No abstract

This article poses a question previously overlooked in the tremendous body of research on Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari: why does the cabinet take such a prominent place in the title alongside the protagonist? The question is approached through a reading of the Caligari screenplay, which reveals that its narrative can be fruitfully conceived as a struggle of ‘evil spaces’. Pursuing the origins of this original spatial structure, the article uncovers a close connection between the script and the popular fantasy novels of the early twentieth century, in particular the only novel by the Austrian graphic artist Alfred Kubin. It is finally argued that acknowledging this connection to fantasy novels as well as the importance of the spatial structure in the Caligari script allows us to reconsider the crude opposition between the script’s narrative and the film’s set design that is prevalent in the existing research on the film.

The article explores the question of whether screenplays can be defined and interpreted based solely on their functional relation to film. It argues that another aspect of the screenplay/film relationship is crucial for a more precise definition and reading of scripts, namely the textual simulation of film as a medium. This argument is first made on a theoretical basis and supported by an analogy with the relationship between drama and theatre. The second half of the article illustrates and expands the theoretical claims in a close reading of the silent film script Sylvester written by German screenwriter Carl Mayer and published in 1924. In particular, it is argued, Mayer’s acclaimed ‘expressionist’ writing style does not aim at performing any function in the potential film production, but rather reflects a certain view on the media-related specifics of film and the possibilities of their verbal representation.

This is an abridged and partially elaborated version of a roundtable discussion that took place via Zoom on 17 September 2021 as part of the SRN2021 Research Seminar Series Online and of a follow-up session held via Zoom on 15 November 2021. In keeping with the theme of SRN2021, ‘Pushing Boundaries’, this discussion was an opportunity to raise a few questions about whether and how, as Screenwriting Research Network (SRN), over the years we have defined our own boundaries in terms of scholarship and as a field, as well as how we can keep challenging ourselves when looking at the future. Involving both veterans and younger members of the SRN, it sets forth by taking stock of some significant achievements of the past fifteen years or so to then focus on issues of global outreach as well as methodological openness and rigour. After acknowledging some of the most pressing obstacles and opportunities within and outside academia, the discussion wraps up by looking at the distinctiveness of the SRN as an arena for research and discussion.

Review of: A Tale from Constantinople: The History of a Film that Never Was, Bo Florin and Patrick Vonderau (2019)Höör: Brutus Östlings Bokförlag Symposion, 248 pp.,ISBN 978-9-18748-341-7, p/bk, SEK 200 (approx. $24)