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Blog Post 3: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Welcome to The Blogging Brooke


     I believe that the 1920's horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a cinematic masterpiece for its time. Although, there was not many cinematography aspects that stood out to me, one thing that caught my attention throughout the film was its use of music to enhance its story telling.

    In the beginning of the film, when the two men were seeing Jane walk by them, the music was subtle and soft. However, during Alan's murder scene, the music was higher pitched and had a quicker tempo to build suspense and draw the viewers attention towards the screen. 

 
  When Francis, Alan's friend, found out that he was murdered, he leaves the vicinity and walks down a flight of stairs. As he is walking, his footsteps match the non-diegetic (sound in films that the character can not hear) and whilst in his somber state, the music turns quiet, representing his grieving. 

    When Francis tells Jane that Alan has been murdered, the shift in music goes from soft to harsh. The harsh sound is seemingly created by trumpets, clarinets, and tubas or a trombone. The film is using contradicting sounds to emit sadness. The quieter music we hear represents the sadness Francis and Jane are feeling, while the louder music represents the discovery of this untimely event and the anger/disappointment they are feeling.

    While the police are searching Caligari's house, the music is similar to that heard in the Sherlock Holmes films to resemble an investigation. The music is quicker paced to represent a chaotic and overthinking mind. 

    When Dr. Caligari invites Jane, the daughter of Dr. Olfen into his tent, she realizes that something is out of the ordinary. When on the look for her father, Dr. Caligari ends up showing her Cesare and the music starts accelerating to enhance the feeling of her being frightened at what she is witnessing.

    The scene then changes to Cesare entering Janes house while she is sleeping with a knife in his hand. The music suddenly gains speed, but the music continues to stay upbeat. From this, I have come to the conclusion that Cesare might be mentally unstable and he is the murderer that the investigators have been looking for. The upbeat music symbolizes his insanity and how he my view his actions as being a joke.

    Music is a very important aspect of film. Sound can gain an audiences attention while also emitting different emotions. As seen in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the music enhanced the tone of the scene by replacing dialogue with instrumental sound effects. 

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