Rating: 
Summary: Very unexpected ending!
Review: This is only the second silent film that I have seen, and I find that I am quickly becoming a fan. This movie had an intense, surreal aspect to it that reminded me of Kabuki and Noh theater in Japan. The background music was superb and helped to further intensify the atmosphere. The actor portraying Dr.Caligari was truly eerie and I found myself amazed at the effectiveness of the "overacting". To be honest, initially I thought the plot was simplistic until the very end when I found out that I had jumped to a premature conclusion.
I couldn't help but think that this movie directly influenced Tim Burton, from the angled buildings and dream-like sets, to the Somnambulist who definitely seemed to be the predecessor of Edward Scissorhands.
I highly recommend this movie, not only for the historical value, but because it was extremely entertaining and engrossing.
Rating:
Summary: Open the doors of the Cabinet
Review: "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" remains possibly the most watchable of the silent films, even to those who are not silent film aficionados. Werner Krauss's use of a landscape of obtuse angles and hand-painted shadows creates a dream-like/nightmare-like reality that is heightened by the distance and the crackling of the ancient cameras. The characters, the enigmatic Dr. Caligari and his sinister somnambulist Cesare, are both creatures of dark corners of the imagination, and could happily hold court with Count Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera and other famous monsters of filmland.
The storyline is equally gripping, with plot twists and turns to rival any modern film. The innate fear of the carnival is played for all of its creepy value, as the strangers who inhabit this strange world must by their very nature carry some dark secret. It truly is a masterpiece of any age.
The downfall of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is its presentation. As equally deserving of restoration and a "special edition" format as "Nosferatu" and "Metropolis," there has yet to be a definitive version of this classic film. Also dampening its effect is the soundtrack. On the version I have, there is a sort of light jazz piano playing in the background. If composer Philip Glass would work his magic on Caligari, the way he did on Tod Browning's "Dracula," then this would be a powerhouse of a film.
Kino International is releasing a new DVD of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." Although it doesn't have the newly composed soundtrack I would hope for, let's hope they work the same magic with the restoration that they did with their release of "Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)."
Rating: 
Summary: Classic silent horror.
Review: "Mr. Entertainment Lover" appears unable to mask his apparently unconscious recognition of this film as invaluable not only to the evolution of the horror film, but indeed, to the very history of the cinematic art. It seems as though the "awe" which found its way into his initial observations has also influenced his final judgment-- a double negative with which I whole-heartedly agree.
Rating:
Summary: Classic German Expressionism!
Review: "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is a visual feast, and a definite inspiration for many horror films to follow. This film simply grasps your attention from beginning to end. From the beginning even we know this is no ordinary film as two asylum inmates are seen, one of them narrating his experience with meeting Dr. Caligari at a local carnival, who awakens a somnambulistic maniac who commits acts of murder commanded by his master. It seems we are watching a nightmare dreamt by the minds of madness. I won't spoil too much, but rest assured you will not regret adding this one to your collection. It is brilliant in every way.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest horror films, endlessly suggestive.
Review: A madman's fantasy, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' is a still-unsettling mixture of the archaic and the avant-garde. The celebrated sets, all grotesquely distorted, perspectively impossible, architecturally collapsed buildings and streets, strange angles and enigmatic geometric motifs, are like a demented revision of those medieval Central European villages that are usually the settings for these kind of stories; but they also echo (in monochrome) the folk-modernist paintings of Chagall, particularly those depicting Jewish shtetls with fantastic and dream imagery. The mood and atmosphere, the world of carnies and somnambulists, of Town Clerks, bell-ringers and lunatic asylums, even of nocturnal serial killers, all suggest periods of time from the late-19th century backwards; but the oneiric filming of Cesare's unmotivated night wandering, his zombie face blanching a tight black bodystocking, is reminiscent of Feuillade's crime serials (such as 'Les Vampires'); also anticipating Surrealism is the strangely seeping texture of the imagery, with fragments of bodies on the brink of dematerialising. The film is heavily influenced by Freud (from the homosexuality implicit in the central love triangle to the introduction of a phallic sleepwalker in a box by Caligari to Jane to the inability of Cesare to murder a virgin), but another 20th century giant is arguably more important: Kafka (one of the Prague-born screenwriters wrote for Kafka's friend, Max Brod). From the comedy of bureaucracy (the aggressively officious Town Clerk; the gormless police) to the location of chaos, madness and murder in the ravings of paternal/patriarchal authority, the film's movement is one of remorseless anxiety - 'Caligari''s look is flooded with the dread paranoia of its narrator. Even the mix of ancient documents and mystery plot is modern, looking forward to the stories of Borges. It is easy to mock 'Caligari' in retrospect - the cop-out of the framing narrative (which I humbly think only deepens the film's themes, and produces an amazing asylum tableau); the reliance on theatrical (sets, acting) rather than cinematic expression; the absurd hamming of the actors (a truly haunted Conrad Veidt excepted). But 'Caligari' has a lingering evocative power, a profound and phantasmagoric imagery that unfailingly penetrates those deepest and least admissable desires and fears supposedly 'better' films can't access. No wonder critics for nearly a century have attributed all sorts of nonsense to it. (Be warned: like 'Metropolis', the success of 'Caligari' depends on the quality of the score (the Redemption print I saw had a horrible Hollywood-horror, sub-Wagnerian over-emphasis) and the right speed (mine was played too fast, and was over in less than 50 minutes, making the story look like a daft pantomime)
Rating:
Summary: An "Expressive" Horror Classic
