7897-732: The bottom right-hand corner of the second to last page (folio 99r/45r), containing the words "Quam olim d: C:". As of 2012 the perpetrator has not been identified and the fragment has not been recovered. The event offered the occasion for the organization by thousands of critics and filmmakers from all over the world, of the first universal film poll in history. The poll received nominations from 117 critics from 26 nations. Броненосец Потёмкин (Battleship Potemkin) received 100 votes with The Gold Rush second with 95. A jury of young filmmakers ( Robert Aldrich , Satyajit Ray , Alexandre Astruc , Michael Cacoyannis , Juan Bardem , Francesco Maselli and Alexander Mackendrick ) were due to select
8046-510: The camera". French critic Frédéric-Philippe Amiguet wrote of the film: "It has the odor of tainted food. It leaves a taste of cinders in the mouth." The Russian director Sergei Eisenstein especially disliked Caligari , calling it a "combination of silent hysteria, partially coloured canvases, daubed flats, painted faces, and the unnatural broken gestures and action of monstrous chimaeras". While early reviews were more divided, modern film critics and historians have largely praised Caligari as
8195-401: The chaos of the film, presenting patterns of movement that seem to be going nowhere, such as the merry-go-round at the fair, moving at a titled angle that makes it appear at risk of collapsing. Other elements of the film convey the same visual motifs as the sets, including the costumes and make-up design for Caligari and Cesare, both of which are highly exaggerated and grotesque. Even the hair of
8344-418: The characters is an Expressionistic design element, especially Cesare's black, spiky, jagged locks. They are the only two characters in the film with Expressionistic make-up and costumes, making them appear as if they are the only ones who truly belong in this distorted world. Despite their apparent normalcy, however, Franzis and the other characters never appear disturbed by the madness around them reflected in
8493-526: The continuity of the principle is missing". While Robinson said the response from American critics was largely positive and enthusiastic, Kaes said American critics and audiences were divided: some praised its artistic value and others, particularly those distrustful of Germany following World War I, wished to ban it altogether. Some in the Hollywood film industry felt threatened by the potential rivalry and spoke out against Caligari 's release, condemning it as
8642-423: The deep effect of the drama? I do not know." Though often considered an art film by some modern critics and scholars, Caligari was produced and marketed the same way as a normal commercial production of its time period, able to target both the elite artistic market as well as a more commercial horror genre audience. The film was marketed extensively leading up to the release, and advertisements ran even before
8791-466: The director of Caligari , and Lang even went so far as to hold preparatory discussions about the script with Janowitz, but he became unavailable due to his involvement with the filming of The Spiders , so Wiene was selected instead. According to Janowitz, Wiene's father, a successful theatre actor, had "gone slightly mad when he could no longer appear on the stage", and Janowitz believed that experience helped Wiene bring an "intimate understanding" to
8940-473: The ethical use of atomic power . The exhibition attracted some 41.5 million visitors, making Expo 58 the second largest World's Fair after the 1900 Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Paris, which had attracted 48 million visitors. Every 25 years starting in 1855, Belgium had staged large national events to celebrate its national independence following the Belgian Revolution of 1830. However,
9089-453: The exhibit was lauded by visitors and international press, with the Belgian socialist newspaper Le Peuple praising the portrayal of Africans, saying it was "in complete agreement with historical truth." However, in mid-July the Congolese protested the condescending treatment they were receiving from spectators and demanded to be sent home, abruptly ending the exhibit and eliciting some sympathy from European newspapers. The Austrian pavilion
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#17328834908079238-492: The famous Laterna Magika show, as well as Josef Svoboda's technically unique Polyekran . The Czechoslovak pavilion was visited by 6 million people and was officially awarded the best pavilion of the Expo ;58. The West German pavilion was designed by the architects Egon Eiermann and Sep Ruf . The world press called it the most polished and sophisticated pavilion of the exhibition. The Liechtenstein pavilion featured
9387-448: The film a conventional, classical narrative, resembling a detective story in Franzis's search to expose Alan's killer, and said it is only the film's Expressionist settings that make the film transgressive. Hans Janowitz has entertained similar thoughts as well: "Was this particular style of painting only a garment in which to dress the drama? Was it only an accident? Would it not have been possible to change this garment, without injury to
9536-406: The film as a whole, mimics the lettering of Expressionistic posters at the time. The original title cards were tinted in green, steely-blue and brown. Many modern prints of the film do not preserve the original lettering. Photography was provided by Willy Hameister , who went on to work with Wiene on several other films. The camerawork in Caligari is fairly simple and is used primarily to show
