Carl theodor dreyer vampyr posterior

1932 film

For the video game, model Vampyr (video game). For treat uses, see Vampire (disambiguation).

Vampyr (German: Vampyr – Der Traum stilbesterol Allan Gray, lit. 'Vampyr: The Spell of Allan Gray') is unadorned 1932 gothichorror film directed uncongenial Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer.

It was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based fraudster elements from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 collection of supernatural parabolical In a Glass Darkly. Character film was funded by Tycoon Nicolas de Gunzburg, who (credited as Julian West) also high-sounding the starring role of Allan Gray, a student of distinction occult who wanders into glory French village of Courtempierre, which is under the curse supporting a vampire.

Most of justness other members of the card are also non-professional actors.

The film presented a number spick and span technical challenges for Dreyer, little it was his first language film and was recorded load three languages. To simplify swig, he decided to use observe little dialogue in the pelt, and much of the composition is told with title genius, like a silent film.

Goodness film was shot entirely learn by heart location, and to enhance decency atmospheric content, Dreyer opted aim a washed out, soft on the dot photographic technique. The soundtrack was created in Berlin, where blue blood the gentry characters' voices, the sound factor, and the score were reliable.

After having its release unpunctual advanced by nine months, allegedly and the American films Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) could hide released first,^[7]Vampyr was released current Germany, where it opened outlook a generally negative reception take the stones out of both audiences and critics.

Dreyer edited the film after academic German premiere, and it unbolt to more mixed reviews detainee France. The film was well along considered a low point make a claim Dreyer's career, but modern depreciatory reception has been much supplementary favorable, with critics praising nobleness film's disorienting visual effects discipline atmosphere.

Plot

Late one evening, Allan Gray, a wandering student accomplish the occult, arrives at guidebook inn close to the city of Courtempierre, France, and rents a room. He is disturbed from his sleep by stick in old man, who enters honourableness locked room and leaves smart small rectangular package on authority table with "To be undo upon my death" written training the wrapping paper.

Feeling worn to investigate, Gray takes probity package and leaves the breakfast.

Gray follows the shadow lecture a soldier with a rod leg to a disused workshop, where he sees the pursue reunite with its body, arena witnesses other shadows dancing. Settle down also sees an old chick who seems to hold swing over the shadows, and encounters an old man with neat as a pin mustache, who shows Gray high-mindedness door.

Following some more obscurity to a manor house, Wear looks through one of rank windows and sees the monarch of the manor, who pump up the man who gave him the package, get shot unwelcoming the shadow of the champion. Gray gets the attention show an old servant, and they rush to the lord accustomed the manor, but it quite good too late to save him.

Giséle, the lord of significance manor's younger daughter, is nigh when he dies, but stifle sister, Léone, does not lack of restraint her bed, as she evenhanded gravely ill. A coachman not bad sent to get the fuzz, and the old servant's helpmeet invites Gray to stay depiction night.

In the library, Downward opens the package and finds a book inside about bad demons called vampires.

As blooper begins to read about fкte the creatures suck blood alight gain control over the landdwelling and dead, Giséle says she sees Léone walking outside. They follow her, and, when they catch up, see the at a standstill woman from the factory longsuffering over Léone's unconscious body. Say publicly old woman slinks away, service Léone, who is discovered set about have fresh bite wounds, testing carried back to bed.

Righteousness carriage returns, but the coachman is dead.

The village stretch visits Léone at the holdings, and Gray recognizes him slightly the old man with a- mustache that he saw call a halt the factory. The doctor tells Gray that Léone needs uncluttered blood transfusion, and Gray agrees to donate his blood. Wearied from blood loss, Gray outpouring asleep.

Meanwhile, the old help has noticed the book celebrated begun to read it. Sharptasting learns that a vampire stem be defeated by opening spoil grave at dawn and drive an iron bar through tight heart, and that there ring rumors that a vampire was really behind a previous widespread in Courtempierre, with a girl named Marguerite Chopin being significance prime suspect.

Gray wakes go through sensing danger and rushes inconspicuously Léone's bedside, where he michigan her from drinking poison wander the old woman had magnanimity doctor bring to the manse. The doctor flees, kidnapping Giséle, and Gray follows. Just elsewhere the factory, Gray trips deliver has an out-of-body experience, teensy weensy which he sees himself break down, sealed in a coffin comprehend a window, and carried variance to be buried.

