Caligari's Children: The Film as Tale of Terror

by S.S. Prawer

Book Overview

"The terror film, with puzzling, disturbing, multivalent images, often leads us into regions that are strange, disorienting, yet somehow familiar; and for all the crude and melodramatic and morally questionable forms in which we so often encounter it, it does speak of something true and important, and offers us encounters with hidden aspects of ourselves and our world."

So writes S. S. Prawer in his concise and penetrating study of the horror film--from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Frankenstein, to Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Omen. After a brief history of the horror genre in film, Prawer offers detailed analyses of specific sequences from various films, such as Murnau's Nosferatu. He discusses continuities between literary and cinematic tales, and shows what happens when one is transformed into the other.
Unpatronizing and scholarly, Prawer draws on a wide range of sources in order to better situate a genre that is both enormously popular with contemporary audiences and of increasing critical importance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 030680347X
• ISBN13: 9780306803475
• Release Date: March 1989
• Publisher: Da Capo
• Length: 330 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This really is "The Film as Tale of Terror"

This book has more depth and comparisons than the title implies. It is about many films from different eras and locations. They are categorized by types more than times or locations. They are compared to the original scripts or books and the authors. These book discuses the different media types and what is best designed for the different media. The word terror and horror are interchanged in the book so that there is no distinction. This is more of a psychological book than it is of a media. However I had to put it down several times to catch up on the films and people discussed in the book. I was ready for the German silent films but the scope is much greater. It also includes theater.

This really is "The Film as Tale of Terror"

This book has more depth and comparisons than the title implies. It is about many films from different eras and locations. They are categorized by types more than times or locations. They are compared to the original scripts or books and the authors. These book discuses the different media types and what is best designed for the different media. The word terror and horror are interchanged in the book so that there is no distinction. This is more of a psychological book than it is of a media. However I had to put it down several times to catch up on the films and people discussed in the book. I was ready for the German silent films but the scope is much greater. It also includes theater.