The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the name of a silent film that was released in 1920. The main characters are Dr. Caligari (played by Werner Krauss) Francis (played by Friedrich Feher), Alan (played by Hans Heinrich von Twardowski), Cesare (played by Conrad Veidt) and Jane (played by Lil Dagover) (Rotten Tomatoes).
A scene that captures the spirit of the movie is Alan’s murder. In the scene, Alan started out sleeping quietly in his bed. Alan’s murderer first appeared as a shadow that slowly encroached upon his bed. Alan quickly became aware of the shadow. Alan’s expression looked to be that of pure horror. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaped open. Alan struggled with the shadow. The details of the shadow then became a bit clearer. A large pointed object was held by the shadow. After a brief struggle between the shadowy figure and Alan (who is
…show more content…
I did not find that the movie was predictable. It kept me guessing until the very end. The basic plotline is that Francis was retelling the story of an experience that he had in the past. Francis and his friend Alan decided to go to the fair. At the fair, they encountered a strange display by a man called Dr. Caligari. This set into motion a series of events. These events would lead to Francis making the decision that he would unravel the mystery of his friend’s murder and in doing so, find out what exactly was going on with the secretive Dr. Caligari. The rest of the film plays out at Francis made discoveries about Dr. Caligari. As the film closes in on its conclusion, the audience is led to believe that the mystery is neatly wrapped up. But, then…a plot twist! It was easy to dislike Dr. Caligari as a character. He seemed very devious. He also seemed to always be one step ahead of everyone else. I admired the tenacity that Francis showed. Though he may have been misguided, he resolutely pressed on until the very
1. Describe in your own words the events, actions and characters depicted in the animated sequence, the use of both on-screen and camera movement, and the general colour scheme. What might these elements be suggesting to us about the content, mood and themes for the rest of the film?
Quite honestly the entire movie itself scared me to death, the only reason I even went to see it in the first place was because I lost in rock-paper-scissors to my cousin, who loves horror films. Though when I wasn’t covering my eyes, I did catch a glimpse of the asylum flashback scene, which I have to say was truly frightening. However, it had to be the scene of the lady jumping off a cliff and killing her baby after escaping the asylum
The cinematography of the film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was very effective to the audience at the time. During the 1920’s, it wasn’t common to have a horror movie like this with a dark and twisted visual style. Because of the cinematography of this German film, it actually had a major influence on the American films in horror and film noir genres. To get the cinematography right, they had to exaggerate the lighting to give off the feel of it being a horror film.
At first glance the movie made me think that I am watching a predictable criminal story. The opening shoot of the close up of that unique instrument was brilliant. Scenes were played in few sets that seemed to repeat every now and then. Music choice was closer to a happy comedy than building a tension. Such as shiny cobblestone street at night, that picture was used quiet few times during the movie. One of the best moments was when we could see the shadow on the wall that was slowly making its way towards the audience. Another moment that made me smile was a shoot of the cat that magically change its whole appearance within seconds transforming itself into a totally new cat. I wondered what happened with can number one? Most likely fury little creature quit his/hers acting career and left into deep Vienna.
