The Cabinet of Dr Caligari: Review

Robert Wiene’s film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a gothic horror, mystery silent film that was
created in 1920, post WW1.
A key example of its influence on gothic horror is its effect on popular
culture today, more specifically the works of Tim Burton.
Burton’s work is quite well known, and he has created work that has
influenced popular culture. Burton’s success can be deemed from his
unique style, one that can be argued to be influenced from Wiene
and that of the German expressionist movement. Examples can be
seen through Edward Scissorhands, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street and Nightmare Before Christmas with their dark colour
palette, gloomy tones, gothic architecture and the major similarities Fig 1, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
in character design. 1920

“The main character in Sweeney Todd and the character of

Edward Scissorhands bare a close resemblance to the character
of Cesare from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. They all have pale
faces contrasted by black hair that are unruly and out of place,
dark shadows around all of their eyes, and also the obvious lack
of joy in their faces.” (OSS,2016).

Fig 2, Cesare (From Dr This similarity could indicate the major influence that Wiene and
Caligari). 1920 German Expressionism had on Burton’s Character creation and
aesthetic. What’s also fascinating is the similarity between the main
character of Wiene’s film, Francis, and Sweeney Todd is their nature as
characters. They can be argued to be morally grey and their
experiences of losing someone close to them due
to murder led them both to do things that are
wrong yet justified in their minds.
Another similarity between Burton and
Fig 3, Sweeney Todd. 2007 Wiene’s work is the expressionist nature
shown in the portrayal of Burton’s
characters. Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands show emphasised
emotion and expression, which seems to be the nature of
Fig 4, Edward Scissorhands. 1990
all of Burtons characters. This is also evident in the film
Nightmare Before Christmas, but that can be argued
against due to the fact that it’s an animation so emphasised expressions are key in
portraying emotions. But in his live action films, Burton emphasises the emotions
experienced by his characters like in Wiene’s film, but the only difference is Wiene was
using this technique for a silent film, yet Burton is using this technique for modern day films
that use audio, thus emphasising the influence that Wiene has on horror and popular
culture.
Wiene’s influence also extends to architecture and composition. “The buildings,
background and trappings of Nightmare’s world show influence as diverse as Robert
Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919).” (Thompson, F.
1994:103). The similarity in composition
and architecture is evident in these 2
stills. Both Cesare and Jack Skellington
are on angled, dark structures and are
only depicted as silhouettes in front of
illuminated backgrounds. This similarity
can also be emphasised by Rick Heinrich,
a Production Designer that’s worked
with Burton. He admitted that in the
Fig 5. Cesare (From Dr Burton films he’s worked on, “Some
Fig 6. Nightmare Before
Caligari). 1920 of the designs are reminiscent of the Christmas. 1993
old German Expressionist films The
Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Nosferatu which have a strong, graphic two-dimensional look
within a three-dimensional environment.” (Smith, J and Matthews, J. 2002:202).

To conclude, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari has been influential in popular culture and some of
the films that fall under the horror/gothic genre. This can be seen by the similarities
between Wiene and Burton’s work.
 Harvard Illustration and Bibliography
Illustrations
• Fig 1, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cabinet_of_Dr._Caligari
Accessed 22nd Septmeber 2018
• Fig 2, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari: Cesare, Fig 3, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of
Fleet Street and Fig 4, Edward ScissorHands (2016)
https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/janl0001/category/2016-df2009/
Accessed 20th September 2018
• Fig 5 (The Cabinet of Dr Caligary: Cesare rooftop) (2016)
https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/janl0001/category/2016-df2009/
Accessed 20th September 2018
• Fig 6 Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas (2010)
https://www.parkablogs.com/es/content/book-review-tim-burtons-nightmare-
christmas-film-art-vision
Accessed 20th September 2018

Bibliography
• Smith, J and Clive Matthews, J (2002). Tim Burton. London : Virgin Books LTD. 202.
• N/A. (2012). German Expressionism in Tim Burton's Films. Available:
https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/janl0001/tag/the-nightmare-before-christmas/. Last
accessed 20th September 2018.
• Thompson, F (1994). The Film, The Art, The Vision: Tim Burton's Nightmare Before
Christmas . London : BOXTREE LIMITED. 103.