DAS CABINET DES CALIGARI (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY

In it's silent format it is a powerful piece of German expressionism; in it whiney American vocal format it's truely, truely awful. Another example of vacuous idiots thinking they have the ability to add to something and ending up detracting from it through a lack of talent only matched by their sense of self worth. Turn the volume off and enjoy, leave the volume on and vomit. I'm really quite cross!

I have watched the original version of this film and it was superb...this terribly dubbed version however is utterly disgraceful. How anyone can think these ‘actors’ voices added anything good to this classic piece of art leaves much to be desired. Total car crash. As for the ‘soundtrack’...After 10 minutes I couldn’t bear anymore. Amateur.

Couldn't stand the godawful, migraine-inducing, oompah-meets-electronica soundtrack which plays constantly over the dialogue - persevered for five or six minutes then hit the big X.

Most of the reviews are about the film itself, which is a classic. However, the "Full Sound" version is an absolute travesty. Amateurish voice acting, that sounds more like a 1980s American cartoon about a pack of sassy stray dogs. What on earth were they thinking when they produced this? Clearly no respect for the original film.

If it was possible to give minus stars I would give this travesty -5*. Absolutely terrible rendition of this early Expressionist classic, surely done for laughs to turn the movie into a comedy? Idiotic maniacal laughter all over the place, squeaky falsetto voices to represent children; in one scene the crowd comes across Cesare dead, one of them actually says scornfully “dressed like a poofter!”.The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is one of the most important early black and white movies, along with Nosferatu (please don’t let them get their hands on that next!) which was released just after it, both being prime examples of early German Expressionism, which is often related to the German experience in World War I. Quite how the idiots who've made this shambles got away with it I don’t know, oh yes, I do, of course it will be in the public domain now.I watched this on Amazon Prime as part of my subscription package out of curiosity.Please do not dignify this production by purchasing it.

This German Expressionist movie from 1920 is a stunning film. The jagged distorted sets are like nothing I've ever seen, like watching a comic/graphic novel brought to life. It doesn't matter that they're flat and visibly flimsy. Thanks to the (controversial) framing device for the story these qualities can be interpreted in terms of the narrator's mental state.It tells the story of a showman calling himself Dr Caligari who turns up at the annual fair of small German town with his attraction, a Somanbulist (i.e. sleepwalker), a man who has been asleep for all of his 23 years. Caligari is able to awaken and control this man, Cesare, for short periods. When awake Cesare is able to answer any question he is asked - or so Dr Caligari says. Coincident with Dr Caligari's arrival in town people start to be murdered in the night...Werner Krauss is diabolical as Dr Caligari, even if he does look disconcertingly like Mick Aston (the white haired professor from Time Team) in close up. He's also funny. In fact, he reminds me of an evil Tommy Cooper or of Les Dawson in Zebediah Twine mode.What lifts the film onto a completely different plane though is Conrad Veidt as Caligari's sleepwalking slave Cesare. He seems part man, part baby, part demon, part doll. The scenes in which he walks from his cabinet onto the stage in front of the crowd and in which we see him prowl down a deserted street and then ascend into a house have a quality almost like dancing (emphasised even further by his costume, which resembles that of a male ballet dancer). Veidt has a hypnotic presence on screen (ironic given the trance in which he walks). He is dangerous but vulnerable, broken and lost.The quality of the restored film on the blu-ray is a marvel in itself. The detail that we're able to see, for example the white markings on Cesare's costume, are extraordinary.The Eureka blu-ray also has some great extras. Along with a commentary, there's an hour long documentary putting the Cabinet of Dr Caligari in context within German Expressionist cinema. There are also a couple of shorter documentaries including one which shows how the restoration was done. This is fascinating. I am full of admiration for the work that went into this project and the talent of the people involved.

I never usually write reviews but this movie really deserves one. This is one of the best, most effective silent movies I've ever seen! For 1920, the quality of work here is incredible. From the impressive and stylish title cards at the beginning to the ambitious, creative and artistic set pieces, this film is a must see.The theatrical feel to this film is incredibly atmospheric and doesn't feel dated at all. The artistic nature of the sets coupled with the beautiful music creates a unique world that is rarely captured on film. The story is played out in "6 acts" and the pacing is nice; not slow and equally not speedy. 77 minutes flies by with this piece of expressionist artwork.I love Hitchcock, Chaplin and Keaton but this piece of art almost makes me rank it higher than all of them. Buy it now and enjoy a superb quality version of a film that is almost 100 years old!

There is not much to say here but the producers have merely taken the opportunity to steal an out of copyright film and dub it in the most ludicrous way and plonk on a horrendous music track on it.The "filmmakers" who have committed this cinematic crime should be never be allowed to make anything else ever again.They are a disgrace.