Dreyer’s ... eccentric approach to this pulp material produces a horror film quite unlike any other.
It´s hard to figure out exactly what we´re watching. Is everything being filtered through Allan´s perception? Or have we entered a netherworld where real-world rules of space and logic don´t apply? Whatever the case, it´s a damned strange effect that only becomes more confusing upon multiple viewings.
On a simpler note, the film also features one of the greatest scenes in horror movie history. I am about to spoil it for you, but the pleasure is in the execution, not the idea. Allan imagines his own death. At first he sees his own body resting in a coffin then suddenly the scene switches around so that we see things from the point-of-view of Allan´s corpse. The scene cuts between this "corpse-cam" and shots of Allan´s dead, still face. He watches helplessly as the lid is fastened on the coffin. Through a (convenient) window in the lid he sees people staring at him, then watches the tops of buildings and trees as his coffin is carried to, presumably, its final resting place. The repeated cuts back to Allan´s eyes-wide-open dead face make this truly, deeply chilling. I first watched this sequence five years ago, and it has remained burned into my memory shot-for-shot ever since.
Have I gotten to this point without even mentioning the "Vampyr" of the title? Oh well, you´ll have to find out about him or her for yourself. If you dare!
Video
This version of "Vampyr" is based on a 1998 restoration by Martin Koerber which was first released on DVD by Image several years ago in a 1.33:1 format. Criterion´s restores transfer is provided in the more accurate 1.19:1 pillar-box ratio seen in many of the early sound films (the optical sound track took up a portion of the 1.33:1 visual field.) Obviously, with a 1932 film, no transfer is going to look sparkling clean, but what Criterion has provided is nothing short of amazing. I doubt many viewers, even on the original theatrical release, had the opportunity to see the film looking this good. This is simply phenomenal.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the German audio.
Extras
Disc One offers a full-length commentary by Tony Rayns, one of the finest film critics and scholars in the world. Usually, I only listen to the first 10-20 minutes of a commentary to get an impression of it, but I was pulled in by Rayns´ eloquent and informative analysis, and wound up watching the whole film twice in one night, once without and once with commentary.
The first disc also offers an "English text" version of the film. As I mentioned above, the voices were recorded in post-production in three different languages: German, French and English. The intertitles were also provided in multiple languages, as was the standard in the silent era to make for easy international distribution. The film´s the same, of course: you just get the titles in English.
Disc Two begins with "Carl Th. Dreyer" (30 min.) a 1966 documentary directed by Jørgen Roos on the occasion of the release of what turned out to be Dreyer´s last film, "Gertrud." It touches on his pre-"Joan of Arc" career which makes it somewhat unusual in the field of Dreyer scholarship.
I greatly enjoyed the "Visual Essay" (36 min.) by scholar Casper Tybjerg. Tybjerg analyzes stills and clips from "Vampyr" (including clips removed by censors). Interviews with Dreyer are also included, and there is some overlap between this feature and the Roos documentary.
The final extra is a radio broadcast (23 min.) from 1958 in which Dreyer reads an essay on film. The audio is accompanied by a single still of a young Dreyer.
The 2-disc folding keepcase comes in a cardboard slipcover which also houses a thick booklet (214 pgs). The booklet includes the screenplay by Dreyer and writer Christien Jul, along with the Sheridan le Fanu short story "Carmilla" (1872) which was one of the sources that provided a very loose inspiration for the film. "Carmilla" is one of the classic pre-"Dracula" vampire stories. The story has a not-so-"sub" lesbian subtext that was omitted entirely by Dreyer and Jul.
There is an additional insert booklet included with the 2-disc folding keepcase which is substantial in its own right. It includes essays by Danish-based film critic Mark le Fanu (apparently related to Sheridan le Fanu), horror film critic Kim Newman, and film restoration expert Martin Koerber as well as an interview with "Vampyr" star and producer Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg from the 1964 issue of "Film Culture."
Film Value
There have been many Great Danes throughout history: Saxo Grammaticus, Hamlet, Tyco Brahe, Hans Christian Anderson, Knud Rasmussen, Victor Borge, Henning Molbaek and, of course, Brigitte Nielsen. Carl Dreyer is easily the greatest of all Danish directors, and one of the finest filmmakers of any nationality. The surreal, atmospheric "Vampyr" is not Dreyer´s finest work. That honor belongs to the brilliant "Passion of Joan of Arc" and the nearly-as-brilliant "Day of Wrath" is also hard to equal. But it´s still a hell of a movie, and a must-see for vampire and/or horror fans.
