While there’s a handful of horror films arriving into theaters this summer, we can’t imagine a better use of one’s time than revisiting (or discovering) one of the genre’s first, and best, entries. Robert Wiene‘s seminal German Expressionist feature The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari recently underwent a digital restoration which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and now it’s gearing up for a U.K. theatrical run and Blu-ray release there.
Following hypnotist Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist Cesare, it’s a visually striking and emotionally captivating work that’s endlessly influential to this day. The first teaser and poster have landed in anticipation for the release, with the Masters of Cinema Blu-ay including commentary by film historian David Kalat, a new video essay by film critic David Cairns, as well as a 56-page booklet with new writing, reprints and rare archival imagery. Hopefully a U.S. release is in store for the epic set and in the meantime, one can check out the preview and one-sheet below, as well as a previous version of the full film.
One of the most iconic masterpieces in cinema history, Robert Wiene’s Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari shook filmgoers worldwide and changed the direction of the art form. Now presented in a definitive restoration, the film’s chilling, radically expressionist vision is set to grip viewers again.
At a local carnival in a small German town, hypnotist Dr. Caligari presents the somnambulist Cesare, who can purportedly predict the future of curious fairgoers. But at night, the doctor wakes Cesare from his sleep to enact his evil bidding…
Incalculably influential, the film’s nightmarishly jagged sets, sinister atmospheric and psychological emphasis left an immediate impact in its wake (horror, film noir, and gothic cinema would all be shaped directly by it). But this diabolical tale nevertheless stands alone – now more mesmerising than ever!
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari will be release in U.K. theaters on August 29th and be released on Blu-ray in September.