Wow! Such a good movie.

Wonderful character development!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This wonderfully radical German Expressionist work from director Robert Wiene is unusually wordy for a silent film but then it has quite an intricate plot with a surprise ending. It is not just the story that is original; the stage sets are full of disorientating features such as unnatural angles and and weird shapes. The whole idea is to draw the viewer into the madness at the heart of the narrative. But this was a very political work: the all-controlling Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) represents the authoritarian figure that has so often dominated German politics, while the somnambulist Cesare (Conran Veldt) who blindly does the doctor's bidding - even when it involves murder - stands for the German populace that allowed itself to be marched into the Great War.

The first feature-length horror movie ever made (not counting the hundreds of shorts made in the previous two decades, usually under five minutes each), this is classic stuff and rightly so. With an age-barrier of nigh on a century you might think that this movie, seen today, is very dated, and you'd be right. The lack of dialogue (although there's a fine music score), the theatrical acting and static direction may make this movie an effort to watch but the effort is well worth it. My main problem with these older films is that sometimes they can be very boring with little action, but that's not a problem here; the pacing is fast and the film is short which makes the time fly by.The plot, involving Caligari and his murderous somnambulist, may seem deceptively simplistic at first glance, but there are lots of little tricks thrown in to fool the viewer. Also, other characters whose lives act as other plot strands, flowing in and out of the central thrust of the story. All this and a twist ending to boot.The acting is generally top-notch, if you allow for the acting style of the period. Werner Krauss makes the most of his bookish Caligari, complete with horn-rimmed glasses and odd-looking attire; his outlandish and very atypical character makes him highly watchable. Stealing the show, though, is a very young Conrad Veidt (later to go on and pursue a successful Hollywood career) playing the somnambulist, around whom most of the action is centred. Veidt's striking appearance (black clothing, white eyes, black sunken eyes) fits together well with his understated acting approach so that he appears very deathly and almost like a living corpse; just looking at him gives you the creeps. The supporting characters are humane and normal and thus forgettable, but fine.What is most striking about this movie are the sets, most of which were constructed form paper or cardboard. The abstract drawings, and the oddly surreal, angular walls create a visually stimulating fantasy world for the sinister events to take place in. Much has been made of the "painted shadows" employed to give the movie more of a balance between black and white and the effort pays off. Karl Freund's photography certainly brings out the atmosphere of the sets and they're unforgettable. Like Tolkien did with Lord of the Rings, all involved with the making of this film transpired to create a believable fantasy world which is similar to, yet very different, from our own; an alternate reality perhaps. Whatever the motivation, the expressionist art displaying itself here made the movie a classic.Seen today, the horror is subtle and all of the murders offscreen (aside from one memorable shadow-play). A far cry from the movies of today and, indeed, the wealth of absurdly violent (heads, bodies being chopped apart) shorts made in the early 1900s. Yet the image of Veidt stalking his victims through long corridors have undoubtedly influenced all that has come after it, from Lugosi's Dracula to Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN. Altogether, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is a horror classic which should be seen at least once by any fan with a passing interest in the genre, or indeed in the cinema, as this is a highly influential and important film in every respect.

Back in the day when movies were new, you could film anything and people would watch it.Most movies you can speed up to 1.2x maybe 1.5x. This one was watchable at a whopping 3x-4x. You don't even have to be a fast reader! The actors pull faces and hardly move, which feels cartoonish. There are a couple of bits near the end where I slowed down to 2x but for the most part....Even at 4x speed not much happens.If you can't speed it up, prepare for a snore fest, a predictable plot and a twist that wasn't worth waiting for.The wacky cheaply made sets might pique your interest if you are into that sort of thing so I gave it an extra star for that.

A simple plot, but with a great execution, a gem every cinephile must discover, "The Cabinet...¨ is among the best of the best, even for its time.One can easily perceive why it became a classic: not only for the superb visual style, with those surreal, curved decorates that give the feeling of being trapped in a nightmare, but also for its dark, engaging and suspenseful plot (highlight scenes are the kidnapping of one of the main characters, and the last 20 minutes). A psychological thriller, which even has its moments of horror, as it's normally considered to be the first of that genre, at least in full-length format, if we compare it with, for example, short films such as "Frankenstein" from 1910. The uses of colors, framing, lighting, makeup, shadows, are all perfectly executed in order to give life to a nightmarish atmosphere.It is also important to note that it has the honor to be the film that founded the German Expressionist Movement, which would give us other treasures such as Nosferatu, The Hands Of Orlac, and Metropolis.Superb are also the performances, especially Conrad Veidt as Cesare and Werner Krauss as his master the doctor, who are already very creepy not only by their physical appearance, but also because they imbue an aura of mystery.And last but not least, the final plot twist (being also the pioneer film in using this device) encourages debate, and (why not?) further viewings. This twist, if it was not enough, was used in some later and recent modern films, with more or less variations, but I have no doubt that in its time it shocked audiences.A truly amazing experience. And it is already among my favorite silent films.