The movie begins with a shot of a cemetery of unmarked crosses. From the beginning, the audience is clued in that this isn’t going to be a simple film. Herzog does an outstanding job dragging out the transitions between scenes, whether it be the sun setting on a highway, or fields of corn shaking gently in the breeze, to create a bleak ambiance that carries out throughout the film. It gives time for the audience to analyze the new information they’ve been given to add onto their own judgements. When the audience first gets to view the original crime scene where the bodies of two young men were discarded, only the sound of insects and other nightlife can be heard, creating an unsettling effect that only adds to the gruesome
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the film. I have even considered buying the film. Henry Fonda’s role as a dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manageing to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court was supurb. Taking film as a course, made me enjoy the film even more because I paid close attention to the film making aspects also. Filming in one room, for partcality the whole movie was noteablly stressful for the actors, who on screen proformace of yelling
Hitchcock uses misery, tragedy, and death to show the emotions of his characters. At no point is this more obvious than the end of the movie. Hitchcock spends the entire movie building up to this point and in the end he makes it extremely clear how tragedy has changed the relationship of everyone. After the nagging husbands murder of his wife has been confessed you see
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German Expressionist film that was released in 1920. The film was directed by Robert Wiene. Expressionism is defined as a visible world that is reshaped and even, distorted by internal forces such as soul, spirit, subjectivity, and emotion. A major component of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is it contains various examples of mise-en-scène, which is associated with visual aspects such as props in the background or clothing and the makeup the actor is wearing. Moreover, “boxes within boxes” is seen numerous times throughout The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. One example where “boxes within boxes” is seen in the film is in Dr. Caligari’s tiny shack, where he has Cesare
The creation and consumption of films are a common favorite pastime for many people and have been for hundreds of years, but while some films can seem deceptively simple, many elements go into creating a scene, much less an entire movie. Directors use these elements which include, but are not limited to style, mood, composition and special effects to create a product that we often don’t acknowledge without looking deeper into the film. These components together are called Mise en Scène (Ebert). Of course, film can be enjoyed leisurely but there are so many more aspects of film to be explored and analyzed such as the composition of camera movement, lighting, color, sounds and music. In this case, I chose to analyze the “Redrum” scene from the renowned film, The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick. In this scene, Danny Torrence, a five year old boy wanders around his mother’s room with a knife in hand, muttering the word “Redrum” over and over again before scrawling it across the door. I feel that a lot of this scene’s mood and style relies heavily on the camera work of the scene, the lighting and colors, and the music incorporated into the segment.
Another movie that had a great impact on me was Persona. There were many important scenes in this film, but there was one example of mise-en-scene that sticks out in my mind. This is the scene when the nurse is chasing the actress along the seashore. The actress is walking swiftly away from her along rocks, while the nurse is trying her hardest to catch up to her. This scene comes directly after the nurse yells at the mute actress and slaps her across the face. It seems the whole movie she is trying to be nice to this woman and the one time that she stands up to her, she runs away. The nurse is begging for forgiveness. This scene really proves how weak the nurse is emotionally and mentally. She is sobbing and in a state of hysteria and the actress still will not forgive her. This reveals a lot of the actress’s persona too. It shows that she does not really care much for the nurse, even though she is just trying to help her. The scene ends with the actress walking off and the nurse running in the opposite direction towards the water. She stumbles and cries and then the scene is over. This scene tells us, the audience a lot about the personality of both women not just in this scene but in their lives. The nurse is a caring woman
Overall I found the movie to be quite interesting and exciting at times but a bit slow in others. The story itself was very clear to me and didn’t cause any confusion. It had a good flow also, just as you were on the verge of falling into boredom with a scene they switched it up on you to keep you
The artistic elements of the movie are shown by the repeating theme of Jack’s journey towards enlightenment. He attends support groups and learns how to meditate to become a happier person. There is a principle aspect of Buddhism shown throughout the movie. The
When I saw this film I was on the edge of my seat in light of the fact that there was no chance to get of recognizing what would happen to, Frank Abagnale Jr, the principle character. In the start of the motion picture Frank is sixteen years of age with awesome desires yet in addition enthusiastic issues he should manage. He isn't care for most sixteen year olds since his persona is significantly more seasoned and it is a phenomenal blessing to have. He respects his Father incredibly who is stuck in an unfortunate situation with the IRS. At that point out of the blue Frank's Mother leaves his Father and they constrain Frank to pick either his Mother or his Father.
The film was engaging and thoroughly executed. The actors suited their roles, and played well. The theme in the film was educational and intriguing. Apart from some small flaws, the film was enjoyable. The circumstances around the film, as poor oxygen in the classroom and darkness, made it a little tiresome to watch, and therefore, the film seemed stretched out. In reflection, that impression was misplaced.
In Film Aesthetics I have watched many fantastic films such as Moonrise Kingdom, Touch of Evil, Stranger Than Fiction, and many enjoyable movies to watch. All the movies I have watched have fabulous scenes which have captured my attention, Opening scene for Touch of Evil by Orson Orwell really caught my attention. The movements, decor, props, lighting, framing, and the setting of the scene adapted well. Orwell made these elements coalesce into an original and is why this scene is highly regarded, the subtitles in the beginning of the scene might of taken away the a bit feel of the scene, but overall is a scene worth analysing.