Credits and Titles
The shocking imagery that are the opening credits of the film have lost a great deal of their shock value after a century of filmmaking. Two things are important to keep in mind: one, silent films treated text on the screen with all the value that today’s filmmakers place on CGI. Text and the ability to easily read it was essential to telling the story. Therefore, text onscreen at the same was dominated by recognizable typefaces that were easy to interpret. By contrast, the lettering that makes up the opening credits of Caligari looks like the handwriting of someone who just might belong in an insane asylum. Just like the set design and the cinematography, even the opening credits are designed to reflect a state of mind that is quite abnormal, a perspective that is unquestionably out of step with expectations. This remains true throughout the title cards that deliver dialogue and exposition.
Cesare Abducting Jane
One of the most iconic images in all of silent film history is that of Cesare trying to make his escape in the night after abducting Jane from her home. His tall thin frame is silhouetted against the impossible architecture of the off-kilter perspectives of buildings and smokestacks as he carries the seemingly lifeless body of the young woman like a sack of potatoes or money. He walks into the night, over the strangely angled buildings, almost as if he has unusual powers. The image is striking in its uncanniness. It is horrific not because it is gory or startling, but because it presents a world that is out of sorts.
Francis in the Courtyard
The opening scene features a curious moment in which a woman in white walks like a zombie through the courtyard past where Francis sits on bench, preparing to relate his narrative to an older man. The imagery here is bizarre. The man next to Francis is wild-eyed and Francis claims the odd woman in white is the woman he is going to marry, though she doesn’t even seem to realize he is there. The imagery here conveys that all is not as it seems and that, in fact, Francis does not seem likely to be the most reliable narrator. And yet, the viewer cannot help but get caught up in his version of the truth.
Cesare Emerging from the Cabinet
Dr. Caligari's tent at the fair is particularly striking visually. As Alan and Francis file in with the other spectators, Caligari takes his place on the stage and is lit from below, which creates an ominous and otherworldly effect. After making a dramatic speech, he invites Cesare to come out of the cabinet, and the Somnambulist slowly makes his way out into the light. His features are all the more dramatically lit by the under-lighting because of his gaunt and angular complexion. His eyes are wide and he has dark painted circles under his eyes and a turtleneck. He looks like a twisted and monstrous mime or performance artist, only without any inner life or free will of his own.
