Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Dr. Caligari 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 16, 2023

Stephen Sayadian's "Dr. Caligari" (1989) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro. The supplemental features on the release include new program with the director; new program with Madeleine Reynal and Laura Albert; restored original theatrical trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Stephen Sayadian declares that everything in his film Dr. Caligari was scripted and storyboarded. I am sure Sayadian tells the truth. Why would he lie? However, I find this extremely hard to believe because I cannot quite understand how a film like Dr. Caligari can be done this way. I will explain why in a moment.

Apparently, Sayadian worked on the screenplay for Dr. Caligari with Jerry Stahl -- yes, this is the same writer who years later scripted Bad Boys II -- and the two were always on the same page. This is also very strange. However, according to Sayadian, the original idea for Dr. Caligari came from the owner of Excalibur Films, once the biggest seller of adult films in America, who cut a check for $100,000 to see it made into a film. He was confident that Sayadian was the right man for the job because he had already directed the X-rated project Café Flesh and met the expectations.

So, sometime during the 1980s, the man flooding the American home video market with adult videos decides to finance a low-budget American remake of one of the greatest films ever made and calls Sayadian, who promptly answers. All of this I get. Even though agreeing to do a remake of a film that has Caligari in its title sounds a lot like agreeing to spend an entire night in a cage with a polar bear, I sort of understand why a desperate director might want to do it. What if you get out of the cage alive, right?

But this is where everything quickly becomes very random and ultimately utterly perplexing. The only two elements of this remake that can potentially be traced back to the iconic film are the presence of a character with the name Caligari and the existence of the asylum where this character is active. The rest is a whole lot of pointless rambling and odd behavior of the kind that you would witness in Richard Elfman’s Forbidden Zone. By the way, a small but perhaps important detail -- the new Dr. Caligari is a young and very attractive woman (Madeleine Reynal) who apparently knows a lot about sex.

This is why I find it extremely hard to believe that Dr. Caligari was scripted and storyboarded. How exactly do you do this? Ninety-nine percent of all behavior that is captured by the camera seems completely irrational, a lot like a side effect from the consumption of a powerful drug. It does have an arty flavor, but this is not something that makes a positive difference. In fact, it is not at all difficult to argue that it makes the finished project look even more ridiculous.

According to Sayadian, the tiny budget unleashed his creativity and he was happy to do all production designs and art direction, too. I must admit that some of the stage decors are unique. However, their placement and function look just as random as the exchanges between Dr. Caligari and her patients. Indeed, other than allowing the actors to appear busy doing something in front of the camera, I just could not tell what makes them meaningful. Needless to say, my eyes very quickly tired of them and my mind switched into I-do-not-care mode.

Dr. Caligari could appeal to a very small group of viewers who like to experiment with kooky films. It does look different. However, I personally found its kookiness more than a bit pretentious. To be honest, considering that Sayadian had some experience shooting X-rated material, I think that he should have directed an adult parody featuring the famous character. This film may not have dramatically altered his career either, but at least it would have made sense. Dr. Caligari does not make any sense at all. It just wastes the viewer’s time while pretending, very badly, to be something it never could have been.

Dr. Caligari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you have seen our review of Mondo Macabro's Blu-ray release of Dr Caligari, you already know how I feel about the 4K restoration of the film. It is an all-around winner that looks sensational in 1080p.

Please note that all screencaptures that appear with this article were taken from the 4K Blu-ray disc and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the native 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

The 4K Blu-ray release -- which does not come with a standard Blu-ray disc -- looks equally impressive. In fact, after testing it earlier tonight, I think that it is very easy to place among the best looking 4K Blu-ray releases. Yes, it is true that the entire Dr. Caligari was shot in a controlled environment, which makes it a lot easier to consistently get great looking footage, but this is not the main reason the 4K restoration and its presentation on 4K Blu-ray (and Blu-ray) is so impressive. The basic qualities of the 4K makeover are outstanding, meaning that all of the native filmic qualities of Dr. Caligari are properly retained. It sounds very simple, but it is not. Color reproduction in particular is so convincingly handled that even when I was viewing the 1080p presentation, I felt that the dynamic range of the visuals was already at or around native 4K level(s). In other words, when the 4K makeover is of exceptionally high-quality, the 1080p and 4K presentations look equally impressive.

So, is there a big difference in quality between the Blu-ray release and the 4K Blu-ray release of Dr. Caligari? The native 4K presentation has not been graded with HDR or Dolby Vision, but I do not think that it would have looked notably different if it were. Why? Because color reproduction is already terrific. Also, darker areas reveal superb ranges of nuances. On my system, I could not spot any meaningful discrepancies in the density levels of the visuals. Fluidity is fantastic, too. If you upscale the Blu-ray to 4K, I think that you will effectively match the quality of the native 4K presentation. This may not be the case if you project on a very large screen, but on a TV set, regardless of its size, you will more than likely experience an almost identical quality. Obviously, the entire film still looks spotless.

Dr. Caligari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report while testing the 4K Blu-ray release, which is why I am resubmittig my comments from the review of the Blu-ray release.

Dr. Caligari was made with a tiny budget and its production limitations easily show. Indeed, while all dialog and recitations are very clear and easy to follow, dynamic contrasts are underwhelming. But, to be entirely honest, they are not needed either. The ones that the music score manages to produce along the way are more than adequate. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Dr. Caligari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Beyond the Door - in this new program, director Stephen Sayadian discusses the genesis of Dr. Caligari, its funding and production, and some particular choices he made once the cast was secured and her began shooting. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• Meet the Doctor - in this new program, Madeleine Reynal recalls how she auditioned for the part of Dr. Caligari and what it was like to work with Stephen Sayadian and the rest of the actors that were hired. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• The Scanalous Mrs. Van Houten - in this new program, Laura Albert recalls her initial impression of the screenplay for Dr. Caligari, the audition process, and the she did during the production of the film. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Bongo His Glug-Glugs - in this new program, co-writer Jerry Stahl remembers the time when he collaborated with Stephen Sayadian on Dr. Caligari and comments on how the film turned out. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a fully restored original theatrical trailer for Dr. Caligari. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Stephen Sayadian.

• Music and Effects Track - presented as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

Dr. Caligari 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of my all-time favorite films, like Underground and Belle de jour, can quite easily be described as strange. I enjoy surreal films too, like La Grande Bouffe and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I had never seen Dr. Caligari before and hoped that it would be that kind of different film, a little crazy, witty, and visually impressive. Well, I must admit that I was quite disappointed by it. It feels very random and at times even pretentious, so I was barely able to reach its finale.

This 4K Blu-ray release offers a predictably excellent technical presentation of the 4K restoration of Dr. Caligari. It does not come with a Dolby Vision or HDR grade, but I honestly do not think that such a grade would have made a meaningful difference because the quality of the 4K makeover and its presentation are superb. So, if you are a fan of Dr. Caligari and feel that you absolutely must have it on 4K Blu-ray, Mondo Macabro has a gift for you.