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The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari is the classic masterpiece of German expressionist cinema. It presents a tale of murder and madness, unfolding in the expressionist style, which holds that every element of the artistic design should be stylized, skewed and exaggerated to create the maximum dramatic impact.
Doctor Caligari is a mysterious showman who performs as part of a travelling fair with his strange 'exhibit,' a zombie-like sleepwalker named Cesare, who carries out Caligari's murderous commands.
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The plot spirals in upon itself, eventually concluding in an insane asylum, with identities shifting and being revealed as not what they had seemed. Fritz Lang contributed to the original screenplay.
Director Robert Wiene's movie had an immediate impact and influenced dark cinema in the days of black and white film from Universal's Frankenstein series to the film noir of the 50's. Actor Conrad Veidt, so memorable as the black-clad killer Cesare, eventually became most famous for his role as Major Strasser in Casablanca.
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