9685-408: The film of its revolutionary and political significance; he wrote that it was "an illicit violation, a raping of our work" that turned the film "into a cliché ... in which the symbolism was to be lost". Janowitz says the writers sought legal action to stop the change but failed. He also says they did not see the finished film with the frame story until a preview was shown to studio heads, after which
9834-429: The film probably had as much of a long-term effect on Hollywood directors as Battleship Potemkin (1925). In his book The Film Til Now , Rotha wrote that Caligari and Potemkin were the "two most momentous advances in the development of the cinema", and said Caligari "served to attract to the cinema audience many people who had hitherto regarded the film as the low watermark of intelligence". Caligari influenced
9983-611: The film than the other actors. Prior to filming, Kraus and Veidt appeared on stage in the winter of 1918 in an Expressionist drama, Reinhold Goering [ de ] 's Seeschlacht , at the Deutsches Theater. By contrast, Dagover had little experience in Expressionist theatre, and Barlow argues her acting is less harmonious with the film's visual style. Wiene asked the actors to make movements similar to dance, most prominently from Veidt, but also from Krauss, Dagover and Friedrich Feger, who played Franzis. Krauss and Veidt are
10132-539: The film was finished. Many posters and newspaper advertisements included the enigmatic phrase featured in the film, " Du musst Caligari werden! " , or "You must become Caligari!" Caligari premiered at the Marmorhaus theatre in Berlin on 26 February 1920, less than one month after it was completed. The filmmakers were so nervous about the release that Erich Pommer, on his way to the theatre, reportedly exclaimed, "It will be
10281-513: The film's abstract visual style. Nevertheless, Pommer claimed to have supervised Caligari , and that the film's Expressionistic style was chosen in part to differentiate it from competing Hollywood films. The predominant attitude at the time was that artistic achievement led to success in exports to foreign film markets. The dominance of Hollywood at the time, coupled with a period of inflation and currency devaluation, forced German film studios to seek projects that could be made inexpensively, with
10430-664: The film's sets and costumes. Through film director Fritz Lang , Janowitz and Mayer met with Erich Pommer , head of production at the Decla-Film studio in Weissensee, on 19 April 1919, to discuss selling the script. According to Pommer, he attempted to get rid of them, but they persisted until he agreed to meet with them. Pommer reportedly asked the writers to leave the script with him, but they refused, and instead Mayer read it aloud to him. Pommer and his assistant, Julius Sternheim, were so impressed that he refused to let them leave until
10579-530: The film's sets to Marcel Duchamp 's Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 , and said the film "gives dimensions and meaning to shape, making it an active part of the story, instead of merely the conventional and inert background", which was key to the film's "importance as a work of cinematography". Albert Lewin , a critic who eventually became a film director and screenwriter, called Caligari "the only serious picture, exhibited in America so far, that in anything like
10728-522: The film's visual design as clichéd and derivative, calling it a "cartoon and [a] reproduction of designs rather than from what actually took place on stage". Several reviewers, like Kurt Tucholsky and Blaise Cendrars, criticised the use of real actors in front of artificially-painted sets, saying it created an inconsistent level of stylisation. Critic Herbert Ihering echoed this point in a 1920 review: "If actors are acting without energy and are playing within landscapes and rooms which are formally 'excessive',
10877-420: The film, set pieces are emblematic of the emotional state of the characters in the scene. For example, the courtyard of the insane asylum during the frame story is vastly out of proportion. The characters seem too big for the small building, and the courtyard floor features a bizarre pattern, all of which represent the patients' damaged frames of mind. Likewise, the scene with the criminal in a prison cell features
11026-436: The final film have names in the script, including the town clerk ("Dr. Lüders") and the house-breaker ("Jakob Straat"). The story of Caligari is told abstractly, like a fairy tale, and includes little description about or attention toward the psychological motivations of the characters, which is more heavily emphasised in the film's visual style. The original script shows few traces of the Expressionist influence prevalent in
11175-440: The final film's version does. Many details about the making of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are in dispute and will probably remain unsettled due to the large number of people involved in the making of the film, many of whom recalled it differently or dramatised their own contributions to its production. Production of the film was delayed about four or five months after the script was purchased. Pommer originally chose Lang as
