The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

When movies are remade they are usually given a somewhat updated script and the sometimes the actors genders are swapped around. Here however the approach when for a remake is a little different, and very inventive. The original was a silent German film made in 1919 with some of the most eeriest sets ever to be filmed. Director David Lee Fisher's remake of this expressionist film was to digitally restore the backgrounds from the original and then inject the contemporary actors into the scenes. A dialog soundtrack of the actors was also added and this not only gives the story a new dimension but it opens the door for a new generation of viewers who might have backed away from the silent original.
When a string of murders plagues a small town a hypnotist, Dr. Caligari, and his clairvoyant sleepwalker seem to have the air of suspicion about them but it's clear that things are not what they appear to be, with the murders or the doctor. Keeping the feel of the original film with the backgrounds was a stroke of genius and short of a couple of spots where the overlay isn't perfect the audience is given a rare treat to see one of the groundbreaking films from the early days of movies. The likenesses between the actors from 1919 and this new film are strikingly similar and with the movements of the actors mirrored in the newer film from the old this current day audience is shown what the original felt like.
The original is one of my favorite films, and when I first heard that it was being remade I had a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach. But after seeing a documentary about the process that was used for the remake and the effort the filmmakers went to too keep the expressionist feel to the film it piqued my interest. Now after seeing it I can truly say that where the original was a piece of art, this remake disserves to be right there next to it. I know that there are a lot of people who don't like to watch silent films for one reason or another, but where this film has a dialog soundtrack it should bring some of those poor souls around to see one of the earliest horror films to date.