The film that forged the dark, ominous cinematic movement known as German Expressionism--and influenced vanguard filmmakers for generations--regains its original, electrifying authority in this definitive presentation. Werner Krauss stars as a deranged hypnotist who spreads death through the countryside from a ramshackle traveling carnival. Before the naive eyes of the townspeople, he unveils the contents of his coffin-like cabinet: Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a spidery sleepwalker who obeys his every command. But at night, once the crowds have dispersed, Caligari lifts the lid on darker intentions, unleashing the dreadful Cesare to act upon his master's murderous whims and carnal desires. Director Robert Wiene and his designers combined techniques of painting, theatre and film to conjure a nightmare world of splintered reality, boldly creating a visual representation of insanity.
