Documents the work of the often neglected director of the German silent film classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The chapters move chronologically through the different periods of Wiene's career, summarizing and critiquing 90 films he either directed or wrote. Originally published in German, the book includes black and white photographs and a filmography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

An essential work of the cinematic history of the Weimar Republic by a leading figure of film criticism First published in 1947, From Caligari to Hitler remains an undisputed landmark study of the rich cinematic history of the Weimar Republic. Prominent film critic Siegfried Kracauer examines German society from 1921 to 1933, in light of such movies as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Metropolis, and The Blue Angel. He explores the connections among film aesthetics, the prevailing psychological state of Germans in the Weimar era, and the evolving social and political reality of the time. Kracauer makes a startling (and still controversial) claim: films as popular art provide insight into the unconscious motivations and fantasies of a nation. With a critical introduction by Leonardo Quaresima which provides context for Kracauer’s scholarship and his contributions to film studies, this Princeton Classics edition makes an influential work available to new generations of cinema enthusiasts.

Documents the work of the often neglected director of the German silent film classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The chapters move chronologically through the different periods of Wiene's career, summarizing and critiquing 90 films he either directed or wrote. Originally published in German, the book includes black and white photographs and a filmography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

“No one does history-meets-the-fantastic like Morrow. The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a great example—Impressionism versus expressionism, psychology in the asylum of ‘dreams,’ the weaponization of art, big laughs and big ideas, a wild imagination, and smooth, subtle writing.” —Jeffrey Ford, author of A Natural History of Hell It is the summer of 1914. As the world teeters on the brink of the Great War, a callow American painter, Francis Wyndham, arrives at a renowned European insane asylum, where he begins offering art therapy under the auspices of Alessandro Caligari—sinister psychiatrist, maniacal artist, alleged sorcerer. And determined to turn the impending cataclysm to his financial advantage, Dr. Caligari will—for a price—allow governments to parade their troops past his masterpiece: a painting so mesmerizing it can incite entire regiments to rush headlong into battle. The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a timely tale that is by turns funny and erotic, tender and bayonet-sharp—but ultimately emerges as a love letter to that mysterious, indispensable thing called art.

Winner of New Diorama, Underbelly and Methuen Drama's Untapped Award 2022 A new Caligari comes to life – accompanied by a five-piece band. Embracing the long shadows and broad brushstrokes of German expressionism, Caligari exposes parallels between post-war Weimar and the UK today: an ever-widening class divide, a subconscious need for a tyrant, and an unwillingness to rebel against deranged authority. The doctor's victims take centre stage in this minty-fresh take on the German horror cult-classic, written by Georgie Bailey and presented by Off West End Award-winning Chewboy Productions. This edition was published to coincide with the production at Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh, in August 2022.

With its jagged, stylised sets, menacing shadows and themes of murder, madness and delirium, Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) remains the source and essence of German Expressionist cinema. Fusing carnival spectacle with the paranoia of the psychological thriller, it centres on the haunting, sexually ambivalent presence of Conrad Veidt as Cesare – the somnambulist exploited as an instrument by the sinister Dr. Caligari. David Robinson challenges long accepted versions of the history and reception of Caligari and redefines its relationship to the larger phenomenon of Expressionist art. His reassessment of the relative contributions of director, designers and writers becomes a fascinating detective story, as he investigates the status and significance of the single surviving copy of the original script, which came to light only in the late 1980s when almost all those involved in the production were dead. This second edition features a new introduction that considers the place of German Expressionist cinema within the European revival of Gothic at the turn of the twentieth century, and original cover artwork by Ben Goodman.