Hauteur Theory

[CaveGirl]

Okay, I've just coined this term, "Hauteur Theory" for any film fans who dig Carl Theodor Dreyer.

 

I mean his films are so highbrow, that one must really be up for viewing them and on their intellectual toes, and if so Sunday night at TCM should be a fun one for any Dreyer fans.

 

Having read a couple books about him and by him, I find his film ideas very appealing since he believed totally that a shot in a film, had one distinct way to be filmed that was the perfect one and showed a kind of interior thought process of the characters being depicted. I'm sure he would say it was akin to that exact moment that a photographer might pick to stop the action in a camera shot, as they raised the flag on Iwo Jima or something like that and his theories are interesting, particularly if one can reflect upon them as one watches any of his masterpieces, like "Day of Wrath" or "Vampyr" or others.

 

TCM will be showing the following this Sunday late night:

 

2:00 AM ORDET (1955)  

A fundamentalist preacher clashes with a family whose faith surpasses his own.

Dir: Carl Th. Dreyer Cast:  Henrik Malberg , Emil Hass Christensen , Preben Lerdorff Rye.

BW-125 mins,

4:15 AM GERTRUD (1964)  

A woman goes off to find herself, leaving behind a string of broken affairs.

Dir: Carl Th. Dreyer Cast:  Nina Pens Rode , Bendt Rothe , Ebbe Rode .

BW-116 mins,

 

[LawrenceA]

I know a lot of people find his films inaccessible and dry, confusing and dull, tedious and pretentious. But I like 'em. I haven't seen Gertrud yet, but I have it as part of a set. You are right about needing to be in the proper mood for his movies.

[CaveGirl]

I know a lot of people find his films inaccessible and dry, confusing and dull, tedious and pretentious. But I like 'em. I haven't seen Gertrud yet, but I have it as part of a set. You are right about needing to be in the proper mood for his movies.

Thanks, Lawrence!

 

T'is true, Dreyer is an acquired taste but any student of film should really have had the experience of seeing his best work. "Gertrud" of course was his final film, and "Ordet" from the mid-1950's [spoilers Ahead!!!] I think has that amazing resurrection scene, which has to be seen to be believed.

 

Usually I would not be into things that seem a bit preachy, but Dreyer's film talents are so extreme I am forced to admire his work, no matter what the external message.