With strong extras and beautiful packaging, this is one of the best Criterion releases of the year.
On a simpler note, the film also features one of the greatest scenes in horror movie history. I am about to spoil it for you, but the pleasure is in the execution, not the idea. Allan imagines his own death. At first he sees his own body resting in a coffin then suddenly the scene switches around so that we see things from the point-of-view of Allan´s corpse. The scene cuts between this "corpse-cam" and shots of Allan´s dead, still face. He watches helplessly as the lid is fastened on the coffin. Through a (convenient) window in the lid he sees people staring at him, then watches the tops of buildings and trees as his coffin is carried to, presumably, its final resting place. The repeated cuts back to Allan´s eyes-wide-open dead face make this truly, deeply chilling. I first watched this sequence five years ago, and it has remained burned into my memory shot-for-shot ever since.
Have I gotten to this point without even mentioning the "Vampyr" of the title? Oh well, you´ll have to find out about him or her for yourself. If you dare!
Video
This version of "Vampyr" is based on a 1998 restoration by Martin Koerber which was first released on DVD by Image several years ago in a 1.33:1 format. Criterion´s restores transfer is provided in the more accurate 1.19:1 pillar-box ratio seen in many of the early sound films (the optical sound track took up a portion of the 1.33:1 visual field.) Obviously, with a 1932 film, no transfer is going to look sparkling clean, but what Criterion has provided is nothing short of amazing. I doubt many viewers, even on the original theatrical release, had the opportunity to see the film looking this good. This is simply phenomenal.
Audio
The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the German audio.
Extras
Disc One offers a full-length commentary by Tony Rayns, one of the finest film critics and scholars in the world. Usually, I only listen to the first 10-20 minutes of a commentary to get an impression of it, but I was pulled in by Rayns´ eloquent and informative analysis, and wound up watching the whole film twice in one night, once without and once with commentary.
The first disc also offers an "English text" version of the film. As I mentioned above, the voices were recorded in post-production in three different languages: German, French and English. The intertitles were also provided in multiple languages, as was the standard in the silent era to make for easy international distribution. The film´s the same, of course: you just get the titles in English.
Disc Two begins with "Carl Th. Dreyer" (30 min.) a 1966 documentary directed by Jørgen Roos on the occasion of the release of what turned out to be Dreyer´s last film, "Gertrud." It touches on his pre-"Joan of Arc" career which makes it somewhat unusual in the field of Dreyer scholarship.
I greatly enjoyed the "Visual Essay" (36 min.) by scholar Casper Tybjerg. Tybjerg analyzes stills and clips from "Vampyr" (including clips removed by censors). Interviews with Dreyer are also included, and there is some overlap between this feature and the Roos documentary.
The final extra is a radio broadcast (23 min.) from 1958 in which Dreyer reads an essay on film. The audio is accompanied by a single still of a young Dreyer.
The 2-disc folding keepcase comes in a cardboard slipcover which also houses a thick booklet (214 pgs). The booklet includes the screenplay by Dreyer and writer Christien Jul, along with the Sheridan le Fanu short story "Carmilla" (1872) which was one of the sources that provided a very loose inspiration for the film. "Carmilla" is one of the classic pre-"Dracula" vampire stories. The story has a not-so-"sub" lesbian subtext that was omitted entirely by Dreyer and Jul.
There is an additional insert booklet included with the 2-disc folding keepcase which is substantial in its own right. It includes essays by Danish-based film critic Mark le Fanu (apparently related to Sheridan le Fanu), horror film critic Kim Newman, and film restoration expert Martin Koerber as well as an interview with "Vampyr" star and producer Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg from the 1964 issue of "Film Culture."
Film Value
There have been many Great Danes throughout history: Saxo Grammaticus, Hamlet, Tyco Brahe, Hans Christian Anderson, Knud Rasmussen, Victor Borge, Henning Molbaek and, of course, Brigitte Nielsen. Carl Dreyer is easily the greatest of all Danish directors, and one of the finest filmmakers of any nationality. The surreal, atmospheric "Vampyr" is not Dreyer´s finest work. That honor belongs to the brilliant "Passion of Joan of Arc" and the nearly-as-brilliant "Day of Wrath" is also hard to equal. But it´s still a hell of a movie, and a must-see for vampire and/or horror fans.
With strong extras and beautiful packaging, this is one of the best Criterion releases of the year.
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[release]24238[/release]