News Releases


October 21, 2010
For Immediate Release
For additional information: 
Barbara Kerr, APR
Executive Director of
Communications and Marketing
Telephone: 360-992-2921
Email: bkerr@clark.edu

 

A moody masterpiece.  
A memorable performance.

Musician Gideon Freudmann will accompany 
the German Expressionist film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” 
at a special presentation at Clark College on Wed. Oct. 27

 

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Described as a milestone of the silent film era, the German classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” will be presented at Clark College on Wed. Oct. 27 with a live performance by Gideon Freudmann on the electric cello.

The event, which is hosted by the Clark College German Club, is free and open to the public.  It will take place from 7-9 p.m. in the Penguin Student Lounge, located in the Penguin Union Building on Clark’s main campus.  Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver.  Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps.

Seating will begin at approximately 6:45 p.m. and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Clark College German professor Julian Nelson said, “The film is a moody masterpiece of German Expressionism rendered all the more powerful with Gideon’s musical accompaniment.” 

Nelson added, “Gideon has been performing silent film soundtracks for over a decade and is most renowned for producing one of the finest soundtracks ever to ‘Dr. Caligari.’ The performance promises to be a real treat for our students and members of our community.”

Information about Gideon Freudmann is available at http://www.cellobop.com.

About “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”

A critic noted, “A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first ‘art films’ to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets –distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture – was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond.”

####