1 00:00:40,607 --> 00:00:43,804 In 1909, a ship arrived in Copenhagen. 2 00:00:44,077 --> 00:00:47,604 On board was the American explorer Dr. Cook, 3 00:00:47,814 --> 00:00:50,442 who claimed to have been to the North Pole. 4 00:00:50,717 --> 00:00:53,481 A young journalist is seen on the newsreel: 5 00:00:53,686 --> 00:00:55,449 Carl Dreyer, 6 00:00:55,655 --> 00:00:57,623 20 years old at the time. 7 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,197 Fifty-five years later, in December 1964, 8 00:01:10,403 --> 00:01:11,870 the world premiere 9 00:01:12,072 --> 00:01:15,337 of his last film, Gertrud, took place in Paris. 10 00:01:16,609 --> 00:01:18,474 My name is Henri Clouzot. 11 00:01:19,846 --> 00:01:21,575 I know your films. 12 00:01:21,781 --> 00:01:23,874 Well, it's mutual! 13 00:01:25,885 --> 00:01:27,716 This is my wife. 14 00:01:28,188 --> 00:01:33,251 So we're to see a world premiere of Mr. Dreyer's film, right? 15 00:01:33,460 --> 00:01:38,955 And I believe we'll dine together Wednesday evening. 16 00:01:39,299 --> 00:01:42,166 When is the screening? 17 00:01:42,368 --> 00:01:43,357 Friday. 18 00:01:44,104 --> 00:01:45,731 He's a wonderful man. 19 00:01:45,805 --> 00:01:48,535 I watched him as he spoke to the audience. 20 00:01:48,608 --> 00:01:55,343 He has the profound shyness of the true artist. 21 00:01:55,415 --> 00:01:58,145 I know he's a Danish filmmaker, 22 00:01:58,218 --> 00:02:01,483 but to me he is, above all, a great international filmmaker. 23 00:02:21,141 --> 00:02:24,133 Mr. Dreyer's career was very difficult. 24 00:02:24,244 --> 00:02:28,882 He was out for work for 13 years 25 00:02:28,882 --> 00:02:31,783 between Vampyr and The Day of Wrath. 26 00:02:31,851 --> 00:02:37,153 But he stayed true to his ideals and explored them to the end. 27 00:02:37,223 --> 00:02:39,691 He only made a few films, 28 00:02:39,759 --> 00:02:42,319 but each one is important in the history of film. 29 00:02:45,431 --> 00:02:48,730 It's a dinner with other directors. 30 00:02:51,171 --> 00:02:53,139 - Will you be there? - Perhaps. 31 00:02:53,339 --> 00:02:59,539 Don't worry. No one will make you dance. 32 00:03:04,884 --> 00:03:09,719 Dreyer's world is a spiritual one, 33 00:03:09,789 --> 00:03:13,247 one ruled by love. 34 00:03:13,326 --> 00:03:20,129 By means of the story on the screen, 35 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,728 we glimpse another story behind the screen: 36 00:03:24,804 --> 00:03:30,242 the world of good and evil, 37 00:03:30,310 --> 00:03:33,973 the world of grace... 38 00:03:34,047 --> 00:03:37,744 and the world of tolerance. 39 00:03:41,988 --> 00:03:44,218 Gertrud was Dreyer's 13th film. 40 00:03:44,424 --> 00:03:47,655 It was made in Copenhagen in the summer of 1964. 41 00:03:48,027 --> 00:03:51,224 In the studio we are equals. 42 00:03:51,431 --> 00:03:56,528 We discuss things back and forth 43 00:03:56,736 --> 00:03:58,897 until everything's in place. 44 00:03:59,105 --> 00:04:02,472 It's my job to take part 45 00:04:02,675 --> 00:04:04,540 in as much as possible. 46 00:04:04,877 --> 00:04:08,040 Two things play a crucial role. 47 00:04:08,248 --> 00:04:10,546 One is the script, 48 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:13,241 and the other is casting the actors. 49 00:04:13,453 --> 00:04:15,318 The entire film 50 00:04:15,521 --> 00:04:18,547 rests on those two pillars. 