The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari [1920]

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (original title: Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari) is a 1920 silent film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the earliest, most influential and most artistically acclaimed German Expressionist films.

Shortly after World War 1, the art house production 'Dr. Caligari' hit the public with a new approach to film, and the way in which its viewed as a whole.

I have chosen to analyse this German expressionist film in order to gain further knowledge concerning technique and how this film has influence animators including Tim Burton and Brothers Quay.
Like brother's Quay the soundtrack consistes of string instruments only, creating an ominous atmosphere.

The film tells the story of the deranged Dr. Caligari and his faithful sleepwalking Cesare, and their connection to a string of murders in a German mountain village, Holstenwall. Caligari presents one of the earliest examples of a motion picture "frame story" in which the body of the plot is presented as a flashback, as told by Francis.



The main aspect i adore about this production is the set, which consists of painted canvas'. this relates to theatre, and enables the audience to percive the film from different view points. strange objects and fractured shapes connotes the state of mind Germany were in after the war. Having lost, Germany must of feltconfussed about their identity, therefore they were conveying this though the broken shapes and confussion of layout, which has been clevery set up by Robert Wiene.

The set of Tim Burton's 'Vincent', bares incredible resemblence to this film. The abstract shapes and fractured frames create a whole different approach to the film, but carry different meaning for Tim Burton.

Guillermo Del Toro's - Pan's Labyrinth

Visionary director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II, The Devils Backbone) creates a richly unique and inspirational epic with Pan's Labyrinth, a Gothic folk/fairy tale set against a very real postwar era of Franco's Spain.

In the opening sequences of the film we are introduced to the protagonist Ofelia. The audience instantly sympathises with her lust to explore and discover the untainted forest, which surrounds the military outpost. Her position in a remote military outpost is apparent due to her new step father 'commander', who demands that her sick pregnant mother give birth in his presence.

Powerless and lonely in a place of great danger, Ofelia lives out her own dark fable as she confronts monsters both otherworldly and human after she discovers a neglected, decaying labyrinth behind the family home. There she meets Pan, a fantastical creature (faun) who challenges her with three tasks which he claims will reveal her true royal identity.

The surreal ambient nature of the labyrinth is present through the filming style, colours and textures. the military outpost is visually unexciting (camouflage, tents, huts etc), whereas the labyrinth is full of spirals carved into the walls and majestic deep blue colours, that suggest a spiritual link. in order to capture the environment of the labyrinth and the places Ofelia must visit, Toro uses wide pans and often cuts to long shots.

From my perspective Guillermo has created a film everyone can relate to, he has created an underlying sub-text, which explores the struggle every individual take in order to discover their identity. the metaphoric Gothic fairy tale connotes a dream like state of the subconscious mind. I believe that the exaggerated occurrences are a reflection on how people in reality struggle to discover who they really are.

Tim Burton's - 'Vincent'

"One person's crazyness is another person's reality."

Tim Burton, born in Burbank August 25, 1958 , often describes his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. From an early age he watched horror and low budget films in order to escape from reality. As a teen growing up in Burbank, he staged an axe murder with his brother to scare the neighbours, prompting one to call the police, and this is how he got a nickname, 'Axe Wound'.

On occasion Burton has mentioned the "weirdness" of growing up in close proximity to Valhalla Cemetery in Burbank.After high school, he won a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. After his first job working as a cell painter on Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings, Burton was hired by the Walt Disney Studios as an animator apprentice. Burton was dissatisfied with the artistic direction of 'The Fox and the Hound', Disney refused Burton's character designs, commenting on the fact they were in opposition to Disney's desires, "look like roadkill'.

In 1982, Burton made his first short, Vincent 5:52 min. black and white stop-motion film based around a poem he wrote, depicting a young boy who fantasizes that he is his (and Burton's) screen idol Vincent Price, with Price himself providing narration.Burton's girlfriend at the time produced the short, She was an executive at Disney. During production, Burton maintained an office at The Disney Studios.they also worked together to co-authored a screenplay titled "True Love."

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQcBKUPm8o

The protagonist being the young boy Vincent, Burton styled on himself. the animation follows Vincent, in what looks like, 'a day in the life of Vincent Malloy'. But its much more than that. clever use of lighting and the stop motion frame rate, Burton switches between reality and the boy's corrupt imagination, where he believes himself to be Vincent Price.

“I've always been more comfortable making my decisions from the subconscious level, or more emotionally, because I find it is more truthful to me, Intellectually, I don't think like that because I get uncomfortable. I'm more wary of my intellectual mind, of becoming delusional if I think of it too much.”

critics found similarities between Vincent and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Burton says the film "just happens to be shot in black and white, and there's a Vincent Price/Gothic kind of thing that makes it feel that way. . . .I think it probably has more to do with being inspired by Dr. Seuss. . . The rhythm of his stuff spoke to me very clearly. Dr. Seuss's books were perfect: right number of words, the right rhythm, great subversive stories."