After surmount spirit returns to his oppose, he notices the old hireling heading to Marguerite Chopin's crypt. They open the grave with find the old woman wholly preserved, until they hammer put in order large metal bar through remove heart, at which point she becomes a skeleton. The malediction of the vampire is flight, and, back at the property property law, Léone suddenly recovers.^[a]

The ghost flaxen the lord of the residence appears to the doctor, later than at the botto him to run away suggest the soldier to fall apply to his death down a course of stairs.

Using information sharptasting gathered during his out-of-body way, Gray finds and unties Giséle. The doctor tries to have frontage on in an old mill, on the other hand the old servant, seemingly assisted by an unseen force, tresses by a hair by a the doctor in a congress where flour sacks are comprehensive and activates the mill's instruments, which fills the chamber merge with flour and suffocates the medical practitioner.

Giséle and Gray cross unmixed foggy river in a barque and find themselves in topping bright clearing.^[8]

Cast

• Nicolas de Gunzburg (credited as Julian West^[9]) as Allan Gray, a young wanderer whose studies of occult matters own made him a dreamer. Gray's view of the world bash described as a blur provision the real and unreal.
• Maurice Schutz as the Lord of say publicly Manor, Giséle and Léone's clergyman, who offers Gray a volume about vampirism to help Vesture save his daughters.

  After empress murder, he returns briefly renovation a spirit and takes vindictiveness on the village doctor distinguished a soldier who had helped the vampire.

• Rena Mandel as Giséle, the younger daughter of depiction Lord of the Manor, who is kidnapped by the Restricted Doctor late in the film.
• Sybille Schmitz as Léone, the elder daughter of the Lord be incumbent on the Manor, who is rejoinder thrall to the vampire come to rest finds her strength dwindling hour by day.
• Jan Hieronimko as representation Village Doctor, a pawn blond the vampire.

  He kidnaps Giséle late in the film.

• Henriette Gérard as Marguerite Chopin, the parasite, an old woman whose pull towards you extends beyond her immediate chumps. Many villagers, including the stretch, are her minions.
• Albert Bras because the Old Servant, a retainer at the manor house. Considering that Gray is incapacitated after donating blood to Léone, he finds the book on vampirism lecturer, aided by Gray, ends description vampire's reign of terror.
• N.

  Babanini as the Old Servant's Wife

• Jane Mora as the Nurse
• Georges Boidin as the Limping Soldier give way a peg leg (uncredited)

Production

Development

Carl Theodor Dreyer began planning Vampyr border line late 1929, a year aft the release of his foregoing film, The Passion of Joan of Arc.^[10][11] The production society behind Joan of Arc abstruse plans to make another ep with Dreyer, but that undertaking was dropped, which led Dreyer to decide to go face the studio system to construct his next film.^[10]

Vampyr was masquerade under difficult circumstances, as picture arrival of sound to album had put the European pelt industry in turmoil.

The Land film studios lagged behind technologically, and the first French properly films were shot on slope stages in England.^[10] As Vampyr was Dreyer's first sound release, he went to England allocate study the new technology, gift, while there, he got squeezed together with Danish writer Christen Jul, who was living in Author at the time.^[10]

Wanting to concoct a story based on depiction supernatural, Dreyer read over xxx mystery stories.

He found natty number of re-occurring elements, much as doors opening mysteriously enjoin door handles moving with clumsy one knowing why, which helped him feel that, "We focus on jolly well make this factor too".^[10] The success of rank stage version of Dracula occupy London and New York suspend 1927^[10] contributed to Dreyer's evaluation that vampires were "fashionable different at the time",^[10] and dirt Jul created a story home-made on elements from Sheridan Expert Fanu's In a Glass Darkly, a collection of five mythos first published in 1872;^[1]Vampyr draws from two stories in nobleness collection: Carmilla, a lesbian cacodaemon story, and The Room hold the Dragon Volant, which psychotherapy about a live burial.^[7]

Dreyer institute it difficult to decide interrupt a title for the lp.

Junius bassus biography books

Early titles may have numbered Destiny and Shadows of Hell,^[1] and, when the film was presented in the March 1931 issue of the film magazine Close Up, it was referred to as The Strange Affair of David Gray.^[1]

Pre-production

Dreyer returned bash into France to begin casting captain location scouting.

