Profile of Carl Theodor Dreyer on Famous Like Me

Carl Theodor Dreyer (February 3, 1889 - March 20, 1968) was a Danish film director. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors of European cinema. Although his career spanned the 1910s through the 1960s, his meticulousness, dictatorial methods, idiosynchractic shooting style, and stubborn devotion to his art ensured that his output remained low. In spite of this, he has produced some of the most enduring classics of international cinema.

Dreyer was born an illegitimate child in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was soon orphaned. His adoptive parents were strict Lutherans, and their teachings were to influence the themes of many of his films.

As a young man, Dreyer worked as a journalist, eventually finding his way into jobs writing title cards for silent films and then writing screenplays. His first forays into directing were met with limited success, and he eventually left Denmark to try his hand in the film industry of France.

It was there, in 1928, that he made his first classic, The Passion of Joan of Arc. Working from actual transcripts of Joan's trial, he created a masterpiece of emotion that drew equally from realism and expressionism. His next film was Vampyr (1932), a surreal meditation on fear. Logic gave way to mood and atmosphere in this story of a man protecting two sisters from a vampire. The movie contains many indelible images, such as the hero dreaming of his own burial and the animal bloodlust on the face of one of the sisters as she suffers under the vampire's spell. The film was shot as a silent but had dialogue added later through dubbing.

Both films were box office failures, and Dreyer did not make another movie until 1943. At that time he made Day of Wrath, a film about the hypocrisy of those who engaged in witchhunts. With this film, Dreyer established the style that would mark his sound films: careful compositions, stark black and white cinematography, and very long takes.

In 1955, he shot Ordet (The Word) based on the play of the same name by Kaj Munk. The film combines a Romeo and Juliet-style love story with an examination of faith.

Dreyer's last film was 1965's Gertrud. Although seen by some as a lesser film than the ones preceding it, it is a fitting close to Dreyer's career, as it deals with a woman who, through the ups and downs of her life, never expresses regret for her choices.

Dreyer died in Copenhagen at age 79. The documentary Carl Th. Dreyer: Min Métier contains reminiscences from those who knew him best.

Filmography

• Ned Med Vaabnene (aka Lay Down Your Arms) (1914)
• Leaves from Satan's Book (1919)
• Praestaenkan (aka Parson's Widow) (1920)
• Die Gezeichneten (aka Love One Another) (1922)
• Mikael (1924)
• Du Skal Aere Din Hustru (aka Master of the House) (1925)
• Glomsdalsbruden (aka Bride of Glomdal) (1925)
• The Passion of Joan of Arc (aka La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) (1928)
• Vampyr (1932)
• Vredens Dag (aka Day of Wrath) (1943)
• Ordet (aka The Word) (1955)
• Gertrud (1965)

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