1,000
Greatest Films: The
Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Vampyr (1932), Day of Wrath (1943), Ordet
(1955), Gertrud (1964)
"Dreyer's
pared-down style takes him beyond surface realism to something
more mysterious and abstract: sounds or shadows (as in the truly
eerie Vampyr) evoke the presence of unseen beings,
landscape and architecture are invested, by lighting, design and
composition, with supernatural force. Paradoxically, by
rejecting anything superfluous to his purposes, this undisputed
master of the cinema created some of its richest, most affecting
and wondrously beautiful studies of the human condition." - Geoff
Andrew (The Director's Vision, 1999)
"Dreyer's
work is always based on the beauty of the image, which in turn
is a record of the luminous conviction and independence of human
beings. His films are devoted principally to human emotions, and
if they seem relatively subdued, then that may be a proper
reason for calling in Danishness. But simplicity and purity of
style do not argue against intensity, Dreyer's greatness is in
the way that he makes a tranquil picture of overwhelming
feelings. His art, and his intelligence, make passion orderly
without ever cheating on it." - David
Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, 2002)
"Carl
Theodor Dreyer is the greatest filmmaker in the Danish cinema,
where he was always a solitary personality. But he is also among
the few international directors who turned films into an art and
made them a new means of expression for the artistic genius." -
Ib
Monty (The St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia, 1998)
"Man as a social animal is generally the subject of Dreyer's
greatest films, which are some of the beacons of the cinema. The
director is an antecedent of Bergman through the depiction of
human love, anxiety, and spirituality." -
William R. Meyer (The Film Buff's Catalog, 1978)
Last
updated:
11/01/2008 01:31 AM.
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