Some movies deserve the accolades they have gotten through the years, and then there is Dr. Caligari. This is possibly a contender for the most influential and groundbreaking movie in the history of cinema. And no I am not going on a hyperbole journey. Considering the limited technology they had and a movie industry still in its infancy, or at least coming of age years - plus an added gloom of post world war one in the mind of every artist in Germany, it is a minor miracle what Wiene and his team managed to pull off here.

There are expressionist forerunners to Dr. Caligari, notably "The Golem", but this here is on another level. And more importantly, the expressionism is a very integral part of the whole storytelling aspect and almost sidetracks the actors who possibly felt they had to overact to compete with the artwork (and that is saying a lot for the silent era). Your personal cinephile status is never complete, before you have watched this truly unique movie. This review could also serve as an anniversary celebration of one of my favourite movies of all time, since it is now 100 years ago it premiered.

At first we see Francis sitting in a garden with an older man, explaining how he and his fiancee Jane, who passes by as in a trance, has suffered from evil spirits. We then drift into a presentation of his story and is transported to a small town who holds a small fair. At this fair, a suspicious character, Dr. Caligari, has gotten permission from the local bureaucrats, to perform his "sleepwalker" show.

The next day Francis and his friend Alan, who both are begging for the hand of Jane, seek out entertainment in the fair and ends up watching Caligari´s sleepwalker show. Caligari "magically" wakes up his sleepwalker Cesare, from his vertical casket and then tells the audience to ask him fortune questions.

When Alan jokingly asks him "how long will I live?", Cesare answers: "Until dawn". With a mixed expression of nihilist laughter and fright, Alan flee´s the show with Francis. Later that night Alan is killed in his bed. When Francis learns of this, he seeks to find the perpetrator.

He is set on finding proof that Dr. Caligari is behind the ordeal, and manages to engage the police in the search, using the influence of his "fiancee" Jane´s father. But while he investigates the peculiar home of Caligari during the night, Jane is attacked and only her looks compel the attacker, pictured as Cesare, to instead abduct rather than kill her and we see him flee with her over the rooftops.

During the search of Dr. Caligari´s premises, he manages to disappear but only to be followed by Francis. To his apparent astonishment, he follow him through a kind of backdoor to an insane asylum. Now the movie takes a dramatic turn as we soon come back to the Francis sitting in the garden with the old man once again. I will not spoil the plot and story twist that follows here as it is one of the most surprising twists in the history of cinema.

While it is hard to do the movie full justice in a review without explaining the final plot twists, it is still the whole expression of its style and art direction that justifies it legendary status. I remember watching it for the first time some 20 years ago in a worn out, overexposed version in pure black and white, and I was still taken by its incredible expressionist scenery that I had never thought would either have been a part of a film, much less actually work when all was said and done.

Then around 2012 or so, the F.W. Marnau Stiftung made a digital restauration of the film, and added tinting according to the original sources etc., and this is truly a miraculous effort that has brought back now century old masterpiece close to its original splendour. It has been released by Eureka in the Masters of Cinema series and I can highly recommend it (as could be all their releases).

The world of Francis story is a distorted and theatrical parallel world where nothing seems to make rational sense. The shadows are mounted on the scene as large pieces of cloth and even if you can easily see it has all been created and stucked together it works brilliantly. The only movie outside the german era that I can think of that comes close is Von Triers Dogville. But still, it does not come close to the charming and visually engaging horror feel of Caligari.

But there are additional expressionist aspects, like the bureaucrats sitting on a high stool, as if they are seen as looking down on people they control or have to come to them begging for "permissions". And off course the general expression of the cast, that in true silent fashion use all the tricks of the trade to purvey their emotions.

I do find the actors slightly overacting in certain drawn out scenes, but these are minor flaws that you will find in practically any movie of the day. But that would be the only negative critique I would be able to point out if I press myself. In all other regards it is great. A great plot, great casting and memorable performances by most, but particularly by Caligari and Cesare. I you distance yourself a bit from technical side of a 100 year old movie, it still feels very fresh and alive in its style and pacing. The vast majority of the scenes feels engaging and has a good drive that keeps pushing the plot forward. it never gets dull, which can not be said by a lot of other contemporary work. And this is why it is still watched to this day.

Whatever your taste in movies is, this is one of the great masterpieces you must watch. If for nothing else, just to be able to have seen it so you have at least an idea of why it is a legendary piece of film art. It has influenced modern filmmakers, like Tim Burton and is surely a part of every filmschool curriculum in the world. Personally the only silent movie that can compete with Caligari is Metropolis. They are shining examples of what true genius was working already in the early days of cinema.

The Cabinet of Dr. caligari is a masterpiece and it will hopefully be around and appreciated for another hundred years. I have hereby done my part to make that happen. It gets my highest recommendations.

10/10