Rating: 
Summary: Entering the great Danish artist's world
Review: The author of "La passion de Jeanne D'Arc" has finally seen from heaven how his five best masterpieces are avaliable for every person in the world. And, of course, it had to be The Criterion Collection who made this possible.The three works of art ("Gertrud", "Ordet" and "Vredens dag") are presented in gorgeus Black and White preserving its original aspect ratio, with good extras and accompained by a magnificent additional disc presenting the documentary "Carl Th. Dreyer: Min Metier". These three Danish films are living beings of film history. They represent the highest level of "trascendental cinema" and create a new visual and conceptual world. The 'mise en scene', composition and character developing reach an unbelievable strength in most of the sequences in this Collection. I can't finish without suggesting you to buy this magnificent pack as well as the other two Dreyer's films released by Criterion on DVD: "La passion de Jeanne d'Arc" and "Vampyr". If you do this, the artistic level of your 'DVDtheque' will improve enormusly.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Buying Just For One Film
Review: The box set is unquestionably costly but in the set, there is one film that's absolutely worth buying for in its full cost. The film is ORDET - Carl Dreyer's crowning achievement. The photography is among the most beautiful you'd ever seen. I was an atheist for more than two decades and this film changed all that. It's that powerful. ORDET is a quilt of raw images and emotions that will burn into your soul eternally ... the dialogues between the folks are shockingly refreshing despite the film's age. Please do not read the notes that come with the DVD or otherwise your experience will be screwed up. I've been a happy owner of the box set for more than a year now even though I've seen only one film out of the set. ORDET is really that extraordinary.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Buying Just For One Film
Review: The box set is unquestionably costly but in the set, there is one film that's absolutely worth buying for in its full cost. The film is ORDET - Carl Dreyer's crowning achievement. The photography is among the most beautiful you'd ever seen. I was an atheist for more than two decades and this film changed all that. It's that powerful. ORDET is a quilt of raw images and emotions that will burn into your soul eternally ... the dialogues between the folks are shockingly refreshing despite the film's age. Please do not read the notes that come with the DVD or otherwise your experience will be screwed up. I've been a happy owner of the box set for more than a year now even though I've seen only one film out of the set. ORDET is really that extraordinary.
Rating:
Summary: Necessary.
Review: The only sad thing about this collection is that it doesn't include Dreyer's working of Jesus' life which, of course, is because he never filmed it or really completed the script. All other work represented is tops. From "Ordet", the classic play by fellow Dane Kaj Munk, to "Gertrud", this collection is a must have. The documentary shines light on his techniques, approach & brilliance. For some reason Dreyer's not as well known as another director great, Ingmar Bergman, but maybe this collection will help in that regard. Known mostly for his wonderful interpretation of "Joan of Arc" & "Vampyr", Dreyer's later work is equally riveting (if not moreso). His understanding of the human condition shines through in each film. If you have a penchant for Scandinavian film-making, this is a necessary buy. If you just love films, it's well worth your time to decide if it's your cup of tea. Finally, as for Criterion's working- it's tops, as usual. Their attention to detail evident in each film they persue.
Rating:
Summary: Cinematic Treasure!
Review: These films are true works of art. If you have any sympathy for the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, or that of Ingmar Bergman, then it is almost certain that you will appreciate Dreyer. Tarkovsky himself praised Dreyer, and his influence is directly discernable in Bergman's films.
*
Ordet is, perhaps, the most shocking of the three. The film dwells upon the spiritual lives of its characters, and it addresses this spiritual plane in several ways - strikingly through madness, through sectarian conflict, and through the mysteries of birth and death. The utter seriousness of its approach (save for a humorous reference to Kierkegaard (believe it or not)) allows the viewer to enter unreservedly into the film's world, which in turn allows for a miraculous climax, that is unbearably moving, itself a miracle of the cinema. So many of the universal elements in human existence are at work here that each viewer will undoubtedly find resonances within his or her own life.
*
Day of Wrath is a disturbing Freudian drama, cloaked in a world of tyrranical religion and witchcraft. Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' was allegedly influenced by this film. The second wife of an aging cleric, rather precipitiously engages in an affair with her husband's son from his first marriage, all under the stony eye of her fearsome mother-in-law. Self-reproach and resentment abound, and the damning of witches stands as an allegory that is not limited simply to sexuality.
*
The acting in both these films is particularly fine. Dreyer pioneers some cinematographic techniques too, such as the tracking of the camera while reverse panning, and some memorable horizon shots (was Kurosawa in the audience?).
*
Gertrud, while recognisably Dreyer's work, is quite different. Here the nature of time and its role in film is central, and one can she how this film might have been a catalyst for some of Tarkovsky's thoughts. The acting is incredibly stylised, and the tableau as carefully arranged as still lifes. This film is so far removed from ordinary film conventions that it can be hard to relate to - in terms of the viewing experience perhaps there are some similarities to seeing an Antonioni film, but not too many: this film is unique.
*
Criterion have provided their usual superb transfers, and an interesting documentary. Really, the whole production of this package is faultless. A booklet provides a short extract from the book 'Dreyer in Double Reflection: Carl Dreyer's Writings on Film', edited by Donald Skoller, and I can also recommend this book in its entirety. Finally, Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc, also on Criterion, is as great as any of these three films.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential
Review: This collection would be improved by inclusion of the early Dreyer comedy The Master of The House. I have seen Gertrud and The Day of Wrath in the cinema several times and Gertrud is on my list of all time top ten. The severity minimal means achieving maximum effects are the essence of what director/critic/screenwriter called "the transcendental style". The story of a woman's' love that was never requited by those who loved sounds simple enough but then, Dreyer would not be the master he is if he had not turned it into something beautiful that is intrinsically tied to the means of the film as medium itself. I thin that this film has only 57 shots. Yes 57! Long camera takes and static camera setups are what make this particular film and unforgettable experience. Definitely not for all tastes but once you see it you will probably be hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Abstract yet personal
Review: This great package contains films by one on the masters of modern cinema. Dreyer's work provides a marvellous antidote to what passes for cinema in today's world. Dreyer's films are in effect works of art.
Of this set, my two favorites are Ordet and Gertrud. All of Carl Dreyer's film manage to magically combine the physical and the metaphysical. It takes time to get into the pace of these films, but one into them, they are totally absorbing. The pace required is that of real time. These films restore real emotion and humanity to film, so very different from what passes for emotion and feeling in most of today's Hollywood productions.
To understand these films it is necessary to work from the inside out as it were. We are required to do the work for ourselves. We have to think and feel for ourselves as we watch these films. They are theraputic in the sense that the viewer has to slow down and pay attention. Everything counts in a Dreyer film.
These film are at one and the same time abstract and very personal. I can see how they have influenced fellow Dane Lars von rier.
For anyone is looking for action and external excitement in their films, I would suggest that they look elsewhere, but if they are want to see meditative works of art, this is the place to find them.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the documentary
Review: Watch out, cinema lovers! Carl Theodor Dreyer is a unique director, and his films require a special kind of patience. Day of Wrath, Ordet and Gertrude are fascinating and sometimes difficult (especially the last two) films, but rewarding if you allow yourself to get involved. But the documentary accompanying this terrific Criterion release is dull, overly "artistic", and frankly not very informative. Only buy the box set if you're willing to watch and then discard it. P.S. Also buy The Passion of Joan of Arc, and, if you can find it, Vampyr.
| 
