Film Analysis: The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari

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Recommended: Elements of film mise en scene

Over the course of the development of film there has also been the development of certain ideas that are used in films and that have developed over time. One such idea, is the idea of mise-en-scène. Mise-en-scène, an idea that came out of the theater, sets the scene, it is all the elements, like the action, lighting, set, etc. within the shot (Gomery 40). However some adjustments had to be made in order for mise-en-scène to be adapted from the stage onto film. These adjustments led to mise-en-scène becoming a tool used specifically for film. The idea of mise-en-scène has developed through various films and the directors of these films used this idea to help create historical cinematic pieces. In order to fully develop, some adjustments needed …show more content…

His skill is shown in his film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Wiene was influenced a lot by the Expressionist movement in film.This is shown through how a lot of Expressionist mise-en-scène can be seen in Caligari. Expressionist mise-en-scène is a little different, in how it tries to create a setting that reflects the protagonist of the film who they want the audience to identify with and the goal of this is to embody the state of mind of the viewer (Coates 79). This is shown in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, in how in the town of Holstenwall all of the sets are very strange and shaped weirdly, not how one would expect a town to look like (Coates 80). The set reflects the crazed state of the protagonist, who the audience learns at the end of the film is a patient at a mental hospital who thinks that his doctor is the one who is crazy. This is one example of how mise-en-scène is blatantly used to create a certain effect on the audience. Unlike Méliès, Wiene used the disproportions of his set to create a mise-en-scène that did not disrupt the audience's illusion of another world but instead aided it, revealed the state of mind that the protagonist had, and aided in getting the audience to sympathize with the main

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