It also was the first film in the German Expressionist movement. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, German Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, German silent horror film, released in 1920, that is widely considered the first great work in the genre. SYNOPSIS: One of the most iconic masterpieces in cinema history, Robert Wiene's Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari shook filmgoers worldwide and changed the direction of the art form.