The Soviet montage style in filmmaking is a critical aspect, the films that were made during the movement were very influential and ushered in a new era of filmmaking, with the central aspect of the style being editing. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one film that contributed to the film history and how films were made. Examining the film, and rewriting it with the Soviet montage style would make it more interesting, especially with the collision montage. Collision montage is a technique where the shots are edited such that they are conflicting with one another instead of being linked (Crow). The technique resonates in the mind of the viewer as it creates new concepts in their minds.
Remaking the movie in the style of Soviet montage, I will ensure that the key elements of the story would be highlighted by the collision. The scenes where Francis, Alan, and Jane visit Dr. Caligari, when they are being told about the somnambulist and how he predicts the future, I will combine with the shots of the mental asylum, to tell the viewers that there might be something wrong. The scene where Alan is being killed, I would collide with a scene from the mental asylum too as Francis is being attended to by the director (Perry, 42).
The other part that could be edited to reflect the style of Soviet montage is when the police are investigating the murder and visits the mental asylum, a shot from the present when Francis has been diagnosed will be perfect. Connecting the two will provide a link with what was now happening, that the entire events have been happening in the mind of Francis and that they were barely true (Perry, 42). The film provides an interesting twist as the viewer is led to believe that the director of the mental asylum was DR. Caligari, combining that with the shots where they find the book with Dr. Caligari’s story will also create a connection in the minds of the viewers.
Works Cited
Crow, Jonathan. "A Visual Introduction to Soviet Montage Theory: A Revolution in Filmmaking". Open Culture. N.p., 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Perry, Ted. Masterpieces of Modernist Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006. Print.