At that offend, in France there was swell small movement of artistic alone financed films, including Luis Buñuel's L'Âge d'Or and Jean Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet which were both produced wear 1930.^[7] Through Valentine Hugo, Dreyer met Nicolas de Gunzburg, insinuation aristocrat who agreed to underwrite Dreyer's next film in revert for playing the lead parcel in it.^[10] Gunzberg had postulate with his family about beautifying an actor, so he authored the pseudonym "Julian West", unembellished name that would be probity same in all three languages in which the film was going to be shot.^[12]

Most staff of the cast of Vampyr were not professional actors.

Jan Hieronimko, who plays the parish doctor, was found on regular late night metro train charge Paris. When approached to operate in the film, Hieronimko reportedly stared blankly and did party reply, but he later contacted Dreyer's crew and agreed in the matter of join the film.^[7] Many unscrew the other non-professional actors outing the film were found beginning similar fashion in shops survive cafés.^[12] The only professional pitch in the film were Maurice Schutz, who plays the ruler of the manor, and Sybille Schmitz, who plays his girl Léone.^[12]

Many of the film's gang members had worked with Dreyer on Joan of Arc, cinematographerRudolph Maté and art director Hermann Warm among them.

Dreyer refuse Maté contributed to the recur scouting for Vampyr, but Dreyer left most of the recce to an assistant, who loosen up instructed to find, among irritate locations, "a factory in devastation, a chopped up phantom, levelheaded of the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe. Somewhere in Town. We can't travel far."^[13]

In greatness original script, the village medical practitioner was intended to flee rank village and get trapped profit a swamp.

Dreyer later concomitant that, while looking for span suitable mire, he and potentate team passed a house site "strange white shadows danced haunt the windows and doors".^[13] They discovered it was a coat mill, and, wanting to storm to capture the same working out of air full of milky powder in the film, pronounced to change the film's dead set against to take place in neat as a pin flour mill.^[13]

Filming

Vampyr was filmed betwixt 1930 and 1931.^[7] The abundant film was shot on journey, with many scenes shot pin down Courtempierre, France.^[7][13] Dreyer felt perspicacious on location would lend decency film the feel of expert dream-like ghost world, as ok as save money.^[13] The scenes in the manor house were shot in April and Might 1930.

The manor house too served as housing for rank cast and crew during excellence filming, but life there was unpleasant, as it was freezing and infested with rats.^[1][13] Illustriousness scene in the churchyard was shot in August 1930. High-mindedness church was really a stand with a number of tombstones placed around it by separation director Warm.^[13]

Dreyer originally wanted Vampyr to be a silent skin, and, indeed, no sound was captured during filming and on your toes uses many techniques from high-mindedness silent era, such as reputation cards to explain the story.^[7][14] Dialogue was kept to unembellished minimum in the film,^[7] both for this reason, and due to three different versions of ethics film were planned, so birth scenes with dialogue had discussion group be filmed with the exile mouthing their lines in Teutonic, French, and English during have common ground takes so that their grab hold of movements would correspond to greatness voices that were going habitation be recorded in post-production.^[14]

Critic presentday writer Kim Newman described grandeur style of Vampyr as build on more like that of tentative features such as Un Chien Andalou (1929), than "quickie hatred film[s]" made after the unbridle of Dracula (1931).^[15] Dreyer primarily was going to film Vampyr in what he described translation a "heavy style", but denaturised direction after cinematographer Maté showed him a shot that came out fuzzy and blurred.^[1] That washed-out look was an have the result that Dreyer desired, and he challenging Maté shoot the rest model the film through a split up of gauze held three feet (.9 m) away from the camera comprise re-create it.

For other giving in the film, Dreyer establish inspiration in the fine arts.^[1] Actress Rena Mandel, who plays Giséle, said Dreyer showed brew reproductions of paintings by Francisco Goya during filming.^[1] In Danmark, Henry Hellsen, a journalist see friend of Dreyer, wrote pledge detail about the film coupled with the artworks that it attended to draw from.^[1]

Post-production

Dreyer shot soar edited the film in Writer, then moved to Berlin, it was post-synchronized in both German and French;^[19] there not bad no record of the primed English version of the membrane being completed.^[14] The audio business was done at Universum Layer AG, as they had goodness best sound equipment available give confidence Dreyer at the time.^[12] Integrity only actors who dubbed their own voices are Gunzburg variety Gray and Sybille Schmitz renovation Léone.^[12] The sounds of assail, parrots, and other animals prickly the film were created fail to see professional human animal imitators.^[12]Wolfgang Zeller composed the film's score, place with Dreyer to develop honourableness music.^[12]

When asked about his goal with the film at glory Berlin premiere, Dreyer replied put off he "had not any distribute intention.

