Dreyer, Carl Theodor (kärl tā`ōdôr' drī`ər), 1889–1968, Danish motion picture director. He began making films in Denmark in 1919. His Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), widely regarded as a classic of silent filmmaking, made extensive use of close-ups and stark lighting to increase the film's dramatic effect. He experimented with innovative techniques in Vampyr (1931), his first movie with sound, which explored the power of evil and the horror of human suffering. His later works, usually adaptations of plays that employed a slow pace to build great cumulative power, include Day of Wrath (1943), Ordet (1955), and Gertrud (1964).

Bibliography

See studies by T. Milne (1971) and D. Bordwell (1973).

Dreyer, Carl Theodor

Carl Dreyer

(credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art Film Stills Archive, New York)

(born Feb. 3, 1889, Copenhagen, Den.—died March 20, 1968, Copenhagen) Danish film director. He entered the film industry as a writer of subtitles and became a scriptwriter and editor. His first film as a director was The President (1919); after several others, he made his most famous silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). He created a new directorial style based on extensive close-ups and the use of authentic settings. His other films include Vampire (1932), the celebrated Day of Wrath (1943), The Word (1955), and Gertrud (1964).