The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

I will call attention to the extremely divided reactions. And I think that this is because a lot of people reasonably and rightfully can't get into this talking version. The characters speak like video game characters. There's also an erratic and unpredictable tone in the conversations, with a lot of what seem like full notes and irrational responses.

I like the way the shots are set up. Different focal lengths, random changes in the height of the camera, lots of extreme close-ups. I also like the way that the scenes kind of drag on. It's very theatrical.

My advice would be to click off if you find yourself hating it. It's working for me.

First and foremost i love the original to bits, it was the first silent film i ever watched so you can imagine a feature length movie without dialogue was pretty strange to watch for me then.

So what does a version with talking bring? Not really much at all. I was pretty pumped for this, the trailer didn't look all too bad and at first I was excited to hear that they were using the background from the original 35mm print.

The backgrounds are composited pretty badly in a lot of scenes, especially my favorite shot of Cesare creeping along the wall, which Is a disaster and he doesn't look like he's touching the wall at all! (They should have built this set!) Doug Jones is a pretty good actor, but he doesn't even touch Veidts performance. He's just simply not scary, the terrifying shot where Cesare opens his eyes for the first time in the original film was severed here.

The dialogue is really bad in a lot of places, sure its interesting to see it with dialogue if only for a minute, but comon! Overall id say average, it has a lot of faults but it also is pretty OK in some spots, the new shots are pretty cool. David Lee Fischer obviously didn't love this film enough to leave it THE HELL ALONE!

The sets, props, and lighting are all copies of the originals, but most of the performances make no attempt at expressionism, or any other kind of stylization. They sound like modern Americans reading a modern script, which of course they are and it is, although the script would allow for more imaginativeness. The result is discordant, and just seems silly. It leads me to wonder what a Johnny Depp would have done with any of these roles.

The remake of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" has all the poles holding it up. We have plenty of shadows, plenty of new camera angles, and more tension than the original masterpiece. Of course you are going to see some scenes which mirror the original. This just proves the love which went into the making of this soon to be classic. The most remarkable parts of this film are the reprisals of the original flick's backgrounds, and a fantastic series of performances, especially the new Caligari who is even more bad tempered and crazier than ever. The new film focuses even more on the sanity of the tortured Francis, who seems to be losing his grip with his own world as the film progresses. The actor who portrays the killer Caesare is eerily similar to the first film's sleepwalking stabber. The black and white flavoring really gives you the impression that this film might have been made in the late 30's than the new millennium. All in all, a terrific remake and a film no horror purist can resist.

I'm not sure if this was just a lark, or if I really did like it! So, I guess I liked it! It's cool that they used the original for background, and it did have the feel of an old time film. The makeup and lighting are phenomenal! But the acting is bad, and I think it's supposed to be. Still, it's bad. The plot of the movie is trippy, and it feels odd the whole time, making it a spooky/silly viewing. Still, it unnerved me a bit, especially the Dr. calling for "Cesare" in such creepy ways. Weird as heck movie!