The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Storytelling 

I will start off by saying I am not a big fan of silent films because I already have a harder time understanding the slow pacing of older movies. That being said, I think for its time The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) did it a good job of telling the story over the course of the movie, and the plot twist at the end was well done. Personally, I find title cards distracting and I feel like they can take me out of the story but in this case, they were necessary. Instead of talking in the film, the director chose to include music which varies depending on the scene. This gives a very eerie vibe to the film because it creates a tense atmosphere in the scene and it also helps the audience follow along and know how they’re supposed to feel at any moment.

Cinematography 

The part of this film that makes it special is the visuals. Every scene has a theme and the filmmakers chose to either put a softer yellow-tinted filter over the lens or a colder cyan-tinted filter over the lens depending on the scene. I also noticed that some scenes open or close with a vignette using the camera lens which was a new scene transition technique I haven’t seen in films of that age. The set design was also visually interesting and I can tell they paid a lot of attention to detail in the painting of the backgrounds, usage of imagery and props, and the actor’s costumes. What I think is really cool is that they used certain camera angles to make sets feel larger or smaller, or to make it look like an actor is getting farther away from the camera.

Cultural Significance 

I think the biggest cultural significance of this film is that it was widely regarded as one of the first horror films ever made. Although it wouldn’t meet today’s standards of ‘horror’ I think it is definitely a phycological thriller. The scenes can be very tense, the music is off-putting at times, and the whole time the audience is trying to piece together what is really going on. I can see how it lead to the creation of more films in the horror genre since it probably kept the audience on their feet at the time. The style of this film kind of reminds me of the old Frankenstein's Monster film that would come out much later in 1931.

What is the essential story?

The story goes that two men (Alan and Francis) go to a carnival where they see a crazy doctor who has hypnotized a man (Cesare). Cesare can see into the future and predicts Alan's death, so Cesare is blamed for it. In the end it it revealed that they are actually in an insane asylum and Dr. Caligari is the asylum director.

How does the film tell its story?

The film tells its story through the point of view of the men in the asylum, but we don't know that until the end of the film because the whole film is technically a flashback until the end.

What conventions of cinematic storytelling does it use?

The filmmakers used flashbacks, point-of-view, and a plot-twist conventions in the storytelling.

Explain the final "plot twist."

The final plot twist where it is revealed that Francis, Alan, and Cesare are actually in an insane asylum and that the entire flashback was actually just delusions of Francis.

How does the final plot twist comment upon cinematic storytelling?

The final plot twist comments upon cinematic storytelling because it changes the audience's perception of the film.

What do the set designs say about early filmmaking?

In early filmmaking the set designs were much like sets in a play, the backgrounds were painted and they used perception tricks to make things look farther or closer to the camera.

What do the set designs imply about stories and storytelling?

Set designs help the audience recognize the mood of the scene, and the environment the characters are in.

How do the answers to questions 6 and 7 move us to contemplate the cultural relevance of this film?

Early set design and its storytelling contemplate the cultural relevance of the film because it tells the audience where in the world the characters and story is taking place, and when the story is taking place. It helps give the audience a sense of setting.

If you had to think about a more modern, 20th century film with traces to Caligari, what would they be Why? 

More modern films that I think shows a lot of traces to Caligari are Tim Burton films, like Edward Scissor Hands (1990) or Beetlejuice (1988), because they have a somewhat playful take on horror.

How do questions about the reliability of a narrator suggest meanings, cultural relevance, and the nature of film?

Questioning the reliability of the narrator messes with the audiences thinking, almost how a plot-twist does because the audience doesn't know what to believe. This makes the audience think on a deeper level and try and come up with their own reasoning for what is going on in the film.

Artifact of Film History

     

    The historic film that I find the most interesting is A Trip to the Moon (1902), directed by French illusionist Georges Méliès. Based on other movies created around the same time, I would say that A Trip to the Moon was way ahead of its time. He used special effects in a way that had not been done before, and the staging of the different sets are extremely detailed.

