Background

Dreyer was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 3, 1889. His birth mother was Josefine Bernhardine Nilsson.

Education

Carl soon graduated to script writing, then editing, and finally to directing.

Career

After a moderately successful career as a journalist, he entered the Danish film industry around 1912, writing picture subtitles. He soon graduated to script writing, then editing, and finally to directing. For his first film, The President (1920), he wrote the adaptation and designed the sets, in addition to directing. The careful composition of its scenes and the adroit selection of character actors (or nonactors chosen for type) distinguished this and all subsequent Dreyer productions. Leaves From Satan's Book (1921), his second film, was an allegory that revealed his deep religiosity. It placed him in the front ranks of Europe's directorial talent. During the next few years, Dreyer made a series of film adaptations leading up to The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). Made for a French firm and featuring an international company of artists and craftsmen, Dreyer's Joan, in its extensive use of lingering close-ups and heavy dependence on dialogue titles, was the natural transition to sound. Dreyer's first talking picture, Vampyr (The Strange Adventures of David Gray, 1932), was his last production for almost 12 years. His success with a modest series of documentaries led to a contract to produce Day of Wrath (1942), a chilling study of witchcraft and Puritanism in 17th-century Denmark. Dreyer's uncanny ability to convey the essential nature of a particular historical period and environment once again established his eminence. An uncompromising idealist, Dreyer produced only 14 feature films in a career that spanned half a century. The last 20 years of his life were spent in a futile search for financial backers for a film on the life of Christ. In 1955 his Ordet (The Word) won the Grand Prix at the Venice Film Festival. Dreyer's last film, Gertrud (1964), which exhibited many of the techniques that had made him famous, was shown at the 1966 New York Film Festival.

Achievements

• Dreyer's use of dramatic lighting effects, unusual camera angles, and huge sustained close-ups profoundly influenced the work of many subsequent motion picture directors. He is regarded by many critics and filmmakers as one of the greatest directors in cinema.

Works

More photos

• book

  • I miei film

    (Esemplare in buone condizioni. Sul dorso, nella pagina di...)

  • Four screenplays

Connections

Carl married to Ebba Larsen.

Mother:

Josefine Bernhardine Nilsson

Spouse:

Ebba Larsen

References

• Carl Theodor Dreyer's Gertrud: The Moving Word (McLellan Books)
• Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ordet: My Summer with the Danish Filmmaker (Screen Classics)
• The cinema of Carl Dreyer (The International film guide series)