|
|
|
|
 |
Denmark - Culture - CinemaDenmark [Main menu] - [Previous paragraph] - [Next paragraph] Bille August  Carl Th. Dreyer, 1889-1968, Danish film director. Dreyer was an
uncompromising, perfectionist loner in Danish cinema, and he is
counted as one of the most important creative geniuses in cinema. He
started as a feature film director in 1919 for Nordisk Film Kompagni
with the dramatic family saga Præsidenten (The President), which was
followed by Blade af Satans Bog (1920, Leaves from Satan's Book).
This film was too sombre for Nordisk Film, and Dreyer was forced to
produce his next five films in turn in Sweden, Germany and for other
Danish film companies. Du skal ære din Hustru (The Master of the House) from 1925 ensured him an appointment with a French film
company, and for them he made his famous La passion de Jeanne
d'Arc (1928, The Passion of Joan of Arc), one of the finest artistic
achievements from the silent film era. This film confirmed Dreyer's
international reputation, but the company fell into financial difficulties,
and he was only able to make his next film, Vampyr (Vampire) thanks
to a wealthy patron. In 1934 Dreyer returned to Denmark to a time
marked by adversity and abandoned projects. Only in 1943 did he
come to produce his next feature film, Vredens Dag (Day of Wrath), a
tragic love story played against the background of the persecution of
witches in the 17th century. In the years following the Second World
War, Dreyer contributed to the official Danish production of short
films with, for instance, De naaede Færgen (1948, They Caught the
Ferry), but again a long time elapsed before he was able to make his
next feature film, Ordet (1955, The Word), a brilliant film version of
Kaj Munk's play, which assured Dreyer of even greater international
recognition. His last film was Gertrud (1964), which was seen as very
controversial after its première, but which has since been considered as
one of the great works of modern cinema.Martin Drouzy Filmmuseet © The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
