Before DR CALIGARI, There Was FEAR (1917)

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[00:00:04]It's an age-old question. If you knew the exact date you were going to die, how would you handle your life?

[00:00:11]The 1917 horror film Fear provides a comprehensive and compelling answer.

[00:00:18]Directed by Robert Wiene, his last project before the genre-defining Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, it was also his first collaboration with that film's breakout star, Conrad Veidt.

[00:00:29]The actor was still at the beginning of his career here, so he is delegated a supporting role.

[00:00:35]Still, his character easily is the most mysterious and spooky among the cast, largely thanks to Veidt's slender, sinister on-screen nature.

[00:00:45]An intriguing glimpse into the incredible roles he would soon execute.

[00:00:50]Produced in the first year of his film career, Fear is additionally noteworthy as the oldest surviving Conrad Veidt performance we have.

[00:00:58]His other four films that year are currently classified as lost.

[00:01:03]So, what is Fear about?

[00:01:05]Fear.

[00:01:06]Well, then. See you next week.

[00:01:08]No, a very streamlined but gripping hook is deployed at once.

[00:01:13]An affluent, happy-go-lucky count returns home from years abroad, traveling the world in search of rare and pricey treasures.

[00:01:21]Except, it is eminently apparent that something is seriously wrong with the man.

[00:01:27]His famously positive disposition has been replaced with an overbearing cocktail of paranoia, anxiety, anger, and yes, fear.

[00:01:37]He demands to be left alone. He wants the doors locked, the curtains drawn.

[00:01:43]Likewise, I was drawn right in.

[00:01:45]What on earth has reduced this guy to such a wreck?

[00:01:49]Well, in his travels, he journeyed to India, where he heard tales of a special Buddha statue.

[00:01:56]It could cure the sick, ease the minds of the depressed, that kind of jazz.

[00:02:02]Like a typical European, Count Greven wanders right in and steals the treasure for himself.

[00:02:09]He escapes, but the proclaimed wrath from the Indian priest, played by Conrad Veidt, has shaken the boots right off his feet.

[00:02:17]The paranoia digs so deep, Greven is at the point of seeking the coward's way out when he spots Michael Myers precursor loitering outside the window.

[00:02:26]The priest has come.

[00:02:28]But, does he put the count out of his misery?

[00:02:31]No. Instead, he lets the count know that he will die exactly 7 years from today at the hand of the one who loves him most.

[00:02:40]Without elaborating further, he buggers off.

[00:02:43]What a nifty twist. What a personal hell for our protagonist. Prolonging this paranoia out for 7 years, or so I thought.

[00:02:52]Greven is given an instant lust for life.

[00:02:55]He's got a window, a relatively limited one, but he proclaims he will live to the fullest.

[00:03:02]Again, in typical fashion, that translates to instantly starting a life of drunken debauchery.

[00:03:08]Carpe diem, my friend. Carpe diem.

[00:03:12]Eventually, this grows tiresome for the count, thus already showing the cracks in his restored glee.

[00:03:19]There are only so many days left, so he tries to fast track an entire life.

[00:03:25]He jumps from common human ambitions one by one.

[00:03:28]No sooner does he achieve his goal and he's burning bridges and onto the next thing.

[00:03:33]To put it in other terms, he acts like a total count, but without the O.

[00:03:40]One of these important lifetime desires is to take a wife, which occurs when he meets Lady Greven.

[00:03:48]She is, as they used to say in 1917, a boo-ya-hottie.

[00:03:54]So, he's finally found love, and if we recall the priest's threat, maybe you can see where the horror is heading.

[00:04:01]Maybe, or maybe not.

[00:04:09]Fear is, at its heart, a deeply human tale. And I think that's why it continues to resonate so well over a century after its release.

[00:04:20]If this were to be remade for the 21st century, and I would absolutely love to do so myself, Glevin's wants and actions wouldn't change all that much.

[00:04:31]Though, if you come into the film expecting a Caligari-type experience, as I sort of did, you might be a little put off.

[00:04:44]As you can see from the clips, Fear lacks that film's signature production design, that German expressionist feel, opting for a more grounded style that fits the more realistic narrative.

[00:04:56]However, Robert Wiene's fingerprints are still keenly felt.

[00:05:01]Wiene often dealt in paranoid cinema, take Hands of Orlac as a prime example.

[00:05:06]Fear is an extreme dive into that concept.

[00:05:11]Even when Glevin becomes joyful and everything is good, the audience can still feel the weight of that constantly ticking clock.

[00:05:20]Glevin can, too, even if he's trying to mask it.

[00:05:24]It's just an insanely brilliant method to inspire anticipation and paranoia for the remainder of the movie.

[00:05:32]The notion that the priest may or may not be a figment of this man's crumbling mind is also right in line with the director's more famous films.

[00:05:41]When Glevin's psyche really starts to crack in the third act, we are presented with some of the ghostly tricks he would repeat in Orlac, although in a more basic form.

[00:05:52]Conrad Veidt's part is limited, but remains distinct.

[00:05:56]Like the ticking clock motif, I was always anticipating his character's return.

[00:06:01]The actor was simply effortless when it came to these types of roles.

[00:06:05]So, yeah, it's fascinating to witness the origins of all that.

[00:06:10]Fear could have benefited from a little more of his presence, true.

[00:06:15]To have him obliquely swatted about during the second act would not be appropriate, but blink and you'll miss it disguised images or appearances could have been really creepy.

[00:06:26]So, with Veidt mostly absent, this basically becomes the Bruno De Carli show.

[00:06:31]His whiplash states of being are channeled astutely.

[00:06:36]He's a strange, complicated character once the story gets going, and a curious one to keep an eye on throughout.

[00:06:43]De Carli is at his best when he's having a nervous breakdown, which luckily for us, is rather frequent.

[00:06:52]Could the film be trimmed down slightly?

[00:06:54]Sure. There are many instances of characters gesticulating about, but get the point across, but then continue for another minute.

[00:07:02]Hey, that's silent cinema for you.

[00:07:05]The cut I watched was a more recently discovered full print running around 72 minutes long, but for quite some time, the only surviving print was closer to the 50-minute mark.

[00:07:16]I have not seen that version, admittedly, so I'm not sure if it has been trimmed down in the {quote} unquote correct way, or if scenes of important value were lost instead, etc. In any case, I still heartily recommend the full-length version, which, let's be honest, is still only a third of your average movie length today.

[00:07:37]I also recommend leaving other people's stuff alone. It's not difficult.

[00:07:42]>> It's not difficult.