Category Archives: Movies

#6- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

quick recap: This is a flashback story about a man named Francis who goes through a terrifying experience. He goes with his friend to a fair and meets. Dr. Caligari who has a cabinet. Thus the title. Inside the cabinet is a somnambulist (sleepwalker) who can see the future, according to Caligari. Francis’s friend asks the sleepwalker, Cesare, when he will die and is told he will be dead by dawn. This comes true later on as well as a few other strange murders. It is revealed that Cesare is doing the killing, under the guide of Caligari. Francis heads to the local insane asylum to figure out some more information and finds out that Caligari is the director. It is also revealed that he is obsessed with a monk named Caligari who controlled a somnambulist who also murdered. After it is revealed that Cesare is dead, the doctor goes insane and is committed to his own asylum. The end? NO! There is a twist!

Fun (?) fact: This movie introduced the idea of a twist ending in cinema.

My thoughts: The very first thing I noticed about this movie is the set. It feels more like a nightmarish play than a movie.

Beware jagged lines!

In many ways, I felt like everyone was trying too hard to be shocking and scary. The makeup was over the top as well as the expressions. On the other hand, it definitely set the mood. If you eliminate all the dramatic elements, the story itself is akin to a Twilight Zone episode. 92 YEAR OLD SPOILER ALERT: turns out, Francis, Cesare, and his fiancee are all residents at the local asylum and ‘Caligari’ is their doctor. It was just a story! I’m a sucker for twist endings, so this gave the movie some points.

Final review: 3 out of 5. The movie is really short so it doesn’t hurt to check it out. It’s interesting to see the birth of a now common cinematic element, back when no one saw the ending coming. I’m talking to you, Shyamalan.

Where I watched it: Netflix instant

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#5- Intolerance

Quick recap: It’s about intolerance. The end.

Oh, you want more? It’s actually a movie with 4 different stories spanning thousands of years. It’s still about intolerance though. First story is about the fall of Babylon, second is Jesus because why not, third is the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and the fourth is a modern story about jealous old women. Or something. Did I mention the theme was intolerance? And just in case you thought this would be fun and light hearted, there is a woman rocking the cradle of Humanity in between scenes.

Have to say this creeped me out a little bit

fun (?) fact– This film was DW Griffith’s response to Birth of a Nation because he totally didn’t think it was racist. Interesting to note that this movie does not feature African-Americans either. Lesson learned?

My thoughts– Ok, so this film was a tad bit preachy. I started watching it at 11 at night thinking that I would maybe watch an hour and then go to bed. Somehow I ended up watching the entire 3 1/2 hours. What can I say? This film is impressive on all accounts. Griffith was so detailed for all 4 story lines, even changing the music to reflect the time period. It was also an easy film to get through because the stories are interwoven. When I started getting a little tired of one, the creepy Humanity lady would come on and I would breathe a sigh of relief. I’ll rank the stories by how they kept my interest:

4. Jesus because it’s been over done. It’s also the shortest story so maybe even Griffith felt he was a little preachy.

3. St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre- I knew absolutely nothing about this and read up on it after the movie

2. the modern story- The Dear One (she didn’t have a name) really knows how to act. She is featured in many of Griffith’s films. It was predictable but also a good lesson, even now

1. fall of Babylon- I can’t believe the amount of detail involved! Each uniform looked painstakingly made and the wall of Babylon was most impressive. Plus, the Mountain Girl was amazing. I could have watched her for the entire 3 hours.

Final Review- 5/5 Watch it. I was hesitant going into this movie because I did not like Birth of a Nation but ended up loving it.

where I watched it: Netflix instant

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#4- Les Vampires

Quick recap: Cue the Sad Trombone or Happiness Flute, depending on your preference, but this movie did not in fact contain any vampires. There is a group of villains who do all of their schemes at night though. The ‘movie’ is actually 10 episodes built around Investigator Philipe Guerande and his friend Mazamette. Each part has the criminals plotting something and then Guerande and Mazamette catch them in some way, usually without realizing it.

Fun (?) Fact: This is considered to be one of the longest movies ever made, clocking in at roughly 6 1/2 hours. I dispute this because when it was released in theaters, it was broken up into episodes over a year. It’s more of a mini series than a movie you would watch all at once.

My thoughts: Although it took me over a year to finish Les Vampires, I really enjoyed it for several reasons. First of all, there were some surprisingly violent scenes and an interesting mystery. I could see how later thriller movies evolved from this film. I imagine audiences at the time loved it as well. Secondly, if you are looking for a stereotypical silent movie, this is it. The deaths are long and drawn out, the actors talk for a long time and then the cue cards show one or two words to sum it up and the music guides you. Last reason Les Vampires was interesting:

Irma Vep

Irma Vep is one of the main villains and Musidora, who plays her, does the job perfectly. She is calculating and heartless and so smart. I was genuinely surprised how she is not portrayed as some woman caught up in the mess, but perfectly capable of handling herself.

Final Review: 4/5 If it wasn’t so long, I would totally give it a 5. Episodes are all different lengths so just jump in and watch when you have time.

Where I watched it: http://www.archive.org as well as Youtube

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#3- Birth of a Nation

Quick recap: This is a Civil War era film, directed by the great DW Griffith. There are two plot lines involving the North and the South and how each is effected. The first part of the movie (it was originally two parts) is pre Civil War up to the end and the second part is all about the Reconstruction. In the second part of the film, African-Americans are given rights and wreak havoc on everything and everybody. The KKK rises up to protect all those innocent white people and everything is ok.

Fun (?) fact: The KKK used this movie as a recruiting tool. Of course they did.

My thoughts: So the first part was really no different than Gone With the Wind, with all its epic-ness. Nothing I haven’t seen before but I suppose for its time, I can see why people loved it. I sat through this part thinking, ‘This isn’t so controversial!” and then I got worried that the internet has desensitized me too much. And THAT’S when the second part started. Wow. It’s like I can almost imagine Griffith had a checklist of everything offensive to African- Americans and laughed maniacally as he put it into the film.

man in blackface eating fried chicken. Yeah.

Besides being offensive, this film did not interest me at all. I love historical movies as you shall see in later posts, but nothing kept me glued to the screen.

Final review: 2 out of 5. Not going to recommend this one, unless you want to watch it for its value to film. I watched the movie on archive.org.

Where I watched it: http://www.archive.org

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