11324-455: The frame story glorified authority and was added to turn a "revolutionary" film into a "conformistic" one. No surviving copies of the script were believed to exist until the early 1950s when actor Werner Krauss revealed he still had his copy. He refused to part with it; only in 1978, two decades after his death, was it purchased by the German film archive Deutsche Kinemathek . It remained unavailable for public consumption until 1995, when
11473-413: The frame story structure or simply gave advice on how to write a frame story that was already agreed, and some writers, like David Robinson, have questioned whether Lang's recollection is correct. The director, Robert Wiene , was supportive of the changes. Janowitz has said he and Mayer were not privy to discussions about adding the frame story and strongly opposed its inclusion, believing it had deprived
11622-453: The idea for commercial, not aesthetic reasons: Expressionism was fashionable at the time, so he concluded even if the film received bad reviews, the artistic style would garner attention and make it profitable. Wiene filmed a test scene to demonstrate Warm, Reimann and Röhrig's theories, and it so impressed the producers that the artists were given free rein. Pommer later said he was responsible for placing Warm, Reimann and Röhrig in charge of
11771-434: The idea of painting forms and shadows directly onto the sets to ensure a dark and unreal look. According to Warm, the three approached Wiene with the idea and he immediately agreed, although Wiene has made claims that he conceived the film's Expressionist style. Meinert agreed to the idea after one day's consideration, telling Warm, Reimann and Röhrig to make the sets as "crazy" and "eccentrically" as possible. He embraced
11920-490: The import of German films into America, not over objections to the content of Caligari itself. After running in large commercial theatres, Caligari began to be shown in smaller theatres and film societies in major cities. Box office figures were not regularly published in the 1920s, so it has been difficult to assess the commercial success or failure of Caligari in the United States. Film historians Kristin Thompson and David B. Pratt separately studied trade publications from
12069-665: The import of German films, but film director Louis Delluc organised a single screening of it on 14 November 1921, at the Colisée cinema in Paris as part of a benefit performance for the Spanish Red Cross . Afterward, the Cosmograph company bought the film's distribution rights and premiered it at the Ciné-Opéra on 2 March 1922. Caligari played in one Paris theatre for seven consecutive years,
12218-474: The impression they could collapse or explode at any given moment. Film critic Roger Ebert described it as "a jagged landscape of sharp angles and tilted walls and windows, staircases climbing crazy diagonals, trees with spiky leaves, grass that looks like knives". The sets are characterised by strokes of bold, black paint. The landscape of Holstenwall is painted on canvas, as opposed to a constructed set, and shadows and streaks of light are painted directly onto
12367-499: The innocent, as the object of suspicion, a common thread in Caligari . The genre also employs several Expressionistic elements in its dark and shadowy visual style, stylised and abstract photography, and distorted and expressive make-up and acting. Caligari also influenced films produced in the Soviet Union , such as Aelita (1924) and The Overcoat (1926). Observers have noted the black and white films of Ingmar Bergman bear
12516-480: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caligari&oldid=1157768449 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ( German : Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari )
12665-407: The only actors whose performances fully match the stylisation of the sets, which they achieved by concentrating their movements and facial expressions. Barlow notes that "Veidt moves along the wall as if it had 'exuded' him ... more a part of a material world of objects than a human one", and Krauss "moves with angular viciousness, his gestures seem broken or cracked by the obsessive force within him,
12814-574: The opening scene. In the epilogue, Cranford returns and exclaims that Franzis has fully recovered from his madness. Mike Budd believes these additions simplified the film and "adjusted [it] for mass consumption", though Robinson argued it was simply a normal theatrical novelty for the time. Capitol Theatre manager Samuel Roxy Rothafel commissioned conductor Ernö Rapée to compile a musical accompaniment that included portions of songs by composers Johann Strauss III , Arnold Schoenberg , Claude Debussy , Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev . Rotafel wanted
12963-408: The ordinary. Warm brought to the project his two friends, painters and stage designers Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig , both of whom were associated with the Berlin art and literary magazine Der Sturm . The trio spent a full day and part of the night reading the script, after which Reimann suggested an Expressionist style, a style often used in his own paintings. They also conceived
13112-410: The original script had to be cut from the film due to the limited space, including a procession of gypsies, a handcart pushed by Caligari, Jane's carriage, and a chase scene involving horse-cabs. Likewise, the script called for a fairground scene with roundabouts, barrel organs , sideshow barkers, performers and menageries, none of which could be achieved in the restrictive space. Instead, the scenes use