Review: A young man, Francis, relates to others this bizarre and amazing tale: Francis and his friend, Alan, visit a fair that happens to be in a small German town where some brutal murders have taken place. Dr. Caligari is the proprietor of an exhibit that features a chronic sleepwalker named Cesare who supposedly can make accurate prognostications. Francis and Alan are amused by this particular spectacle, but when they ask for a demonstration, they are a bit unnerved when Cesare predicts that Alan will be dead by morning. When Alan is, in fact, murdered during the night, Francis suspects that Caligari and Cesare were involved in making Cesare's "prediction" come true, and he goes to the police with his suspicions. Unfortunately, the police have arrested another man for Alan's murder, and they give Francis the brush-off. Undeterred, Francis follows Caligari in hopes of obtaining proof of his suspicions. When they ultimately wind up at an insane asylum, Francis is shocked to learn that Caligari is the director of the institution. But with the help of Francis, it is soon revealed that Caligari has himself gone mad, and the good Doctor is subsequently hospitalized in his own institution. Or is he?... THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920; 1921 for the U.S. version) is one of the masterpieces of the silent era and, along with Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS (1927), is one of the best examples of German Expressionist cinema. Though the story is entertaining, the real genius lies not so much in the narrative as in the bizarre and surrealistic mise-en-scène. The sets do not reflect nature or reality but are instead highly stylized--using an expressionist form that reflects both cubist and fauvist influence--and are meant to project to the audience the psychological discordance of Caligari and other characters in the film. And the physical appearance of the characters, especially the principals, are also expressionistic exaggerations, making them more caricatures than characters and serving to heighten the sense of uneasiness and mental disharmony. So to put it succinctly, the film conveys its underlying theme of ubiquitous psychosis as much through visuals as through narrative--an especially good quality in the era of silent films--and this fact elevates it above mere entertainment to the summit of high art. Any film student, cinema aficionado, or collector of old classics will definitely want to add this movie to their collections. But some contemporary viewers may find it difficult to appreciate THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Indeed, in this age of color "talkies," it is sometimes hard for even ardent film students and aficionados to catch all of the nuances in the narrative and visuals of a silent film, and sometimes two or more viewings may therefore be required. The wonderful collector's edition DVD from Image Entertainment offers a feature commentary by film historian Mike Budd, and a SECOND viewing with this commentary turned on will certainly help to clarify some of the more subtle aspects of this historical film. (For the first time through, don't watch the film with the commentary, as Mr. Budd does early on reveal some facts about the ending.)
Rating:
Summary: great german cinema
Review: After finally finding a copy of this video, I new my hardwork had paid off when I watched Doctor Caligari. The movie is definetely an eye catcher with the great camera work and keeps you interested in the movie through the great acting that takes place.
Rating:
Summary: a note to confused amazon users...
Review: Amazon does NOT differentiate its reviews of titles (be it book/DVD's/vhs etc) by this or that edition by any of the many companies that release them....so your review of the cheapy public domain Alpha dvd(to name just one of the several CRAP distributors of old movies)and the words you write about the restored fine print Kino International(to name one of the very excellent distributors of old movies)will be all on the same page, WHATEVER version you have selected!!
Having said that , my review is of the KINO dvd release , a very fine one as this company does not distribute anything less(you pay more, but if you know anything about silent and classic movies it will be no secret to you that if you pay peanuts that is exactly what you will get....)...it is however disconserting to see that even the best available dvd release still hasn't been cleaned up to the degree that other classic silent masterpieces have..surely with todays technology a digital "hoovering" of this film is not too much to ask.
Wonderful film of course, but you know that otherwise you wouldn't even be reading these reviews, and the KINO version is , so far, the best you can get for your money.
Rating: 
Summary: An historical curio, acme of German expressionism
Review: Another silent film that has not aged too well but is still of great interest to lovers of silent film and film history. The plot is none too innovative but the wild, original sets made this one stand out from the crowd. The direction is actually a bit wooden. It is the work of the set designers which actually made this one a stunning experience to early film audiences.
Rating: 
Summary: Pedestrian compared to Haxan
Review: Before beginning to write this review I read a couple of the previous reviews, and one person said something that summed up my thoughts quite well. You Tim Burton fans will see stuff here that was obviously a large influence on him. Specifically, the sets. You can imagine movie-goers of that era feeling as if they were seeing an alternate world as they watched this movie.
I think my thoughts on this movie will differ from those of most of the reviewers, though. I think the sets and the look of the characters are the most interesting things about this movie. Is it actually from 1921, though? On the VHS I have, it says "released in 1919" right on the box. Beyond that, the camerawork and production values seem to be quite a bit less than the those of many other films from the early '20s.
This movie has its moments, but if you really want to see a movie from the early '20s that is psychotic and strange even by many of today's standards, try Haxan, from 1922. For those of you who think Dr. Caligari or the flying monkeys scene from Wizard of Oz are creepy or scary, you will be utterly horrified by Haxan. Haxan is a movie that couldn't have been made by American studios until probably the late '60s... and lots of people still would have been outraged even then, I'm sure.
Haxan has better cinematography and production values, and every aspect of it is more twisted and evil than anything in Caligari. Plus the acting is alot better. Caligari is worthy as an historical artifact and for its influence, but Haxan is better in every single way. There are things in Caligari that are laughably bad or just boring. Haxan is a twisted masterpiece of evil and perversion, and worthy of many more viewings.
Having said this, if you are really into Dr. Caligari, Mark Dresser (incredible bassist, improvisor, composer) released a music cd of the same name. His The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is available on this website in the music section.
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