51 00:05:27,126 --> 00:05:30,721 Dreyer always took great care with the style of his films. 52 00:05:31,998 --> 00:05:36,128 THE PRESIDENT (1920) 53 00:05:36,636 --> 00:05:40,128 In my first film, The President... 54 00:05:42,208 --> 00:05:45,666 I strove for simplicity, 55 00:05:46,546 --> 00:05:50,141 especially in the set design. 56 00:05:50,850 --> 00:05:53,876 My theory was that, 57 00:05:54,087 --> 00:05:57,750 when entering someone's living room, 58 00:05:57,957 --> 00:06:01,723 one could form an impression 59 00:06:01,928 --> 00:06:06,126 of the owner's personality. 60 00:06:06,733 --> 00:06:11,102 The president's living room 61 00:06:11,304 --> 00:06:14,603 consisted of plain walls and very little furniture. 62 00:06:14,807 --> 00:06:18,265 There were a few portraits 63 00:06:18,478 --> 00:06:22,847 with the black frames common in that period. 64 00:06:24,083 --> 00:06:27,746 For the interiors 65 00:06:27,954 --> 00:06:32,391 I was inspired by Wilhelm Hammersh�j, 66 00:06:33,526 --> 00:06:37,326 whose specialty was painting empty rooms. 67 00:06:38,498 --> 00:06:40,830 They were very beautiful paintings. 68 00:06:41,033 --> 00:06:43,331 I insisted 69 00:06:43,536 --> 00:06:46,630 that the older characters 70 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,774 be played by old actors with their own beards. 71 00:06:54,046 --> 00:06:56,037 "Condemned to death!" 72 00:07:07,293 --> 00:07:10,854 THE PARSON'S WIFE (1921) 73 00:07:11,931 --> 00:07:15,560 The style developed on its own 74 00:07:15,768 --> 00:07:21,707 as we worked in 17th-century houses. 75 00:07:21,941 --> 00:07:26,401 The roofs formed part of the image, 76 00:07:26,612 --> 00:07:29,638 which was unusual at the time. 77 00:07:29,849 --> 00:07:34,684 Ceilings are rare in studio-built sets. 78 00:07:35,755 --> 00:07:38,952 And looking out the windows 79 00:07:39,158 --> 00:07:43,595 we could see the countryside, 80 00:07:43,796 --> 00:07:47,061 which lent the film 81 00:07:47,266 --> 00:07:49,791 exceptional authenticity. 82 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,778 He's raising his hackles, Steinar. Could you calm him down? 83 00:08:23,970 --> 00:08:26,996 LOVE ONE ANOTHER (1922) 84 00:08:28,274 --> 00:08:31,334 Just outside Berlin, 85 00:08:31,544 --> 00:08:36,379 we had to reconstruct a corner of Russia. 86 00:08:36,816 --> 00:08:39,148 We succeeded 87 00:08:39,352 --> 00:08:45,086 because I was lucky enough to find refugees 88 00:08:45,291 --> 00:08:48,658 who'd lived through the Russian Revolution. 89 00:08:50,329 --> 00:08:54,823 They gave me hundreds of amateur photographs, which were a great help. 90 00:08:55,034 --> 00:08:57,093 I also found 91 00:08:57,303 --> 00:09:01,262 two Russian artists - a painter and a sculptor - 92 00:09:01,474 --> 00:09:07,208 who still shook with fear. 93 00:09:08,180 --> 00:09:11,877 They too were very helpful. 94 00:09:12,885 --> 00:09:16,377 We created an authentic setting, 95 00:09:17,023 --> 00:09:20,652 and therefore a genuine style. 96 00:09:53,859 --> 00:09:56,794 Herman Bang's book 97 00:09:56,996 --> 00:10:02,593 reflected a time 98 00:10:02,802 --> 00:10:05,498 when it was the fashion to have 99 00:10:06,372 --> 00:10:12,106 pulpits, baptismal fonts, and censers 100 00:10:12,311 --> 00:10:17,180 in the parlor as antiques. 101 00:10:17,783 --> 00:10:21,844 It was a time of falsehood, 102 00:10:22,054 --> 00:10:28,015 and so the film too was in a false style. 