A Favorite: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Robert Wiene's awesomely designed German Expressionist film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" of 1920 is my 35th favorite film of all time and my 6th favorite film from the 20s. If there is one word to describe the film it's "jagged." The set design is THE REASON to watch this film. It is so awesome. The sets are super stylized with jagged buildings and diagonals painted on backdrop canvas. The actors also bring more jagged-ness as they were instructed to move in a weird jerky sort of way.  The greatest thing about all of this is that the style is indicative of the surprising content revealed at the end.

The movie inspired the twist endings and [spoilers] Martin Scorsese, chiefly, basically just ripped it off in his "Shutter Island." [end of spoilers] The film's story is told as a flashback by the main protagonist, Francis. He begins his story by recalling that he and his friend Alan were once upon a time vying for the love of a woman named Jane. The two friends visit a carnival and encounter Dr. Caligari and his creepy sleep-walker, Cesare. Caligari is showing Cesare as an exhibit at the carnival and claims his somnambulist can foretell the future. Alan asks Cesare to tell him how long he has to live and Cesare responds he has until dawn---a prophecy which is fulfilled. Later Francis and Jane become engaged and investigate Caligari and Cesare under the suspicion that it was Cesare who killed Alan. Caligari eventually learns of their plot to uncover the truth and tells Cesare to sic Jane.

Not only was it one of the first films to have a twist ending and depict altered states of the mind, but it was also a gigantic influence on film noir and horror films to come. After watching this, watch any 1940s Hollywood film noir and you will see the mood and narrative structure of Wiene's masterpiece. It's influence spans spatial and temporal dimensions. Kenji Mizoguchi's "Ugetsu" is obviously indebted to the film as are most of Tim Burton's films. Of course its influence was also contemporary to the film itself, inspiring F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" and Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." All in all, it is a wonderfully hypnotic film that will not allow you to forget it anytime soon after merely one viewing.
 
*As of the publication of this review, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is streaming on Netflix!