In this Book
- Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ordet: My Summer with the Danish Filmmaker
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
- Series: Screen Classics
Regarded by many filmmakers and critics as one of the greatest directors in cinema history, Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889–1968) achieved worldwide acclaim after the debut of his masterpiece, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), which was named the most influential film of all time at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. In 1955 Dreyer granted twenty-three-year-old American student Jan Wahl the extraordinary opportunity to spend a unique and unforgettable summer with him during the filming of Ordet (The Word [1955]). Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ordet: My Summer with the Danish Filmmaker is a captivating account of Wahl's time with the director, based on Wahl's daily journal accounts and transcriptions of his conversations with Dreyer. Offering a glimpse into the filmmaker's world, Wahl fashions a portrait of Dreyer as a man, mentor, friend, and director. Wahl's unique and charming account is supplemented by exquisite photos of the filming and by selections from Dreyer's papers, including his notes on film style, his introduction for the actors before the filming of Ordet, and a visionary lecture he delivered at Edinburgh. Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ordet details one student's remarkable experiences with a legendary director and the unlikely bond formed over a summer.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- pp. 1-5
- Chapter 1. Pastries at Rungsted
- pp. 7-15
- Chapter 2. Small room with a view
- pp. 17-23
- Chapter 3. Sardines and cigars
- pp. 25-34
- Chapter 4. Lambs in the front yard
- pp. 35-42
- Chapter 5. A feeling for atmosphere
- pp. 43-49
- Chapter 6. The rain and the fiddle
- pp. 51-55
- Chapter 7. Magic of the lens
- pp. 57-62
- Chapter 8. Something about Jesus
- pp. 63-69
- Chapter 11. Leaves from a journal
- pp. 81-86
- Appendix B: Plot Summary of Ordet
- pp. 103-107
- Appendix C: Letters from Denmark
- pp. 109-117
- Appendix D: Dreyer on color film
- pp. 119-123
- Appendix F: Dreyer on film style
- pp. 135-143
- Filmography
- pp. 145-154