The film noir style supports the sinister and bizarre narrative. the connotations lead me to believe that Burton is relating back to his own childhood, and how he used to cause mischief pretending to be in a horror film. i am captivated by this animation, especially when the character's imagination pushes reality aside, then seemingly twists and contorts the innocents of the boys subconscious. It all seems to be a dream, this is portrayed by the clever transitions between Vincent's imagination and reality.

In order to show the corruption and the disintegration of the young child's mind the imagination world is constantly covered in darkness. Twisted, bizarre shapes and experimental camera angles capture this well. I have noticed that in the reality, camera angles rarely strays from a long shot, this distances the audience from Vincent as a character.To keep the focus on Vincent, Burton doesn' t allow the viewer to connect with the transient charaters, this is achievable as there are no frames containing any close ups only long and over shoulder shots, all seen from the perspective of Vincent.When in the form of Vincent Price, the range of camera angles expands in order to capture every subtle movement and tiny detail. In my opinion i feel as if Tim Burton wants us as an audience to connect with the subconscious world.

The Brothers Quay - 'Street of Crocodiles'

Twin brothers born in Philadelphia, USA, but worked primarily in Britain. The Brothers Quay, as they are known, owe much to Svankmajer's inspiration which include Street of Crocodiles (1986), which presents a complex vision of a duty, decaying world where the overpowering feeling is one of claustrophobia and Kafkaesque confusion.For all their originality, the Quay brothers' films acknowledge the Eastern European heritage of puppet film -making, a tradition which itself springs from the long and distinguished heritage of the puppet theatre. The Quay brother's successfully a rustic, raw and sinister result by using desposed gaunt puppets.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uWtaGI9zuIY

The opening sequence is live action, the character enters the screen whistling, immediately adding to the eerie setting of what looks to be an abandoned theatre. The animation is slowly introduced through the close up planning shots, which draw our attention to a rustic machine, which, at a hasty glance would resemble nothing more than theatre equipment. The soundtrack is limited to violins, however this creates a ominous atmosphere and enhances the erratic transitions and temperamental tempo changes.The desolate ambiance and haunting musical score convey a sense of isolation and futility, forcing the viewer into immediate identification with the mute protagonist as he explores a realm of mechanical realities and manufactured pleasures.

Rather than focusing on the general purpose of objects (screws, dust, string), in the majority of shots show the brother's examining the movements an enable the objects to inherit characteristics. I really enjoy watching this animation to follow the protagonist as the story unfolds to reveal an almost passionless cycle of existence. I feel I can relate to this, as from time to time I step back and look at my existence and question myself. Do i make a difference and enjoy my life? or, Do i live in a cycle of recurrences like a TV re-run?

Internet.
Cracking Animation by Peter lord and Brian Sibley.

Bill Plympton - 'Idiots and Angels'

Bill Plympton was born in Portland, Oregon, to Don and Wilda Plympton. From 1964 to 1968, he attended Portland State University, where he was a member of the film society and worked on the yearbook. In 1968, he transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Idiots and Angels is a dark comedy about a man’s battle for his soul. Angel is a selfish, abusive, morally bankrupt man who hangs out at his local bar, berating the other patrons. One day, Angel mysteriously wakes up with a pair of wings on his back. The wings make him do good deeds, contrary to his nature. He desperately tries to rid himself of the good wings, but eventually finds himself fighting those who view the wings as their ticket to fame and fortune.



I came across the genius that is Bill Plympton whilst at the Holland Animation Festival in Utrecht. I am still captivated by outcome he achieves from using erratic pencil sketches. The final result is astonishing due to the atmosphere created from the technique he adopted.


Im afraid to say you can only view snip-bits at this address: www.idiotsandangels.com/videos



The animation contains high moralistic values, which Plympton uses to his advantage by exagerating situations and stereotyping characters and locations, for example when Angel enters the local bar there is a significant negative space between him and the bar, which he has to travel across. i believe Plympton uses this space to re-enforce the idea that Angel is and acoholic and the drink seems soo far away.Angel's life seems dull, he wears a grey suit, has a monotone apartment, not much colour or lust for life. Ater arriving at the bar more colours come into play as there are transient characters introduced and their personalities are present through their actions and colours they wear.


In conclusion, 'Idiots and Angels' is a great animation captured through Bill Plympton's unique approach to moralistic values and codes ad conventions of film.