The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German silent
horror film, first released in 1920. Directed by
Robert Wiene and written by
Hans Janowitz and
Carl Mayer, it is considered to be the quintessential work of
German Expressionist cinema, and tells the story of an insane hypnotist (
Werner Krauss) who uses a
somnambulist (
Conrad Veidt) to commit murders. The film features a dark and twisted visual style. The sets have sharp-pointed forms, oblique and curving lines, and structures that lean and twist in unusual angles. The film's design team,
Hermann Warm,
Walter Reimann and
Walter Röhrig, recommended a fantastic, graphic style over a naturalistic one. With a violent and insane authority figure as its antagonist, the film expresses the theme of brutal and irrational authority. Considered a classic, it 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.
Film credit: Robert Wiene