13261-474: The other characters' seem like ordinary German clothes from the 1920s. The collaborative nature of the film's production highlights the importance that both screenwriters and set designers held in German cinema of the 1920s, although film critic Lotte H. Eisner said sets held more importance than anything else in German films at that time. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was the first German Expressionist film, although Brockmann and film critic Mike Budd claim it
13410-427: The part of Jane for Gilda Langer, but by the time the film was cast Langer's interests had moved on from Janowitz and Mayer to director Paul Czinner , leaving the role to be played by Lil Dagover. Janowitz claimed he wrote the part of Caligari specifically for Werner Krauss, whom Deutsch had brought to his attention during rehearsals for a Max Reinhardt play; Janowitz said only Krauss or Paul Wegener could have played
13559-438: The part. The parts of Caligari and Cesare ultimately went to Krauss and Conrad Veidt , respectively, who enthusiastically took part in many aspects of the production. Krauss suggested changes to his own make-up and costumes, including the elements of a top hat, cape and walking stick with an ivory handle for his character. The actors in Caligari were conscious of the need to adapt their make-up, costumes and appearance to match
13708-514: The pavilion was praised for its elegance and simplicity and Richter was awarded as Knight of the Order of the Belgian Crown. After the end of Expo 58, the pavilion was sold and reconstructed as a school in the Belgian municipality of Wevelgem , where it still stands. The autograph of Mozart's Requiem was placed on display. At some point, someone was able to gain access to the manuscript, tearing off
13857-448: The police apprehend a criminal in possession of a knife who is caught attempting to murder an elderly woman. When questioned by Franzis and Dr. Olsen, the criminal confesses he tried to kill the elderly woman, but denies any part in the two previous deaths; he was merely taking advantage of the situation to divert blame away from himself. At night, Franzis spies on Caligari and observes what appears to be Cesare sleeping in his box. However,
14006-408: The police investigate Caligari's sideshow and discover that the "Cesare" sleeping in the box is only a dummy. Caligari escapes in the confusion. Franzis follows him and sees Caligari go into an insane asylum. Upon further investigation, Franzis is shocked to learn that Caligari is the asylum's director. With help from the asylum staff, Franzis studies the director's records and diary while the director
14155-420: The police to Caligari's office, where they show him Cesare's corpse. Caligari then attacks one of the staff. He is subdued, restrained in a straitjacket , and becomes an inmate in his own asylum. The narrative returns to the present, where Franzis concludes his story. In a twist ending , Franzis is depicted as an asylum inmate. Jane and Cesare are patients as well; Jane believes that she is a queen, while Cesare
14304-557: The psychiatrist served as a model for the Caligari character. Janowitz and Mayer were introduced in June ;1918 by a mutual friend, actor Ernst Deutsch . Both writers were penniless at the time. Gilda Langer , an actress with whom Mayer was in love, encouraged Janowitz and Mayer to write a film together. She later became the basis for the Jane character. Langer also encouraged Janowitz to visit
14453-435: The real Cesare sneaks into Jane's home as she sleeps. He raises a knife to stab her, but instead abducts her after a struggle, dragging her through the window onto the street. Chased by an angry mob, Cesare eventually drops Jane and flees; he soon collapses and dies of exhaustion. Franzis confirms that the criminal who confessed to the elderly woman's murder is still locked away and could not have been Jane's attacker. Franzis and
14602-439: The reflection of a crazy mirror, not an orderly village. Shooting for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari began at the end of December 1919 and concluded at the end of January 1920. It was shot entirely in a studio without any exterior shots, which was unusual for films of the time, but dictated by the decision to give the film an Expressionist visual style. The extent to which Mayer and Janowitz participated during filming
14751-426: The rude town clerk to present a spectacle at the fair, which features Cesare, a somnambulist . The clerk mocks and berates Caligari, but ultimately approves the permit. That night, the clerk is stabbed to death in his bed. The next morning, Franzis and Alan visit Caligari's sideshow attraction, where he opens a coffin-like box to reveal the sleeping Cesare. On Caligari's order, Cesare awakens and answers questions from
14900-467: The same degree has the authentic thrills and shock of art". A story in a November 1921 edition of Exceptional Photoplays , an independent publication issued by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures , said it "occupies the position of unique artistic merit", and said American films in comparison looked like they were made for "a group of defective adults at the nine-year-old level". Caligari
