Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The, is a famous German silent horror motion picture. It was released in 1919 and was among the first films to show the artistic possibilities of the motion picture. The film is especially noted for its expressionistic style, which features distorted sets, dramatic lighting, sharp camera angles, and stylized acting.
The story is set in a carnival. Dr. Caligari is a hypnotist who uses a sleepwalker to commit murder. The doctor is eventually shown to be the director of an insane asylum. In a surprise ending, the nightmarish story is revealed as actually the dream of a madman. The international success of the film started a trend in German filmmaking of ghost stories, horror stories, and science-fiction tales.
Robert Wiene directed The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The film starred Werner Krauss as Caligari and Conrad Veidt as the sleepwalker. The Cabinet of Caligari, an updated version inspired by the German film, was released in the United States in 1962. A sound remake of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was released in the United States in 2005.
See also Motion picture (Filmmaking in Europe) .