103 00:10:28,728 --> 00:10:32,164 Perhaps it was the first time 104 00:10:32,398 --> 00:10:35,231 that style was consciously applied. 105 00:10:35,434 --> 00:10:42,966 We therefore ended up with a thoroughly false style. 106 00:10:54,220 --> 00:10:55,778 "But it's you!" 107 00:11:16,876 --> 00:11:23,406 In a library we found a handwritten document 108 00:11:23,616 --> 00:11:27,245 decorated with small watercolor drawings 109 00:11:27,453 --> 00:11:33,858 from the 15th century, the time of Joan of Arc. 110 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,652 The characteristic traits of these watercolors 111 00:11:37,863 --> 00:11:41,321 were small, stylized houses in the background, 112 00:11:41,534 --> 00:11:45,766 and in the foreground, 113 00:11:45,971 --> 00:11:49,702 people of a normal, realistic size. 114 00:11:50,276 --> 00:11:54,372 We imitated this style, especially in the exteriors. 115 00:11:55,347 --> 00:11:58,214 We painted the decor white 116 00:11:58,417 --> 00:12:01,978 to create a distinct style. 117 00:12:02,621 --> 00:12:08,753 The actors' faces stood out well 118 00:12:08,961 --> 00:12:12,692 against the white background... 119 00:12:15,868 --> 00:12:19,201 which kept the viewer's attention. 120 00:12:19,605 --> 00:12:24,508 The flat white surfaces didn't distract. 121 00:12:37,723 --> 00:12:41,181 The script was taken practically directly 122 00:12:42,027 --> 00:12:47,192 from the transcript of her trial. 123 00:12:47,399 --> 00:12:52,803 Lines followed one after the other, 124 00:12:53,005 --> 00:12:58,910 like blows in a sword fight. 125 00:13:00,713 --> 00:13:06,379 Translated to film, that meant that each line 126 00:13:06,585 --> 00:13:08,917 corresponded to a close-up. 127 00:13:11,891 --> 00:13:16,123 The speed of the dialogue 128 00:13:16,328 --> 00:13:19,627 called for a stream of close-ups 129 00:13:19,832 --> 00:13:22,164 with corresponding text. 130 00:13:22,368 --> 00:13:25,895 It was the only way 131 00:13:26,105 --> 00:13:30,235 to give the audience an impression of what really happened. 132 00:13:30,442 --> 00:13:32,774 The public became 133 00:13:32,978 --> 00:13:35,538 part of the snide way 134 00:13:35,748 --> 00:13:42,051 in which the interrogation of Joan of Arc 135 00:13:42,288 --> 00:13:45,485 was conducted. 136 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:49,585 So it is God who orders you to dress as a man? 137 00:14:00,773 --> 00:14:03,799 And what reward do you expect from God? 138 00:14:13,118 --> 00:14:14,813 The salvation of my soul. 139 00:14:23,796 --> 00:14:25,388 You blaspheme God. 140 00:14:55,160 --> 00:15:00,621 We had planned on a rather heavy style, 141 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:08,872 but by chance we discovered something much better, 142 00:15:09,074 --> 00:15:13,807 so we changed our plans. 143 00:15:18,350 --> 00:15:25,119 Examining the first rushes... 144 00:15:26,558 --> 00:15:32,861 we stopped at a scene 145 00:15:33,399 --> 00:15:37,529 that seemed to have been shot in fog, 146 00:15:37,736 --> 00:15:41,672 a muddle of grayish white. 147 00:15:42,374 --> 00:15:47,334 To us this was the solution, 148 00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:50,910 at least for the interiors. 149 00:17:28,447 --> 00:17:29,812 Silence! 150 00:17:30,315 --> 00:17:35,218 At the end of the script, 151 00:17:35,487 --> 00:17:40,117 the village doctor, the vampire's accomplice... 152 00:17:42,027 --> 00:17:45,326 was to flee the village. 