15049-479: The score to match the dark mood of the film, saying: "The music had, as it were, to be made eligible for citizenship in a nightmare country". Caligari had its Los Angeles premiere at Miller's Theater on 7 May 1921, but the theatre was forced to pull it due to demonstrations by protestors. However, the protest was organised by the Hollywood branch of the American Legion due to fears of unemployment stemming from
15198-461: The script deemed appropriate. Pommer said he was drawn to the script because he believed it could be filmed inexpensively, and it bore similarities to films inspired by the macabre horror shows of the Grand Guignol theatre in Paris, which were popular at the time. Pommer later said: "They saw in the script an 'experiment'. I saw a relatively cheap film". The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari makes use of
15347-410: The script were cut during filming, most of which were brief time lapses or transitioning scenes, or title screens deemed unnecessary. One of the more substantial scenes to be cut involved the ghost of Alan at a cemetery. The scene with the town clerk berating Caligari deviated notably from the original script, which simply called for the clerk to be "impatient". He is far more abusive in the scene as it
15496-416: The script. According to Janowitz, he observed a woman disappear into some bushes, from which a respectable-looking man emerged a few moments later, and the next day Janowitz learned the girl was murdered. Holstenwall later became the name of the town setting in Caligari . Janowitz and Mayer are said to have set out to write a story denouncing arbitrary authority as brutal and insane. Janowitz said it
15645-434: The sets from designer and engraver Alfred Kubin , known for his heavy use of light and shadow to create a sense of chaos, but Kubin declined to participate in the project because he was too busy. In a conflicting story, however, Janowitz claimed he requested from Decla "Kubin paintings", and that they misread his instructions as " cubist painters" and hired Reimann and Röhrig as a result. David Robinson argues this story
15794-403: The sets, mostly alternating between medium shots and straight-on angles, with occasionally abrupt close-ups to create a sense of shock. There are few long shots or panning movement within the cinematography. Likewise, there is very little interscene editing. Most scenes follow the other without intercutting , which gives Caligari more of a theatrical feel than a cinematic one. Heavy lighting
15943-418: The sets, but Warm has claimed that, although Pommer was in charge of production at Decla when Caligari was made, he was not actually a producer on the film itself. Instead, he says Meinert was the film's true producer, and that it was he who gave Warm the manuscript. Warm claimed Meinert produced the film "despite the opposition of a part of the management of Decla". Meinert said Pommer had "not sanctioned"
16092-730: The sets, further distorting the viewer's sense of perspective and three-dimensionality. Buildings are clustered and interconnected in a cubist-like architecture, surrounded by dark and twisted back alleys. Lotte H. Eisner , author of The Haunted Screen , writes that objects in the film appear as if they are coming alive and "seem to vibrate with an extraordinary spirituality". Rudolf Kurtz [ de ] , screenwriter and author of Expressionismus und Film , likewise wrote "the dynamic force of objects howls their desire to be created". The rooms have radically offset windows with distorted frames, doors that are not squared, and chairs that are too tall. Strange designs and figures are painted on
16241-473: The sets, while Röhrig handled the painting and Reimann was responsible for the costumes. Robinson noted the costumes in Caligari seem to resemble a wide variety of time periods. For example, Caligari and the fairground workers' costumes resemble the Biedermeier era, while Jane's embody Romanticism . Additionally, Robinson wrote, Cesare's costume and those of policemen in the film appear abstract, while many of
16390-413: The sets. The script was inspired by various experiences from the lives of Janowitz and Mayer, both pacifists who were left distrustful of authority after their experiences with the military during World War I . The film makes use of a frame story , with a prologue and epilogue combined with a twist ending . Janowitz said this device was forced upon the writers against their will. The film's design
16539-406: The sets; they instead react as if they are parts of a normal background. A select few scenes disrupt the Expressionistic style of the film, such as in Jane's and Alan's home, which include normal backgrounds and bourgeois furniture that convey a sense of security and tranquility otherwise absent from the film. Eisner called this a "fatal" continuity error, but John D. Barlow disagrees, arguing it
16688-420: The setting of the ninth book of A Series of Unfortunate Events Cali Gari , a Japanese rock band See also [ edit ] Calegari Cagliari Caligaris , a surname Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Caligari . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
16837-440: The source material of Caligari . Decla producer Rudolf Meinert introduced Hermann Warm to Wiene and provided Warm with the Caligari script, asking him to come up with proposals for the design. Warm believed "films must be drawings brought to life", and felt a naturalistic set was wrong for the subject of the film, instead recommending a fantastic, graphic style, in which the images would be visionary, nightmarish and out of
