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Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)

Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (1920)

tomatometer

100

Average Rating: 9/10
Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 0

This German Expressionist masterpiece makes great use of its chilling premise and stylized set design.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0

This German Expressionist masterpiece makes great use of its chilling premise and stylized set design.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 24,413

My Rating

Movie Info

In one of the most influential films of the silent era, Werner Krauss plays the title character, a sinister hypnotist who travels the carnival circuit displaying a somnambulist named Cesare (Conrad Veidt). In one tiny German town, a series of murders coincides with Caligari's visit. When the best friend of hero Francis (Friedrich Feher) is killed, the deed seems to be the outgrowth of a romantic rivalry over the hand of the lovely Jane (Lil Dagover). Francis suspects Caligari, but he is ignored

Oct 15, 1997

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All Critics (37) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (0) | DVD (7)

A case can be made that Caligari was the first true horror film.

October 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is more than just a textbook classic; the narrative frame creates ambiguities that hold certain elements of the story in disturbing suspension. A one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

August 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
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Robert Wiene has made perfect use of settings designed by Hermann Warm, Walter Reimann and Walter Roehrig, settings that squeeze and turn and adjust the eye and through the eye the mentality.

October 25, 2006 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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Undoubtedly one of the most exciting and inspired horror movies ever made.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of the first -- and still one of the greatest -- psychological horror movies.

October 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Total Film
Total Film

With its unusual look and neatly folding method of storytelling "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is an artistically uninhibited silent horror film that still sends chills.

October 3, 2011 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

Pre-dating even early genre landmarks Nosferatu (1922) and Metropolis (1926) by some distance, Robert Wiene's silent film is both influential and one of a kind.

August 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Film4

Even if taken as social or Freudian statement, Caligari's real star attraction is in the visuals.

February 7, 2010 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

still creepy good entertainment on a rainy day

August 31, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer
Cinema Writer

A classic. Visually stunning and more experimental than anything coming out today.

January 17, 2008
KPBS.org

The influence of Robert Wiene's Caligari is so great that it threatens to obscure the work itself.

October 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Projection Booth
Projection Booth

A seminal horror movie, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was hailed upon its initial release as the first film to elevate the cinema from the realm of popular entertainment to that of high art.

August 13, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

One of those rare, amazing technical accomplishments that also succeeds as art.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International
Film Journal International

Wiene's expressionistic masterpiece is required viewing for lovers of the gothic and the weird.

February 2, 2005
Flipside Movie Emporium

A landmark of Expressionist cinema and contains many dazzling set pieces.

November 1, 2004 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

Audience Reviews for Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)

An unforgettable masterpiece of German Expressionism.
September 13, 2012
Lucas Martins

Super Reviewer

Beyond being an iconic milestone in the evolution of cinema, Robert Wiene's masterpiece is still as entertaining as ever. The truly great films never go out of style.
January 9, 2009
flixsterman
Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

    1. Jane: We who are of noble blood may not follow the wishes of our hearts.
    – Submitted by Greg A (15 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (DE)
  • Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (UK)
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