This wonderful film is one that every serious fan of horror and general cinema should own, and the Kino Classics blu ray is the definitive version.
The movie is packaged in a standard blu ray case with a high quality vertical slip cover and an insert with an essay about the making and influence of the film. All in all its nothing special but it gets the job done and the slip case is nice.
Visually this is as close to perfect as I can imagine a nearly 100 year old film could ever be. Damage leftover is minimal, everything is crystal clear down to fibers in clothing and brush strokes on the sets, and the tinting is absolutely striking. This is one of the best restorations of a silent era film I have ever seen.
As far as the audio, there are two tracks, a more "traditional" chamber score and a far more modern, experimental score by Paul D. Miller. The chamber score is phenomenal and feels inseparable from the film, like it should have always accompanied it. The music always perfectly conveys what's happening on the screen and succeeds in creating an unsettling atmosphere. There are also quite a few moments that are surprisingly and wonderfully unconventional, especially the scene where Dr. Caligari is being assaulted by the words "Du musst Caligari werden!"
The Paul D. Miller score, while it doesn't feel difinitive like the chamber score, is mostly fantastic; an eclectic mix of music box like twinkling, ominous sub bass, jazz drums, organ, 80's horror soundtracks, and hip-hop beats. Most of the time, it works extremely well, but sometimes it suffers from sounding a bit too upbeat and it never really reaches the heights it does in the first two acts.
Both scores sound crystal clear, and the chamber score in particular sometimes feels like the orchestra is right there in the room.
The special features are somewhat sparse, but they're quality. The 52 minute documentary "Caligari: How Horror Came to Cinema" is very interesting and contains a lot of great footage and insight into the state of German society and cinema at the height of expressionism.
The image gallery is nice, and the restoration demonstrations, while brief, are truly eye-opening.
I cannot express enough how great this blu-ray is. This restoration is exraordinary and should be seen by everyone.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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DVD
October 20, 2022 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $8.98 | $3.00 |
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DVD
May 28, 2021 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $13.45 | $14.88 |
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Reviews with images
The Kino Blu ray edition is amazing
This review is for the Kino Blu ray edition. This is an amazing version of an amazing movie. The picture and sound are so clear. It reminds me why I fell in love with this movie. I heard of this movie after seeing a production of it in Pittsburgh, while on a school Art History trip. The production was so good, I watched the movie it was based on. I only had a copy my brother found in a thrift store for $5. It was good but the quality was poor. The Kino blu ray is THE edition to buy. It is near perfect and looks like it was filmed today not 100 years ago. 10/10, 5 stars, well worth the money. (The pictures have a bluish tint due to the phone camera not the quality of the film.)
Top reviews from other countries
AmazonCA Customer
Great Restoration and Region Free
Reviewed in Canada on March 18, 2024
paolo palmucci
Il Gabinetto del Dr. Caligari come non lo avete mai visto
Reviewed in Italy on September 25, 2023
paolo palmucci
Reviewed in Italy on September 25, 2023
Images in this review
Tony Byworth
An iconic movie beautifully restored
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2023José María Serralde Ruiz
Estupenda copia como muchas de Kino-Lorber
Reviewed in Mexico on June 7, 2018