Backscheider's Thoughts on Caligari

First, my sincerest apologies for my inactivity. I'm really happy Darrel selected this movie because I'd never seen it or really heard about it. I can't say that I'm very familiar with German Expressionism or silent films so this was great exposure. I watched the version on Netflix which said something at the end about being updated in 1996. The first thing that I really liked about the movie was the cuts with the words, the style of it was really cool. About half way through I realized that they were in English and therefore obviously done later, probably in 96. That was kind of disappointing because they had such a hand made feel to them that was really unique and fit the mood. (Although they kept telling me it was night, which I thought was silly, the first night scene showed the lamp lighter and I instantly knew it was night). I also loved the sets. The village was great. The sets felt a lot like a theater production. The acting seemed very "theatrical" too. Pretty over the top. Creeping down the wall with one arm extended, ridiculous facial expressions. To me this reflects a lack of understanding of the new medium since these actions were probably more appropriate for the stage. Honestly, I fell asleep the first try watching this. Granted I started late, it was hard to really keep me involved after a very engaging opening scene. That's not to say I didn't like it, I did, I'm just too used to microwaves or something. Though I guess the story really fell into a killing, questioning redundancy. The twist ending was excellent. While I guess its widely believed that the twist is true, I felt like there's a possibility that either story could be true. I liked that ambiguity.

Overall, I liked it, felt the mood was great (I had an orchestra to set the mood) and thought the ending was great. I can understand how it influenced a lot that came after it. Thanks for the experience!