The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: silent horror film comes to 4K with three separate score options

Two of the most popular horror films from the silent era are F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu from 1922 and director Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which was first released in 1920. So while Nosferatu gets a revival of sorts through Robert Eggers’ remake, which is set to reach theatres in December, and the Symphony of Horror “remix,” it seems fitting that The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is also getting some loving attention this year, as Kino Lorber is set to give the film a 4K UHD and Blu-ray release on October 22nd! This “authoritative edition” of the film features a meticulous 4K restoration by the F.W. Murnau Stiftung, along with a new orchestral score composed by Emmy winner Jeff Beal (House of Cards). Beal’s score had its premiere performance at Carnegie Hall on June 3rd… but if you want to try out the movie with different music, the 4K and Blu-ray discs will also feature an orchestral score that was composed in 2014, and the Blu-ray has a third score option, one by Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky.

The Blu-ray also features the 52 minute documentary Caligari: How Horror Came to the Cinema and a restoration demonstration. An audio commentary by composer Jeff Beal will be found on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs, as will an audio description for the vision-impaired.

Here’s some more information: In 1920, one brilliant movie jolted the postwar masses and catapulted the German Expressionist film movement into history. That movie was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. Director Robert Wiene and a team of visionary designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetrate a series of ghastly murders in a small community.

Copies of the 4K UHD and Blu-ray release are available for pre-order through the Kino Lorber website.

Are you a fan of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and will you be buying the 4K UHD and Blu-ray release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.