Sunday Night at the Movies: German Expressionism 101 - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Hello all, as some of you may remember I loved German Expressionism movies made in the Weimar Era of Germany. I would like to post 5 of what I (and another website) consider the best. I have already posted Metropolis here before, but I'll probably post it again.
I watched The cabinet of Dr. Caligari in a somewhat strange time in my life being rather ill, recovering, and having some financial difficulties but at the same time greatly exploring various venues of thought. I watched it on my laptop at McDonalds (lol) in parts. If I recall correctly I managed to get a free wrap or something like that due to an error...
Anyway, for those that love silent cinema and I do, this is one of the best. It tells a story of an insane hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murders. Spoiler: It contains a twist ending, which is claimed to have been forced on the writers (originally it wasn't intended, that is).
From Wikipedia:
"The film thematizes 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 the German war government, with Cesare symbolic of the common man conditioned, like soldiers, to kill. Other themes of the film include the destabilized contrast between insanity and sanity, the subjective perception of reality, and the duality of human nature."
Enjoy!
I watched The cabinet of Dr. Caligari in a somewhat strange time in my life being rather ill, recovering, and having some financial difficulties but at the same time greatly exploring various venues of thought. I watched it on my laptop at McDonalds (lol) in parts. If I recall correctly I managed to get a free wrap or something like that due to an error...
Anyway, for those that love silent cinema and I do, this is one of the best. It tells a story of an insane hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murders. Spoiler: It contains a twist ending, which is claimed to have been forced on the writers (originally it wasn't intended, that is).
From Wikipedia:
"The film thematizes 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 the German war government, with Cesare symbolic of the common man conditioned, like soldiers, to kill. Other themes of the film include the destabilized contrast between insanity and sanity, the subjective perception of reality, and the duality of human nature."
Enjoy!
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