History Film / TheCabinetOfDrCaligari

''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' was tremendously influential in cinematic history, as all the {{Trope Maker|s}} examples below attest. It is in the public domain and may be viewed in its entirety at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73BUxJLI YouTube]]. A re-scored version with ProgressiveRock music by Creator/IsaacBaranoff can be viewed online.

''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' was tremendously influential in cinematic history, as all the {{Trope Maker|s}} examples below attest. It is in the public domain and may be viewed in its entirety at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73BUxJLI YouTube]]. A re-scored version with ProgressiveRock music by Creator/IsaacBaranoff and Music/FunnyAminals can be viewed online.

* WomanInWhite: Take a look at that poster up there.

Silent [[GermanExpressionism German expressionist]] {{horror}} film made in 1920, starring Werner Krauss as the titular mad doctor and Creator/ConradVeidt (the bad guy from ''Film/{{Casablanca}}...'' Oh, and [[Literature/TheManWhoLaughs the original]] [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]]) as the fortune-telling sleepwalker Cesare [[ItIsPronouncedTroPay (pronounced "CHEH-zah-ray")]], who lives inside the cabinet.

* DastardlyWhiplash: Caligari is a hook-nosed man in a top hat and black cape (an Inverness coat (called "Havelock" in German) to be precise). He doesn't have the moustache, but he almost makes up for that with his impressive sideburns.

Silent [[GermanExpressionism German expressionist]] {{horror}} film made in 1920, starring Creator/WernerKrauss as the titular mad doctor and Creator/ConradVeidt (the bad guy from ''Film/{{Casablanca}}...'' Oh, and [[Literature/TheManWhoLaughs the original]] [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]]) as the fortune-telling sleepwalker Cesare [[ItIsPronouncedTroPay (pronounced "CHEH-zah-ray")]], who lives inside the cabinet.

* ShadowDiscretionShot: The struggle of Alan and his murderer, and the murderer stabbing Alan to death, is only shown by the shadows on the wall of Alan's room. Though we see shots of Alan's terrified face, the murderer is never actually seen except as a shadow. Within Francis' story, the murderer is later revealed to have been Cesare; although the TwistEnding leaves open the possibility that Francis is not telling the truth, and that he himself was the murderer.

* ShadowDiscretionShot: The murder of Alan. Remember, we never actually ''see'' Cesare in that scene. See TheKillerInMe above.

* ShadowDiscretionShot: The murder of Alan. Remember, we never actually ''see'' Cesare in that scene. See TheKillerInMe below.

* PsychoPsychologist: Caligari. Ostensibly, anyway.

* EmpathicEnvironment: Very much so. Look at those sets. They're weird.

This film is best-known for its extremely messed-up set design: All the angles are crooked, the shadows are ''painted onto the sets'', and it's all made out of paper. More notably, some sets are twisted versions of World War I battlefields.

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* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: Good ''lord''. It borders on AlienGeometries. There are no right angles, no straight lines, and many surfaces are covered with wild, swirling patterns.

* JackTheRipoff: A villager takes advantage of Cesare's killing spree to try to cast off suspicion from his own attempt.

Silent [[GermanExpressionism expressionist]] {{horror}} film made in 1920 UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, starring Creator/WernerKrauss as the titular mad doctor and Creator/ConradVeidt (the bad guy from ''Film/{{Casablanca}}...'' Oh, and [[Literature/TheManWhoLaughs the original]] [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]]) as the fortune-telling sleepwalker Cesare [[ItIsPronouncedTroPay (pronounced "CHEH-zah-ray")]], who lives inside the cabinet.

->'''Alan''': ''How long shall I live?''\\
'''Cesare''': ''Your time is short. You die at dawn.''

* MadnessMantra: "I must know everything."
* MadnessMontage: Surely the Trope Maker, with the "Du mußt Caligari werden" scene described below under RoomFullOfCrazy.

* AndYouWereThere: Most of the characters turn out to have real-world counterparts hanging around the asylum. The absence of an equivalent for Allan implies that although the bulk of the film wasn't completely accurate, it [[OrWasItADream wasn't a total fantasy]], either.

* TheKillerInMe: It's very subtly implied -- through the LoveTriangle at the beginning, the ShadowDiscretionShot of Allan's murder, Allan's absence from the final scenes at the asylum, and the revelation that Francis is insane -- that Allan's murder may have been the only true part of Francis' story, in which case, Francis himself was probably the killer.

* LooksLikeCesare: {{C|aptainObvious}}es[[TropeMakers are]].

* SacrificialLamb: Allan, murdered by Cesare to kick the plot into gear.

* ShadowDiscretionShot: The murder of Allan. Remember, we never actually ''see'' Cesare in that scene. See TheKillerInMe below.

Silent [[GermanExpressionism expressionist]] {{horror}} film made in 1920 UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, starring Creator/WernerKrauss as the titular mad doctor and Creator/ConradVeidt (the bad guy from ''Film/{{Casablanca}}...'' Oh, and [[Literature/TheManWhoLaughs the original]] [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]]) as the fortune-telling sleepwalker Cesare [[ItIsPronouncedTroPay (pronounced "cheh-ZAR-ay")]], who lives inside the cabinet.

* DastardlyWhiplash: Caligari is a hook-nosed man in a top hat and black cape. He doesn't have the moustache, but he almost makes up for that with his impressive sideburns.

* KubrickStare: The anonymous attempted murderer (played by an uncredited Creator/RudolfKleinRogge, of ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'' fame) gives one from his cell.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: If you meet a guy who is named after one of the Borgias, don't mess with him.

* CuckooNest: The film represents one of the most notable uses of this trope where the character being told his account of events is just a hallucination really ''is'' insane. None of Francis' version of events really happened (or at least not as he described them); they were, instead, the literal ramblings of a madman.

* RoomFullOfCrazy: Or Scenery Full of Crazy -- Dr. Caligari hallucinates the phrase "DU MUSST CALIGARI WERDEN" (YOU MUST BE CALIGARI) appearing all over the scenery once he gets the inspiration to mimic the legendary Dr. Caligari.

In addition to being the first {{psychological thriller}}, this movie also received one of the first-ever ViralMarketing campaigns for a movie: Before its premiere, German streets were plastered with posters that read "Du mußt Caligari werden!" ("You must be Caligari!") without telling you anything about the fact that they tied in to a movie.

* MurderTheHypotenuse: Alan's murder resolves the love triangle of which he is a part with Jane and Francis. See TheKillerInMe below.