DAS CABINET DES DR CALIGARI

DAS CABINET DES DR CALIGARI

(A.k.a. THE CABINET OF DOCTOR CALIGARI)

In the middle of a packed-out town square, the mysterious bespectacled Dr Caligari (Werner Krauss) rings his bell daily, enticing passers-by to gather before his caravan. He then stands before a curtain declaring that he is a hypnotist and they are about to meet his most successful subject, Cesare the Somnambulist (Conrad Veidt).

Pulling the curtain back, Caligari each day reveals a coffin-like cabinet stood upright. Opening it, inside the audience find Cesare, gaunt and zombie-like, asleep in a trance that Caligari claims to have kept him in for the whole of his 23-year life.

Caligari wakes Cesare from his induced slumber during each show, much to the motley audience's amazement. At one of these shows, Francis (Friedrich Feher) and Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) are among the observers. They're best friends who are both in love with same woman, Jane (Lil Dagover).

Alan speaks with Cesare, who predicts that the former will die later that night. Sure enough, Francis learns the next morning that Alan has indeed been killed (the murder scene makes great use of shadows for sinister effect). Alan suspects Cesare of the ill-doing and decides to begin spying on the enigmatic Caligari.

Meanwhile, we learn a little more about Caligari's relationship with the curious Cesare as Francis and Jane's father Dr Olsen (Rudolf Lettinger) investigate further. All of which ultimately leads to Jane's abduction and one of the most iconic chase scenes ever filmed ... Told in 6 acts, all of which are little over 10 minutes long. DAS CABINET DES DR CALIGARI is astonishing in its visual creativity; the consistently astounding set design and skewered camerawork making it look just as daring and unique today as it must've done upon its premiere in February 1920.

A benchmark piece of expressionistic cinema's history, director Robert Weine's film is a joy of jagged sets, exaggerated facial expressions, looming ominous music and sensational dialogue (provided in German text by cartoonish inter-titles). Macabre, bold, lyrical and staggeringly controlled, it's a work of art that has lost none of its impact over the decades despite being almost 100 years old.

Watching it now, it's easy to see how the likes of David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Tim Burton have been influenced by CALIGARI. To name but three. What's incredible is that, despite its clear influence on the entire language of cinema that has followed it, it's still impossible to think of anything as satisfying that it could be directly compared against.

Part of Eureka's consistently brilliant Masters of Cinema series, CALIGARI returns to the UK for its HD debut on this sterling dual format release. We were sent the blu-ray disc for review purposes.

CALIGARI is presented as an MPEG4-AVC file in 1080p HD. Respecting the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, this new transfer boasts a 4K restoration painstakingly struck from the original camera negative by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murneau-Stiftung institute. A brief text disclaimer opens proceedings, advising of additional restoration from alternate sources where one reel is missing and colour tinting being based upon nitrate prints sourced in Latin America. All that matters is the end result: in a word, stunning. Clean, crisp, sharp, bright ... you've never seen CALIGARI looking like this before. The first few minutes look good, but then things get sublime and the remainder of the film looks startling. To consider that this piece of cinema is almost 100 years old, the polish and clarity here is little short of miraculous.

Audio comes in choices of stereo and 5.1 surround. I opted for the former - a fine, clean and consistent proposition. The surround mix sounded okay but unnatural and contrived during the samples I sat through. Optional English subtitling of the German inter-titles are well-written and easy to read.

The disc opens to a static main menu page. From there, a pop-up scene selection menu allows access to the film via 7 chapters.

Film historian David Karat kicks the bonus features off with an excellent, fact-filled audio commentary track. It may not have the most zestful manner about it, but the knowledge and fluency of what's on offer here is more than enough to hold your attention through a second viewing of the film. What's more, its intricacies even leave you itching to give it a third go.

"Caligari: How Horror came to the Cinema" is a German-produced 53-minute documentary directed by Rudiger Suchsland. It utilises restored footage from the main feature along with archive history newsreel clips and onscreen comments from a plethora of German film scholars to explore the cultural impact of Weine's seminal movie upon his post-World War 1 home country. Arguably the highlight comes relatively early into proceedings when we're treated to a montage of clips which serve to perfectly illustrate the creativity of early German cinema: choice moments from the likes of DIE GOLEM and NOSFERATU A SYMPHONY OF HORROR still thrill to this day.

"You Must Become Caligari" is a 15-minute essay on the film from critic David Cairns. He narrates his notes over well-chosen clips from CALIGARI, injecting an energy and humour into his insightful comments which helps this featurette to be very entertaining.

A 9-minute HD documentary entitled "About the Restoration" does what it says on the tin, Thomas Rabe taking us through the restoration process in fascinating detail.

Eureka's 89-second trailer for this re-release delights in showing off the quality of the new HD restoration.

All the German-speaking extras are equipped with English subtitles.

The DVD features all of the above material, in standard definition.

Finally, Eureka furnish this release with one of their typically excellent collectors' booklets. Boasting 44 pages, it's a nicely designed affair with interesting stills and artwork. Along with the usual cast/crew credits and notes on the film's transfer, we also get a new essay on how CALIGARI kick-started expressionistic cinema by Lotte H Eisner, a reprint of Variety magazine's intriguing review for the movie, and blu-ray/DVD production credits.

DAS CABINET DES DR CALIGARI remains as weird and wonderful as ever, a true horror classic and an authentic milestone in the history of cinema. Eureka's special edition presents an amazing restoration of the film and rounds it off with some expert, contextual bonus features.

A must-have.

Review by Stuart Willis


 
Released by Eureka
Region B
Rated 18
Extras :
see main review
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