Carl Theodor Dreyer Set (Day of Wrath / Ordet / Gertrud / My Metier) (The Criterion Collection)

Carl Theodor Dreyer Set (Day of Wrath / Ordet / Gertrud / My Metier) (The Criterion Collection)
by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Torben Skjødt Jensen

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DVD Reviews of Carl Theodor Dreyer Set (Day of Wrath / Ordet / Gertrud / My Metier) (The Criterion Collection)

DVD Review: Some of the best from one of the best.
Summary: 5 Stars

*Day of Wrath* (Five Stars): Groundbreaking masterpiece about witchcraft in Reformation-era Denmark. The general feeling, I may as well tell you, is one of unrelenting misery. A well-into-middle-age Lutheran clergyman lives with his sour mother and his twenty-something beautiful wife. His adult son from his first marriage returns home to find that his "stepmother" is the same age as he is . . . guess what happens. Meanwhile, the old clergyman presides over the burning of a nice old lady who has been accused by the village elders of being a witch and a minion of Satan. (Yes, Joe McCarthy wasn't Miller's sole inspiration for *The Crucible* -- this movie predates that play.) So far, so good, right? Well, don't be too sure: as a matter of fact, the old biddy IS sort of a witch, as is the beautiful young wife. For that matter, the old pastor is anything but a meanie: he's a decent old stick . . . his principles are compromised, to be sure, but he's no villain. And neither is his sourpuss mother: even she has some vindication at the end. Check your assumptions at the door. Oppressive society? or a society that creates the very Evil that it persecutes? or a society merely protecting itself? Dreyer treats us like grown-ups, letting us ponder the ambivalences of this dark masterwork for ourselves.

*Ordet* (Five Stars): Based on a play by someone called Kaj Munk. Makes a serious claim to be the Best Movie Ever Made. It's so starkly artful, so ultimately beautiful, that it really defeats a 1-paragraph critique. Suffice to say that it's about Faith -- various forms of it, the potential destructiveness of it, the conditional nature of it, the absolute need of it. And yet, despite the metaphysical themes, the cast of characters are as earthy as they come (most of the story, and the miraculous climax, takes place on a farm). Doubtless this was part of Munk's design, and Dreyer realizes it masterfully, particularly with the depiction of the old patriarch: so lovable, so stubborn, so real, that it's only divine justice that miracles should come to him and his family. The family, by the way, are also all of the above. You care TREMENDOUSLY about each one of these folks, Inger especially. Don't let beetle-browed film critics dissuade you from watching *Ordet* with their use of words like "difficult". Yeah, it's slow -- as befitting a spiritual story of simple people -- but not at all difficult. Dreyer demands patience -- and that doesn't require an abundance of genius. Just an open heart. And mind.

*Gertrud* (Four Stars): Not as entirely brilliant as the other two movies in the set, but still pretty great. Dreyer's last film, it's also his most beautifully shot. The setting is very Dreyerian: turn of the last century, in the homes of rather seedy politicos, puffed-up poets, and conventional bohemians. Extraordinarily talky and static. This is usually effective, though sometimes the phrase "overly austere" will probably cross your mind. This is ascetic filmmaking: rigidly composed, written, and staged. The movie's biggest drawback is the not-terribly-new-or-shocking (in fact, Ibsen-vintage) feminism theme. Unhappily married woman wants out . . . I think Dreyer forgot to ask himself, "So what else is new?" with regards to his story. But the movie is still very much worthwhile. Nina Pens Rode's performance as Gertrud will linger in your mind long after you remove the DVD from its player.

(A Note on the bonus documentary -- Two Stars): Mostly interviews with actors, DP's, cameramen, and such who are (or were) still alive and who worked with Dreyer. These old men and women make it abundantly clear that Carl Dreyer was eccentric, a perfectionist, a genius . . . which was already pretty clear to me after watching his movies, but whatever. A little more discussion of the man's life, as well as some critical chat on the films, would've been nice. All in all, however, this box-set stands as a sharp rebuke to all those yobs who think that movies can only be "movies", or "flicks", and never art. Dreyer made art -- appreciate it or get out of the way.

Description of Carl Theodor Dreyer Set (Day of Wrath / Ordet / Gertrud / My Metier) (The Criterion Collection)