First published in 1947 From Caligari to Hitler remains an undisputed landmark study of the
rich cinematic history of the Weimar Republic. Prominent film critic Siegfried Kracauer
examines German society from 1921 to 1933 in light of such movies as The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari M Metropolis and The Blue Angel. He explores the connections among film aesthetics
the prevailing psychological state of Germans in the Weimar era and the evolving social and
political reality of the time. Kracauer makes a startling (and still controversial) claim:
films as popular art provide insight into the unconscious motivations and fantasies of a
nation. With a critical introduction by Leonardo Quaresima which provides context for
Kracauer's scholarship and his contributions to film studies this Princeton Classics edition
makes an influential work available to new generations of cinema enthusiasts.