Storytelling

    Georges Méliès did an incredible job with the storytelling of this film. In the opening scene, the audience can see a group of wizards and scientists planning out the construction of a spacecraft and planning a mission to the moon. In the very next scene, we see the spacecraft being built as workers climb inside. We then get to see the spacemen climb inside as the spacecraft is loaded into the launcher by women workers. Then it cuts to a point of view of the spacecraft heading toward the face of the "man on the moon", getting closer and closer until the spacecraft lands directly into the moon's eye and the spacemen climb out onto the moon's surface. Finally, the men explore the moon and meet aliens that they end up bringing back with them to Earth.

Cinematography

    One of the main reasons why this film was so ahead of its time is because of the cinematography. The sets, costumes, and props are extremely detailed and it all comes together and makes it feel as if you were watching a live play. The best part of the cinematography of this film is the camera angles and camera zoom. The director uses clever camera tricks to make it seem as if we were getting closer and closer to the moon or zooming in, which was not possible with technology at the time. Although there is no camera movement, it is made up for by the actors. In nearly every scene the actors are moving constantly to make the film feel more alive. There also was no color on film back then, but the contrasts in the background set design, actors, and props help distinguish smaller details in the environment.

Cultural Relevance

    At the time when this film was made in 1902, the idea of going to the moon was science fiction. Nobody had any idea how humans could make it there, what we would find there, or what any of it would really look like. What makes this film special is that everything about the moon mission is imaginary, wild, and fun. Today's space science fiction films can often be serious. Take Intersteller (2014) and The Martian (2015) for example. They do their best to get a somewhat accurate vision of space and other planets, minus the fiction aspect of it, but of course, we already know what spaceships, the moon, and outer space look like. It is amazing to think that this film was possibly one of the very first science fiction films ever made.

Intro Post

     My name is Riley Aamold and I am a sophomore at NCC with a major in Environmental Science. I plan on pursuing a career in Wildlife Biology or Environmental Conservation back in Oregon and Washington, where I am originally from. I am on the women’s wrestling team at NCC and we are looking to earn our first all-division national title this March. Besides wrestling, I have a lot of different hobbies but I mostly love doing things outdoors like hiking, camping, kayaking, rock climbing, surfing, and skateboarding. When I’m not busy wrestling I spend a lot of my time traveling and exploring with my friends. I am just getting into both digital and film photography and I am excited to learn more about cinematography as well! 

    As far as favorite movies go, I have to say coming-of-age movies like Stand By Me (1986) are my favorite because of the nostalgia. When I was younger my friends and I probably watched Stand By Me over 10 times because we connected with the characters and felt like their friendship was similar to our own. But for more recent movies I am a big fan of Wes Anderson films like Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and movies directed by Taika Waititi like Jojo Rabbit (2019). The style of these two directors is really unique and got me into adventure/comedy movies. What I like most about these films is that they can have a really playful/funny tone but a serious underlying message at the same time. The way these movies are paced also makes them feel almost like a play which is another reason why they’re so interesting to me. The newest movie that my brother and I became obsessed with was Nope (2022) by Jordan Peele. A lot of people said that they didn't understand it but my brother and I went back to watch it in theaters three times because we wanted to find all the hidden meanings. It was also the first horror movie that I actually found disturbing since I normally watch horror movies in a group for the humor of it.

    I am really looking forward to watching more movies this semester and I think it will be interesting to see other people’s perspectives on film. Even though we will not be watching it in class, a movie I am really looking forward to watching is The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). This movie came out a while ago but I just haven’t gotten the chance to sit down and watch it. As I said before, I am a big fan of Wes Anderson’s films and this movie has been claimed to be one of his defining movies. I have heard a lot of great things about it such as the comedy style, set and wardrobe design, and of course, the fact that the movie was shot on 35 mm film. A couple movies I can’t wait to watch in class are Fight Club (1999) which I have never seen but have heard a lot about, and Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) which I have seen and am excited for the rewatch!