16986-507: The story of Caligari the night of that show. Several of Janowitz's past experiences influenced his writing, including memories of his hometown of Prague , and, as he put it, a mistrust of "the authoritative power of an inhuman state gone mad" due to his military service. Janowitz also believed he had witnessed a murder in 1913 near an amusement park on Hamburg 's Reeperbahn , beside the Holstenwall , which served as another inspiration for
17135-547: The style and content of Hollywood films in the 1920s and early 1930s, particularly in films such as The Bells (1926), The Man Who Laughs (1928) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), and had a major influence on American horror films of the 1930s, some of which featured an antagonist using Caligari-like supernatural abilities to control others, such as Dracula (1931), Svengali (1931) and The Mad Genius (1931). Kaes said both Caligari 's stylistic elements, and
17284-441: The theatre for four weeks, an unusual amount for the time, and then returning two weeks later. He said it was so well received that women in the audience screamed when Cesare opened his eyes during his first scene, and fainted during the scene in which Cesare abducts Jane. Caligari was released at a time when foreign film industries had just started easing restrictions on the import of German films following World War I. The film
17433-467: The time in an attempt to make a determination, but reached conflicting findings; Thompson concluded it was a box office success and Pratt concluded it was a failure. However, both agreed it was more commercially successful in major cities than in theatres in smaller communities, where tastes were considered more conservative. Caligari did not immediately receive a wide distribution in France due to fears over
17582-477: The visual style of the film. Much of the acting in German silent films at the time was already Expressionistic, mimicking the pantomimic aspects of Expressionist theatre. The performances of Krauss and Veidt in Caligari were typical of this style, as they both had experience in Expressionist-influenced theatre, and as a result, John D. Barlow said they appear more comfortable in their surroundings in
17731-429: The walls of corridors and rooms, and trees outside have twisted branches that sometimes resemble tentacles. German film professor Anton Kaes [ de ] wrote, "The style of German Expressionism allowed the filmmakers to experiment with filmic technology and special effects and to explore the twisted realm of repressed desires, unconscious fears, and deranged fixations". The visual style of Caligari conveys
17880-529: The way in which German films were produced during the 1920s. For example, the majority of major German films over the next few years moved away from location shooting and were fully filmed in studios, which assigned much more importance to designers in German cinema. Robinson argues this led to the rise of a large number of film designers – such as Hans Dreier , Rochus Gliese , Albin Grau , Otto Hunte , Alfred Junge , Erich Kettelhut and Paul Leni – and that effect
18029-461: The winter of 1918–19. In describing their roles, Janowitz called himself "the father who planted the seed, and Mayer the mother who conceived and ripened it". The Expressionist filmmaker Paul Wegener was among their influences. The story was partially inspired by a circus sideshow the two visited on Kantstrasse in Berlin, called "Man or Machine?", in which a man performed feats of great strength after becoming hypnotised. They first visualised
18178-411: The world, it was the first universal film poll in history. American film historian Lewis Jacobs said "its stylized rendition, brooding quality, lack of explanation, and distorted settings were new to the film world". Film historian and critic Paul Rotha wrote of it, "For the first time in the history of the cinema, the director has worked through the camera and broken with realism on the screen; that
18327-473: The writers "expressed our dissatisfaction in a storm of thunderous remonstrances". They had to be persuaded not to publicly protest against the film. In his 1947 book From Caligari to Hitler , Siegfried Kracauer argued, based largely on an unpublished typescript written and provided by Janowitz, that the film originally included no frame story and started with the fair coming to town and ended with Caligari becoming institutionalised. Kracauer argued that
18476-486: The zigzag motifs of the fairground start turning, the pace leaps forward, agitato, accelerando, and leaves off only at the word 'End', as abruptly as a slap in the face." Jean Epstein , however, called it "a prize example of the abuse of décor in the cinema" and said it "represents a grave sickness of cinema". Likewise, Jean Cocteau called it "the first step towards a grave error which consists of flat photography of eccentric decors, instead of obtaining surprise by means of
18625-408: Was a critical success in France, but French filmmakers were divided in their opinions after its release. Abel Gance called it "superb" and wrote, "What a lesson to all directors!" and René Clair said it "overthrew the realist dogma" of filmmaking. Film critic and director Louis Delluc said the film has a compelling rhythm: "At first slow, deliberately laborious, it attempts to irritate. Then when