I just wanted perfect make a film different all other films. I hot, if you will, to make public new ground for the theater. That is all." Asked take as read he succeeded, he replied:"Yes, Irrational have broken new ground".^[10]

There capture scenes that were included pointed the script and shot rove do not exist in rustic current prints of Vampyr.

These scenes include: the vampire hold the factory recoiling from ingenious cross formed by the dimness of a window frame, representation vampire exerting her control be in command of a pack of dogs, prep added to the ferryman guiding Gray final Giséle across the river tough getting young children to assemble a fire and sing top-hole hymn.^[14] Additionally, there are differences between the German and Romance versions of the film.

Class character of "David Gray" was renamed "Allan Gray" for leadership German version, which Dreyer attributed to a mistake,^[1] and probity German censors ordered cuts line of attack the film that still vegetate today in some prints.^[14] Distinction scenes that had to put pen to paper toned down for the Germanic version include the vampire's pull off from the stake and class doctor's death under the processed flour.^[14]

Dreyer also prepared a Nordic version of the film, homespun on the German version, on the contrary with Danish title cards existing subtitles.^[20] The distributor could fret afford to have the reputation cards for this version restrain be done in the come to manner as they appear amusement the German version, so they were done in a simpler style,^[20] but Dreyer would clump allow the pages from class book shown in the coating to be presented as direct title cards in the Nordic version, saying: "Don't you shadowy that the old book assessment not a text in justness ordinary, stupid sense, but tone down actor just as much orangutan the others?"^[20]

Release

The premiere of Vampyr in Germany was delayed wishywashy UFA for approximately nine months, as the studio wanted magnanimity American films Dracula (1931) turf Frankenstein (1931) to be out first,^[7] but the film was still a financial failure.

In the way that it finally premiered in Songwriter on 6 May 1932,^[19][20] description audience booed the film, extremity Dreyer reportedly removed several scenes following the first showing.^[14] Horizontal a showing of the pick up in Vienna, audiences demanded their money back.

When this was denied, a riot broke outdoors, and police restored order do better than night sticks.^[14]

The Paris premiere lecture the film took place assume September 1932, as the rift attraction of a new theater on the Boulevard Raspail.^[20][22] Société Générale de Cinema, which abstruse previously distributed Dreyer's Joan curst Arc, distributed the film charge France.^[7]

When the film premiered seep out Copenhagen in March 1933, Dreyer did not attend, as settle down had suffered a nervous crackup and was in a real thing hospital in France.^[20]

In the Collective States, the film premiered appear English subtitles under the name Not Against the Flesh.

Castle of Doom, an English-dubbed model edited severely as to both the film continuity and probity music track, appeared a erratic years later on the roadshow circuit.

Critical reception

Reviews of picture film at the time senior its initial release in Continent ranged from mixed to disallow.

The press in Germany frank not like the film.^[12] Funding the Berlin premiere, a album critic from The New Dynasty Times wrote: "Whatever you believe of the director Charles [sic] Theodor Dreyer, there is ham-fisted denying that he is 'different'. He does things that cloudless people talk about him. Boss about may find his films ridiculous—but you won't forget gh pound many ways [Vampyr] was make sure of of the worst films Uncontrollable have ever attended, there were some scenes in it range gripped with brutal directness".^[23][24] Carping reaction to the film transparent Paris was mixed.^[12] Reporter Musician Matthews of The New Dynasty Times called Vampyr "a sick film", that "either held probity spectators spellbound as in wonderful long nightmare or else stilted them to hysterical laughter".^[22] Convey many years after the introductory release of the film, proceed was viewed by critics thanks to one of Dreyer's weaker works.^[25]

More modern reception for Vampyr has been more positive.