153 00:17:45,531 --> 00:17:51,333 In the middle of a marsh 154 00:17:51,537 --> 00:17:56,702 he was to fall into a mire 155 00:17:56,909 --> 00:18:04,042 where, unable to save himself, 156 00:18:04,249 --> 00:18:07,218 he would lose his life. 157 00:18:12,458 --> 00:18:16,451 One day we set out to find a suitable mire, 158 00:18:16,662 --> 00:18:18,892 and we drove around looking at marshes. 159 00:18:19,098 --> 00:18:22,499 But we discovered a house by the road 160 00:18:22,701 --> 00:18:28,196 where strange white shadows danced around the windows and doors 161 00:18:28,407 --> 00:18:34,778 as though some white fire inside was throwing off clear flames 162 00:18:34,980 --> 00:18:38,177 through the openings and cracks. 163 00:18:38,617 --> 00:18:40,585 We couldn't resist. 164 00:18:40,786 --> 00:18:44,916 We had to explore that white fire. 165 00:18:45,124 --> 00:18:50,926 We went inside and saw some dark silhouettes 166 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:57,091 walking around a grindstone 167 00:18:57,302 --> 00:19:02,069 and making plaster of Paris. 168 00:19:02,274 --> 00:19:06,233 The air was thick with fine powder. 169 00:19:07,513 --> 00:19:13,281 When we saw that, we knew what our style had to be: 170 00:19:13,485 --> 00:19:18,115 black silhouettes 171 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:21,891 against a white background. 172 00:19:22,094 --> 00:19:28,590 So we had to think of the ending taking place 173 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:31,633 inside a white mill. 174 00:19:31,837 --> 00:19:35,295 We knew then how the doctor should die: 175 00:19:35,507 --> 00:19:39,944 He'd be suffocated under an endless stream 176 00:19:40,145 --> 00:19:42,545 of milled flour. 177 00:20:22,321 --> 00:20:24,221 Listen to me! 178 00:20:24,723 --> 00:20:26,315 Please! 179 00:20:29,628 --> 00:20:31,892 Curse you, you bastard! 180 00:20:32,431 --> 00:20:34,592 Open up! 181 00:20:35,067 --> 00:20:37,627 Let me out of here! 182 00:20:40,239 --> 00:20:44,107 Open this gate! 183 00:21:14,740 --> 00:21:16,833 Over here. 184 00:21:18,577 --> 00:21:21,137 This way. 185 00:22:25,577 --> 00:22:28,068 THE DAY OF WRATH (1943) 186 00:22:29,848 --> 00:22:31,782 The period of this film 187 00:22:31,983 --> 00:22:35,783 coincides with the age of Rembrandt. 188 00:22:36,254 --> 00:22:40,486 Both are characterized by white plaster walls, 189 00:22:40,692 --> 00:22:43,126 heavy oak furniture, 190 00:22:43,328 --> 00:22:47,389 candlelight and oil lamps. 191 00:22:47,933 --> 00:22:52,302 The clothing is the same as that period too: 192 00:22:52,504 --> 00:22:54,631 long black garments 193 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,468 with large white collars and cuffs. 194 00:22:57,709 --> 00:23:01,668 So the two styles resembled each other, 195 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,407 though it was never our intention to imitate. 196 00:23:05,817 --> 00:23:12,689 I began using dolly shots 197 00:23:12,891 --> 00:23:20,263 to provide some variation to the heavy style. 198 00:23:21,867 --> 00:23:25,928 Dolly shots give a feeling of life. 199 00:23:26,505 --> 00:23:33,673 The aim was to follow the actors in their roles, 200 00:23:34,279 --> 00:23:40,240 including in close-ups as they moved from spot to spot. 201 00:23:41,353 --> 00:23:46,757 That meant I had to take much greater care 202 00:23:47,692 --> 00:23:51,093 with the composition of the image, 203 00:23:51,296 --> 00:23:55,960 because it changed from second to second. 