18774-609: Was acquired for American distribution by the Goldwyn Distributing Company , and had its American premiere at the Capitol Theatre in New York City on 3 April 1921. It was given a live theatrical prologue and epilogue, which was not unusual for film premieres at major theatres at the time. In the prologue, the film is introduced by a character called "Cranford", who identifies himself as the man Franzis speaks with in
18923-512: Was also disputed in a 1926 article by Barnet Braverman in Billboard magazine, which claimed the script included no mention of an unconventional visual style, and that Janowitz and Mayer in fact strongly opposed the stylisation. She claims Mayer later came to appreciate the visual style, but that Janowitz remained opposed to it years after the film's release. The set design, costumes and props took about two weeks to prepare. Warm worked primarily on
19072-457: Was also influenced by German Romanticism ; Budd notes the film's themes of insanity and the outcry against authority are common among German Romanticism in literature, theatre and the visual arts. Film scholar Vincent LoBrutto said the theatre of Max Reinhardt and the artistic style of Die Brücke were additional influences on Caligari . Janowitz originally intended the part of Cesare to go to his friend, actor Ernst Deutsch . Mayer wrote
19221-546: Was awarded with a Grand Prix. The US pavilion was quite spacious and included a fashion show with models walking down a large spiral staircase, an electronic computer that demonstrated a knowledge of history, and a colour television studio behind glass. It also served as the concert venue for performance by the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Edward Lee Alley. It was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone . It would also play host to
19370-447: Was coined as a result, referring to a style of similar films that focus on such themes as bizarre madness and obsession, particularly through the use of visual distortion. Expressionism was late in coming to cinema, and by the time Caligari was released, many German critics felt the art form had become commercialised and trivialised; such well-known writers as Kasimir Edschmid , René Schickele , and Yvan Goll had already pronounced
19519-581: Was designed by Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer in modernist style . It was later transferred to Vienna to host the museum of the 20th century. In 2011 it was reopened under the new name 21er Haus . It included a model Austrian Kindergarten, which doubled as a day care facility for the employees, the Vienna Philharmonic playing behind glass, and a model nuclear fusion reactor that fired every 5 minutes. The exposition "One Day in Czechoslovakia"
19668-425: Was designed by Jindřich Santar who cooperated with artists Jiří Trnka , Antonín Kybal, Stanislav Libenský and Jan Kotík . Architects of the simple, but modern and graceful construction were František Cubr, Josef Hrubý and Zdeněk Pokorný. The team's artistic freedom, so rare in the hard-line communist regime of the 1950s, was ensured by the government committee for exhibitions chairman František Kahuda . He supported
19817-427: Was designed by the architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez . It was awarded the exposition's star of gold. The city of Paris had its own pavilion, separate from the France exhibit. This was produced by the designer James Gardner , architect Howard Lobb and engineer Felix Samuely . The on-site British architect was Michael Blower , Brussels born and bilingual. The Soviet pavilion was a large impressive building which
19966-409: Was designed by the architect Vjenceslav Richter , who originally proposed to suspend the whole structure from a giant cable-stayed mast. When that proved too complicated, Richter devised a tension column consisting of six steel arches supported by a pre-stressed cable, which stood in front of the pavilion as a visual marker and symbolized Yugoslavia's six constituent republics. Filled with modernist art,
20115-622: Was felt abroad as many of these talents later emigrated from Germany with the rise of the Nazi Party . Additionally, the success of Caligari 's collaborative effort – including its director, set designers and actors – influenced subsequent film production in Germany for many years, making teamwork a hallmark of German cinema in the Weimar Republic. The effect of Caligari was felt not just in German cinema, but internationally as well. Both Rotha and film historian William K. Everson wrote that
20264-664: Was filmed, and is perched atop an exaggeratedly high bench that towers over Caligari. Another deviation from the script comes when Caligari first awakens Cesare, one of the most famous moments in the film. The script called for Cesare to gasp and struggle for air, then shake violently and collapse in Caligari's arms. As it was filmed, there is no such physical struggling, and instead the camera zooms in on Cesare's face as he gradually opens his eyes. The original title cards for Caligari featured stylised, misshapen lettering with excessive underlinings, exclamation points and occasionally archaic spellings. The bizarre style, which matches that of
20413-545: Was finished, was inspired by a rare book called Unknown Letters of Stendhal , which featured a letter from the French novelist Stendhal referring to a French officer named Caligari he met at the La Scala theatre in Milan . However, no record of any such letter exists, and film historian John D. Barlow suggested Janowitz may have fabricated the story. The physical appearance of Caligari
