Das Cabinet Des Dr Caligari [1919] [DVD] UK

Robert Wiene, Hans Lanser-Rudolf, Werner Krauss, Rudolf Lettinger, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Henri Peters-Arnolds, Ludwig Rex, Conrad Veidt, Lil Dagover, Friedrich Feher, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Elsa Wagner

Silent German horror directed by Robert Wiene. When a young man is mysteriously murdered after being told by a somnambulist at Dr Caligari (Werner Krauss)'s side show that he won't live out the night, his friend Francis (Friedrich Feher) is determined to find out the truth behind what happened. With help from his fiancée Jane (Lil Dagover), Francis soon discovers that Dr Caligari is actually the director of a local insane asylum and is using a deranged patient to pose as his somnambulist in order to commit a series of grisly murders. Springing into action, Francis must put a stop to Dr Caligari's evil scheme before he can claim anymore victims.

A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its centre, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, 30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but The Cabinet of Dr Caligari still casts a considerable spell.