Thats up to you to decide.
Its impossible to pin down any solid truth.
Given the events of the past few months,Caligariis also more relevant now than ever.
There they take in the act of the mysterious, top-hatted and wild-haired Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss).
When Alan jokingly asks when he will die, Cesare responds Before dawn.
And wouldnt you know it?
In case youre some kind of plebe who hasnt seen it yet (whats wrong with you?
), Ill stop there.
The less said about that the better too.
None of it really matters all that much, anyway, given the film isnt remembered for its storyline.
What matters are the visuals.
Germany was still rebuilding after the war, and so money and resources were tight.
Ironically, the German Expressionist movement had played a major role in painting and theater long beforeCaligaricame along.
Caligariwas unlike anything movie audiences had seen in a commercial film before.
Roads twist and spiral to nowhere.
The trees and grass look like knife blades.
Doors and windows are not square.
A carousel in the carnival sequence spins at an unlikely angle.
Carl Dreyers 1932 weirdieVampyralso owed as much if not more toCaligarithan Murnau.
Then something else happened that would only further solidifyCaligaris mark on American genre movies.
In that, its said the film presaged the rise of Hitler.
Other Expressionist Refugees began working with Val Lewton at RKO, and still others landed at Paramount.
After getting his talons into horror and noir,Dr.
Caligaris sinister influence quickly spread to other genres.
Was it really necessary?
I dont think so.
Not anymore, anyway.
