If you really like the film, it's well-worth having both DVDs (especially since a DVD still costs about as much or even less than we used to spend for a one-reel 16mm B&W dupe of something). Both versions are color tinted and have English intertitles (each a slightly different translation and tinting) with lettering that copies the style used in the original German release.
The Image version has a somewhat better picture overall and shows more of the top of the frame (although it has a potentially annoying printed-through frameline inherent in the preprint, which the Kino version simply crops out). The Image DVD has a very fine, semi-avant-garde orchestra score by Timothy Brock that is well in keeping with the mood and style of the film, and it also has an audio commentary that is very good (although might state a lot of what veteran silent buffs already know).
The Kino DVD has some distorted picture towards the beginning, like film that was left in the toner too long and had a halo effect around things and in black areas, almost a "solarized" effect, but is otherwise pretty good and sharp, though it has some different color tint/tone choices. On the Kino version there is no audio commentary, but there is a choice of two different musical scores, both good in their own ways. One is another avant-garde orchestra score (good but not quite as involving as the Image score) and the other is a somewhat more traditional but still avant-gardish synthesizer score by Donald Sosin.
I like all three scores, but tend to prefer the Image score, and Image's audio commentary is very useful for students and for silent film (especially German expressionism) newbies. I also like the Image picture quality somewhat better--although it seems just a hair softer than Kino's, it shows more of the picture in most shots, and does not have the annoying distortion that Kino's shows during the first several minutes. The biggest advantage of the Kino DVD, besides a choice of two different scores, is that its bonus materials include a nearly complete abridgement of the very odd film GENUINE (which is given a 3-minute excerpt as a bonus on the Image disc), and it has a brief clip of the CALIGARI with its original German intertitles.
It would be nice to see an "ultimate" version of CALIGARI (maybe one of the first Blu-Ray silent features?), like Kino's great NOSFERATU and POTEMKIN 2-disc sets, that have the original German or Russian titled version on one disc (with optional English subtitles) and the English titled version on the other disc, as well as a new 5.1 recording of the original 1922 or 1926 score. I suppose it's cheaper, or at least much less work, just to make two discs rather than design one disc with seamless branching or "alternate angle" options to display separate English or German intertitles.
The short answer to your question is -- I'd get the Image if I could have only one, but I really like both Image and Kino's versions of CALIGARI.
--Christopher Jacobs
http://www.und.nodak.edu/instruct/cjacobs
http://fargofilmmaking.wikia.com/wiki/D ... rom_Within
http://hpr1.com/film