The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Blade Runner
P L O T D E V E L O P M E N T
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a silent film that relies heavily on the visuals of the film to tell the story. The film begins with Francis narrating his heroic tale. The story seems simple enough: the mad scientist with his ghastly face, Dr. Caligari, and his killer somnambulist pawn, Cesare, are in town to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting public. The German Expressionist setting seems to flow well with the rest of the film. There does not appear to be any reason to question the veracity of Francis’ narrative. Everything the audience sees appears to add up to a simple murder mystery. The end of the film, however, exposes the final truth about Francis, who in reality is a resident of the insane asylum. The reveal shows that Francis has twisted all truths into a morbid tale; none of his characters act as they are in the real world. The audience realizes only now that everything was not what it first appeared to be.
Faces play a crucial role in the plot of Blade Runner. In the neo-noir sci-fi Los Angeles of 2019, replicants are running loose amongst the human populace. They are identical to humans in almost every way, with the exception of a built-in 4-year life span to shut them down before they can develop real human emotions. The only known method of verifying their replicant identity is through the Voight-Kampff test, where a series of emotional questions relating to the replicant’s programmed memories are asked in order to test the response. The plot then, is based on how the face reveals nothing of the truth. The thought of this is rather uncanny. Everyday social interactions are based primarily on what is seen, or how one reads the subtlest of movements in the face. Being unable to read anything past a false façade can be an alarming thought.