GERMAN HORROR CLASSICS (NOSFERATU (1922) / THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI / WAXWORKS / THE GOLEM)

Details

• Genre: Horror
• Plot: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; The most brilliant example of that dark and twisted film movement known as German expressionism, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI is a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. ; Director Robert Wiene and a team of designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetrate a series of ghastly murders in a small community. ; This Kino on Video edition is taken from a 35mm print restored by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv of Germany, featuring the original color tinting and toning. The title translation is by Kinograph Montreal.; ; Nosferatu; An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, NOSFERATU is the quintessential silent vampire film, crafted by legendary German director F.W. Murnau (Sunrise).; Rather than depicting Dracula as a shape-shifting monster or debonair gentleman, Murnau's Graf Orlok (as portrayed by Max Schreck) is a nightmarish, spidery creature of bulbous head and taloned claws -- perhaps the most genuinely disturbing incarnation of vampirism yet envisioned.; NOSFERATU was an atypical expressionist film in that much of it was shot on location. While directors such as Lang and Lubitsch built vast forests and entire towns within the studio, NOSFERATU's landscapes, villages and castle were actual locations in the Carpathian mountains. Murnau was thus able to infuse the story with the subtle tones of nature: both pure and fresh as well as twisted and sinister.; ; The Golem; Widely recognized as the source of the Frankenstein myth, the ancient Hebrew legend of the Golem provided actor/director Paul Wegener with the substance for one of the most adventurous films of the German silent cinema.; Suffering under the tyrannical rule of Rudolf II in 16th-century Prague, a Talmudic rabbi (Albert Steinrück creates a giant warrior (Paul Wegener) to protect the safety of his people. Sculpted of clay and animated by the mysterious secrets of the Cabala, the Golem is a seemingly indestructible juggernaut, performing acts of great heroism, yet equally capable of dreadful violence. When the rabbi's assistant (Ernst Deutsch) takes control of the Golem and attempts to use him for selfish gain, the lumbering monster runs rampant, abducting the rabbi's daughter (Lyda Salmonova) and setting fire to the ghetto.; With its remarkable creation sequence (a dazzling blend of religion, sorcery and special effects) and the grand-scale destruction of its climax, THE GOLEM was one of the greatest achievements of the legendary UFA Studios, and remains an undeniable landmark in the evolution of the horror film.; ; Waxworks; In this rarely seen masterwork of the German Expressionist movement, a trilogy of terror is woven around the wax figures of a carnival sideshow.; An idealistic young poet (Wilhelm Dieterle, later to become a Hollywood director) is hired to write stories about the Chamber of Horrors' three most notorious figures: Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt) and Haroun Al-Raschid (Emil Jannings). But as the uncanny tales flow from the poet's pen, he finds himself enveloped in the nightmare world of his own creation.; One of the most innovative stylists of the German silent cinema, director Paul Leni ('The Cat and the Canary', 'The Man Who Laughs') applied a variety of visual techniques to this ambitious anthology film, drawing from his years as a set designer under the great Max Reinhardt. From fairy tale Arabia of the Al-Raschid story (said to have inspired Douglas Fairbanks to make 'The Thief of Bagdad'), to the dark and oppressive knigdom of Ivan the Terrible, to the whirling lights and swordlike shadows of the carnival through which Jack the Ripper stalks the protagonist, Leni managed to raise the techniques of German Expressionism to new conceptual heights.
• Runtime: 5:37
• Media Format: Movie