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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)

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Reviews Counted: 31 Fresh: 31  Rotten:0 Average Rating: 8.9/10
 
Consensus: Just as frightening as horror movies with sound and color. This German Expressionist masterpiece makes great use of its chilling premise and stylized set design. more
 
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Synopsis:
In this silent, classic example of early German expressionism, this cinematic landmark relates the stylized tale of a Dr. Caligari, a fairground showman who hypnotizes an innocent villager--turning him into a sleepwalking "zombie"--and compels him to carry out fiendish murders.... [More]
In this silent, classic example of early German expressionism, this cinematic landmark relates the stylized tale of a Dr. Caligari, a fairground showman who hypnotizes an innocent villager--turning him into a sleepwalking "zombie"--and compels him to carry out fiendish murders. Inarguably a landmark in world cinema, Robert Weine's one-of-a-kind thriller features fantastical, heavily stylized sets, antirealist acting, and evocative subjective camerawork. [Less]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss

Director: Robert Wiene

DVD Info

Release:

May 9, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - German

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

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

| Comment
01/17/08 10:21 PM
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org
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The influence of Robert Wiene's Caligari is so great that it threatens to obscure the work itself.

Full Review | Comment
10/24/07 01:55 PM
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth
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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.

Full Review | Comment
08/13/07 06:48 PM
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
08/13/07 06:46 PM
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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One of those rare, amazing technical accomplishments that also succeeds as art.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 03:38 AM
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International
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No review available.

| Comment
03/09/06 08:37 PM
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)
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Undoubtedly one of the most exciting and inspired horror movies ever made.

Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:16 AM
Time Out
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No review available.

| Comment
11/07/05 06:29 PM
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
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No review available.

| Comment
07/22/05 03:01 PM
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
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No review available.

| Comment
06/17/05 04:43 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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Wiene's expressionistic masterpiece is required viewing for lovers of the gothic and the weird.

| Comment
02/02/05 05:44 PM
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
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No review available.

| Comment
11/18/04 04:10 AM
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews
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A landmark of Expressionist cinema and contains many dazzling set pieces.

Full Review | Comment
11/01/04 10:15 PM
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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No review available.

| Comment
03/28/04 02:00 PM
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
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No review available.

| Comment
03/24/04 02:01 PM
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
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No review available.

| Comment
01/23/04 04:59 PM
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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well crafted mystery thriller that is far more satisfying than most modern Hollywood formula fare

Full Review | Comment
01/23/04 05:20 AM
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
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Groundbreaking, but less a good film than a good idea for one.

| Comment
09/18/03 12:53 AM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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Set a standard for creepiness that has never been matched.

| Comment
07/20/03 05:14 PM
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
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A cinema landmark, alternately dull and shocking.

| Comment
05/02/03 05:38 PM
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner
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