Directed by Robert Wiene
Awaken for a moment from your dark night.
I have seen this film before. However, I am beginning to realize that my memory is not particularly good. I suppose that fact makes this project all the more exciting because I feel like I am watching these films for the first time. To be fair, the version I watched last night has been restored and is tinted with amber, blue, and pink to denote different locations and/or times of the day and a modern soundtrack has been added. It is a far cry from the version I would have seen twenty years ago.
The most fantastic thing about this film is the way it looks - the angles, the patterns, the distortions all work to make you feel disoriented and uneasy. The topsy turvy sets are an invitation to leave real-world expectations behind. It is a tale of insanity and murder, control and submission, delusion and authority, apathy and horror. While it is a century old it feels so very relevant to modern struggles. Its portrayal of the dark side of humanity will always be horrifying.