In his novel "Invisible" Paul Auster sends one of his characters to the cinema to watch Dreyer's "Ordet". Carlos Reygadas embodied the miracle of resurrection in "The Word" in his Cannes Jury Prize winner "Silent Light". Guillermo del Toro gave an audio commentary on a 2008 edition of "Vampyr", stressing the film's heavy influence on him.
And most recently, renowned musicians Adrian Utley from Portishead and Will Gregory from Goldfrapp composed a brand new score for "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc", befitting the films raw intensity and performed live in Bristol this May.
Jeanne d'Arc #1 on TIFF's Essential 100
Carl Theodor Dreyer is Danish cinema's most celebrated director and is still, to this day, an inspiration to artists, filmmakers and audiences.
His films are continuously released on DVD, and they remain in high demand around the world at festivals and events. In 2010 alone they have screened in Berlin, Munich and Seoul, and this fall "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc" will be travelling to Toronto, chosen as #1 on TIFF's The Essential 100, a tribute to the 100 most influential films of all time that is to kick off the opening of the Bell Lightbox in Toronto.
Unique collection now online
The new Dreyer website invites you to take a closer look at a cinematic giant and his many-faceted life.
Dreyer directed 14 feature films and 8 shorts. His debut was in 1918 at Nordisk Film with "The President". In France Dreyer directed his masterpiece "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc" in 1928. Signature works include "Vampyr" (1932), "Day of Wrath" (1943), "The Word" (1955) and "Gertrud" (1964).
Upon his death Dreyer left several unrealised scripts, among them his life's work "Jesus of Nazareth", for which he learnt Hebrew, and "Medea", filmed by Lars von Trier in 1988 for TV. From 1952 and to his death Dreyer was a theatre manager in Copenhagen, and in 1959 published the book "Om filmen" ("Dreyer in Double Reflection").
The site offers a living experience of Dreyer's life and work. The vast and unique collection includes film clips, photos, original scripts, research material for several of his unrealised film projects, personal letters, posters and an abundance of background information.
Explore the life and work of Carl Theodor Dreyer at english.carlthdreyer.dk.