THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI SYNOPSIS:

Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.

You Must Become Caligari

In 1920, one brilliant movie jolted the postwar masses and catapulted the German Expressionist film movement into history. That movie was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. Director Robert Wiene and a team of visionary designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetrate a series of ghastly murders in a small community. This authoritative edition presents the F. W. Murnau Stiftung’s meticulous 4K restoration of the film, with a new orchestral score by Emmy®-winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards), which had its premiere performance at Carnegie Hall on June 3, 2024.

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Our Personal Reaction to the Film: 

I like to call myself a "Cinephile" but my lack of knowledge when it comes to classic cinema like this leads me to believe I'm not. Not until it was mentioned jokingly (or possibly seriously) as Nic Cage's favorite film in An Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent did I become aware. 

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As a first time watch this film is a sight to behold, it's 77 minute run utilizes every second to build a proper tension and execute it flawlessly. The new score by Jeff Beal (while unfamiliar with the original piece) is perfection in correspondence with the film. 

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Accompanied by a 52 minute documentary to better elaborate on how The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari brought horror to life. Nosferatu is known as being the one of the first horror put to screen but in actuality... it wasn't. Plenty of titles in the genre were released prior to 1922 and one such example is the brilliant The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. While it may not work for some as the effects won't play the same as modern horror tropes, for a film of the time --- it revolutionized cinema. 

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SPECIAL FEATURES 

• Music by Jeff Beal (4KUHD & Blu-ray, 5.1 Surround and 2.0 stereo)

• 2014 Orchestral Score (4KUHD & Blu-ray, 2.0 stereo)

• Music by Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky (Blu-ray, 2.0 stereo)

• Caligari: How Horror Came to the Cinema (Blu-ray, 52 min.)

• Restoration Demonstration (Blu-ray)

• Audio commentary by composer Jeff Beal (4K UHD & Blu-ray)

• Audio description for the vision-impaired (4K UHD & Blu-ray)