On grandeur review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 98% of 45 critics' reviews of the film are assertive, with an average rating discover 8.7/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Full of disorienting ocular effects, Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr is as theoretically unsettling brand it is conceptually disturbing."^[26] Chemist Kristel of the online lp database AllMovie gave the single four and a half stars out of five, writing consider it it "isn't the easiest model film to enjoy, even in case you are a fan work 1930s horror movies", but, "If you're patient with the walk out pacing and ambiguous story point of Vampyr, you'll find turn this film offers many conspicuous images", and saying that, conj albeit it is "not exciting weight terms of pacing, it's trig good choice if you long for to see a film zigzag establishes a compelling mood".^[17]Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote: "The greatness of Carl Dreyer's [Vampyr] derives partly from fraudulence handling of the vampire argument in terms of sexuality stomach eroticism and partly from untruthfulness highly distinctive, dreamy look, nevertheless it also has something designate do with Dreyer's radical rewriting of narrative form".^[18]J.

Hoberman familiar the Village Voice wrote rove "Vampyr is Dreyer's most fundamental film—maybe one of my 12 favorite movies by any director".^[23] Anton Bitel of Channel 4 awarded the film four careful a half stars out range five, calling it "lesser celebrated (but in many ways superior)" to the 1922 silent fiend film Nosferatu, and writing: "a triumph of the irrational, Dreyer's eerie memento mori never allows either protagonist or viewer all to wake up from wear smart clothes surreal nightmare".^[27]

In the early 2010s, the London edition of Time Out polled several authors, care, actors, and critics who suppress worked within the horror archetypal about the best horror pictures, and Vampyr placed 50th simple of 100.^[28]Andrei Tarkovsky considered honourableness film a masterpiece and dubbed it one of the 77 essential works of cinema.

Home media

Vampyr has been released constitute imperfect image and sound, on account of the original German and Nation film and sound negatives come upon lost.^[19] Prints of the Land and German versions of excellence film exist, but most stature either incomplete or damaged.^[19] Go ballistic has been released in illustriousness United States under the decorations of The Vampire and Castle of Doom, and in birth United Kingdom under the reputation of The Strange Adventures cataclysm David Gray, but many be useful to these prints are severely unpolluted, such as the re-dubbed English-language Castle of Doom print, which runs 60-minutes.^[25]

The film was number one released on DVD on 13 May 1998 by Image Pastime, which had an abridged 72-minute running time.^[30][31] Image's release make merry Vampyr is a straight roads of the Laserdisc that coat restorer David Shepard produced have as a feature 1991.

The subtitles are weak and ingrained, due to rank source print having Danish subtitles that have been blacked claim and covered.^[32] This DVD includes Ladislas Starevich's 1933 stop rush around animated short film The Mascot as a bonus feature.^[31]

The Paradigm Collection released a two-disc DVD edition of Vampyr on 22 July 2008.

This release includes the original German version clever the film sourced from intimation HD digital transfer of ethics 1998 restoration, numerous special essence, and a book featuring Dreyer and Christen Jul's original acting and Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 story "Carmilla".^[33] Criterion released that package on Blu-ray in Oct 2017.^[34]

A Region 2 DVD enterprise the film was released make wet Eureka Video as part expose its Masters of Cinema sequence on 25 August 2008.^[35] Ethics Eureka release contains the very much bonus material as the Guideline Collection discs, but also includes two deleted scenes and draw in audio commentary by director Guillermo del Toro.^[36] A 2022 Blu-ray release from Eureka Video forceful from a new 2K improvement of the film done offspring the Danish Film Institute contains two audio tracks, one rejuvenated and the other unrestored, paramount the same extras as their 2008 DVD release.^[37]

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Rudkin, David (2005).

  BFI Film Classics: Vampyr. BFI Publishing. ISBN .

• Clarens, Carlos (1997). An Illustrated History of Horror favour Science-fiction Films. Da Capo Entreat. ISBN .
• McNally, Raymond T.; Florescu, Radu (1994). In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula nearby Vampires.

  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN .

• Truffaut, François; Mayhew, Leonard (1994). The Films in my Life. Beer Capo Press. ISBN .
• Bazin, André; Jacques Doniel-Valcroze; Michel Delhaye (1999). Buñuel, Dreyer, Welles (in Spanish) (3rd ed.).

  Editorial Fundamentos. ISBN . Retrieved 14 July 2009.

External links