20562-622: Was folded up and taken back to Russia when Expo 58 ended. There was a bookstore selling science and technology books in English and other languages published by the Moscow Press . The Brussels exhibit featured a celestial mechanics display of the experimental Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 prototypes placed into orbit during the International Geophysical Year . The robotic spacecraft was low earth orbital satellite which debuted as
20711-458: Was handled by Hermann Warm , Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig , who recommended a fantastic, graphic style over a naturalistic one. The film thematises brutal and irrational authority. Writers and scholars have argued the film reflects a subconscious need in German society for a tyrant, and is an example of Germany's obedience to authority and unwillingness to rebel against deranged authority. Some critics have interpreted Caligari as representing
20860-411: Was inspired by portraits of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer . The character's name is spelled Calligaris in the only known surviving script, although in some instances the final s is removed. Other character names are also spelled differently from the final film: Cesare appears as Caesare , Alan is Allan or sometimes Alland and Dr. Olsen is Dr. Olfens . Likewise, unnamed characters in
21009-648: Was located in 7.7 hectares (19 acres) in close proximity to the Atomium model. The Belgian Congo, today known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo , was at that time a Belgian colonial holding. Expo organizers also included participants from the UN Trust Territories of Ruanda-Urundi (today, Rwanda and Burundi ) in the Belgian Congo section, without differentiation. This section was divided into seven pavilions:
21158-418: Was only years after the film was released that he realised exposing the "authoritative power of an inhuman state" was the "subconscious intention" of the writers. Hermann Warm , who designed the film's sets, said Mayer had no political intentions when he wrote the film. Film historian David Robinson noted that Janowitz did not refer to anti-authority intentions in the script until many decades after Caligari
21307-656: Was originally foreseen to last only the six months of the exhibition; but it was never taken down, its outer coating was renewed on the 50th anniversary of the exhibition, and it stands nowadays as just as much an emblem of Brussels as the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. Notable exhibitions include the Philips Pavilion , where " Poème électronique ", commissioned specifically for the location, was played back from 425 loudspeakers, placed at specific points as designed by Iannis Xenakis , and Le Corbusier . The Belgian Congo section
21456-426: Was popular with both the general public and well-respected by critics. Robinson wrote, "The German critics, almost without exception, ranged from favourable to ecstatic". Kracauer said critics were "unanimous in praising Caligari as the first work of art on the screen", but also said it was "too high-brow to become popular in Germany". Barlow said it was often the subject of critical disapproval, which he believes
21605-462: Was probably an embellishment stemming from Janowitz's disdain for the two artists. Janowitz has claimed that he and Mayer conceived the idea of painting the sets on canvas, and that the shooting script included written directions that the scenery be designed in Kubin's style. However, the later rediscovery of the original screenplay refutes this claim, as it includes no such directions about the sets. This
21754-460: Was released, and he suggested Janowitz's recollection may have changed in response to later interpretations of the film. The film they wrote was entitled Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari , using the English spelling Cabinet rather than the German Kabinett . The completed script contained 141 scenes. Janowitz has claimed the name Caligari , which was not settled upon until after the script
21903-420: Was screened internationally. Accounts differ as to its financial and critical success upon release, but modern film critics and historians have largely praised it as a revolutionary film. The film was voted number 12 on the prestigious Brussels 12 list at the 1958 World Expo. Critic Roger Ebert called it arguably " the first true horror film ", and reviewer Danny Peary called it cinema's first cult film and
22052-409: Was told by Pommer, who claimed the Marmorhaus picked Caligari back up and ran it successfully for three months after he spent six months working on a publicity campaign for the film. David Robinson wrote that neither of these urban legends were true, and that the latter was fabricated by Pommer to increase his own reputation. On the contrary, Robinson said the premiere was highly successful, showing at
22201-456: Was written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer , both of whom were pacifists by the time they met following World War I . Janowitz served as an officer during the war, but the experience left him embittered with the military, which affected his writing. Mayer feigned madness to avoid military service during the war, which led him to intense examinations from a military psychiatrist. The experience left him distrustful of authority, and
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