Carl Theodor Dreyer

[RNL]

[johndav]

Too often overshadowed in the public mind by Bergman. He's more of an acquired taste (i foolishly completely underestimated him), but the rewards are deeper. Give me Dreyer's top 5 any day.

Ordet 9.75/10
Gertrud 9.75/10
Day of Wrath 9.5/10
The Passion of Joan of Arc 9.25/10
Vampyr 8.5/10
Master of the House 8.25/10 (this silent feminist comedy-drama deserves to be better known)
Michael 3.5/10

[RNL]

I think Joan of Arc is astonishing, one of the best films ever made. I never thought I'd take to it as immediately as I did.

Vampyr is stylistically impressive, ambiguous and dreamlike. But the text interludes explaining the nature of vampires only take away from the mystery, I think. Still, very good. I'll watch it again.

But with Ordet, I felt like I was been chastised and spoken down to. Early on, the guy who thinks he's Jesus even looks down toward the camera from his hilltop and calls out, "O ye hypocrites" and so on; Which I thought would have been an interesting formality if it were carried through, but it's not - nothing is, it's just the stage production filmed.

Why do you rate it so highly?

And is the rest of his later work so stagey and didactic?

Gertrud?

[jake]

1. La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
2. Vredens dag Day of Wrath (1943)
3. Ordet The Word (1955)
4. Gertrud (1964)

[johndav]

I didn't rate Dreyer highly at all at first, wondered at the high esteem of some critics i admired. On second viewing of Ordet i concentrated more on the lighting, tones of white, cream, greys, the mise-en-scene and it is absolutely masterful. The Greek director Angelopoulos wondered how such perfection could exist, and i can see why. Day of Wrath is more involving in its narrative, and although also with a religious subject, it feels more natural + accessible. If you're not in the right mood, i suppose Ordet could seem quite absurd! Gertrud was heavily criticised as too slow and theatrical on its release, and first time round i found it simply boring, but given proper attention, it's quietly mesmerising and beautiful, and i like its portrait of a string principled woman (among selfish men) very much. Apart from the awful Michael, there seems to be something of a feminist streak, or at the very least empathy for women, running through Dreyer's work. An acquired taste, but well worth persevering with, or returning to in future i think. The qualities of Ordet + Gertrud seem to me to run deeper, and are eventually more rewarding, than the more dramatic + initially impressive Passion of Joan of Arc. But that's just my take.

[Michael]

LA PASSION DE JEANNE D'ARC

The quality is okay, and there's no sound. I think it's better to watch silent films in silence though.

[RNL]

So, you turned off the sound when you watched Joan of Arc?

[Michael]

wetdog said:

So, you turned off the sound when you watched Joan of Arc?

Nope. Maybe I should've. The music TCM provided was pretty fitting though. But when Godard shows a small segment of the film in Vivre sa Vie in complete silence, it just felt more powerful for some reason.

Did people in the 20s watch them in complete silence? I remember reading somewhere that there was live music playing while the movie was being shown, but was that in all theatres?

[RNL]

Yeah, they're meant to be accompanied by music.

[Omar]

Also, I think the locations of movie theaters back then were few and far between, at least in the states, so it wasn't so hard to have someone playing music every time, I suppose.

[Capo]

A lecturer argued recently that there was never a "silent cinema".

[RNL]

Gertrud is mesmerizingly perfect.

I think a rewatch of Ordet is on the cards...

[Capo]

wetdog said:

I think a rewatch of Ordet is on the cards...

Especially heading into Silent Light.

[RNL]

1. Gertrud (1964) *****
2. Day of Wrath (1943) *****
3. Ordet (1955) *****
4. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) *****
5. Vampyr (1932) *****
6. Thorvaldsen (1949) *****
7. Storstrøm Bridge (1950) *****

---

I kind of misjudged Ordet, lo those many years ago.

[Kino]

I'm interested in reading your experience of Ordet, O=ò.ó=C ~ ~ ~ (>-ó.ò-<, and why it differs from your previous evaluation above.

Did you find the preachy and/or didactic qualities as fitting in with the religious fervor and debate aspects of the film this time around?

[RNL]

I don't think it's preachy or didactic. I misunderstood it the first time. It's as incisive and critical as Day of Wrath. And saying "It's just the stage production filmed" is just flat out incorrect. I was completely intolerant of the aesthetic at the time and misinterpreted the film.

[Michael]

Nov 9, 2006 4:16:47 GMT Michael said:

Nope. Maybe I should've. The music TCM provided was pretty fitting though. But when Godard shows a small segment of the film in Vivre sa Vie in complete silence, it just felt more powerful for some reason.

It felt more powerful because Godard is the man, asshole.

[Michael]

Sept 8, 2008 3:28:13 GMT Kino said:

I'm interested in reading your experience of Ordet, O=ò.ó=C ~ ~ ~ (>-ó.ò-<

Hahahahahaha!

[Michael]

1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) *****

[Anasazie]

Features:

1. Gertrud (1964) 10/10
2. Day of Wrath (1948) (USA) 10/10
3. Vampyr (1932) 9.5/10
4. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1929) 9/10
5. Master of the House (1925) 8/10
6. Michael (1924) 8/10
7. The President (1919) 8/10
8. The Parson's Widow (1920) 7/10
9. Ordet (1955) 7/10
10. Once Upon a Time (1922) 5/10

Shorts:

They Caught the Ferry (1948) 6/10
The Struggle Against Cancer (1947) 6/10
Good Mothers (1942) 6/10