204 00:23:56,368 --> 00:24:01,601 I wanted to be sure the style remained consistent. 205 00:24:09,915 --> 00:24:12,076 The old one's giving in. 206 00:24:15,554 --> 00:24:17,784 Will you confess? 207 00:24:20,759 --> 00:24:22,386 Finally. 208 00:24:24,429 --> 00:24:26,260 Let her down. 209 00:24:43,281 --> 00:24:46,808 "...after all she has confessed." 210 00:25:13,545 --> 00:25:18,278 In Ordet I began 211 00:25:18,483 --> 00:25:21,680 a radical simplification. 212 00:25:23,121 --> 00:25:29,253 I would only accept things directly related to the story. 213 00:25:29,628 --> 00:25:35,430 In old Borgen's living room, 214 00:25:35,634 --> 00:25:38,432 there was only a portrait of Grundtvig, 215 00:25:38,637 --> 00:25:42,334 a barometer, and a grandfather clock. 216 00:25:42,541 --> 00:25:46,170 There was a large kitchen that I wished to simplify, 217 00:25:46,378 --> 00:25:48,972 and I succeeded. 218 00:25:49,180 --> 00:25:55,050 You can't simplify reality without understanding it first, 219 00:25:55,253 --> 00:25:58,780 so I asked the woman who ran the studio canteen 220 00:25:58,990 --> 00:26:02,653 to equip the kitchen as if it were her own, 221 00:26:02,861 --> 00:26:06,058 the way she would feel at ease in it. 222 00:26:06,264 --> 00:26:11,600 She brought all kinds of kitchen stuff - 223 00:26:11,803 --> 00:26:14,499 plates and pots and pans - 224 00:26:14,706 --> 00:26:17,470 which she arranged as she wished. 225 00:26:17,676 --> 00:26:21,476 When she'd finished, the cameraman Bendtsen and I 226 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:27,118 began taking objects away one by one, 227 00:26:27,319 --> 00:26:30,914 until only four or five were left. 228 00:26:31,122 --> 00:26:34,922 In this simplified form, 229 00:26:35,427 --> 00:26:40,626 the notion of a kitchen was much clearer than before. 230 00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:51,568 Karen, run out with that to the hens. 231 00:27:00,485 --> 00:27:02,146 You'll have to give me a bit of help. 232 00:27:02,354 --> 00:27:03,821 With what? 233 00:27:04,322 --> 00:27:06,688 Well, you see, Anne and l, we're thinking of... 234 00:27:06,891 --> 00:27:12,022 Anders! You haven't fallen in love with the tailor's Anne? 235 00:27:12,230 --> 00:27:17,395 Yes. Is there anything wrong with that, Mikkel? 236 00:27:17,602 --> 00:27:21,163 It's the worst thing you could do. 237 00:27:21,373 --> 00:27:22,567 The worst thing? 238 00:27:22,774 --> 00:27:26,039 I don't mean anything against her. She's a sweet girl. 239 00:27:26,244 --> 00:27:27,268 But what? 240 00:27:27,479 --> 00:27:29,606 What would Father think? 241 00:27:35,654 --> 00:27:40,216 With Gertrud, right from the start... 242 00:27:41,726 --> 00:27:44,388 I attempted a process of simplification, 243 00:27:44,596 --> 00:27:47,190 especially with the dialogue, 244 00:27:47,632 --> 00:27:53,161 to find a more concise form. 245 00:27:56,374 --> 00:28:01,744 I also turned my attention to the characters' figures, 246 00:28:01,946 --> 00:28:06,406 making them statuesque, 247 00:28:06,651 --> 00:28:11,884 to come closer to the style of tragedy. 248 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,389 Good-bye, Axel. Thanks for visiting. 249 00:28:19,631 --> 00:28:21,826 Thank you for your book. 250 00:28:23,435 --> 00:28:26,495 Goodbye, Gertrud.