Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ordet: My Summer with the Danish Filmmaker

Appendix D: Dreyer on color film

Color films have now been on the screens of the world for twenty years. How many of them do we remember for the esthetic pleasure they gave us? Two—three—four—five? Possibly five—but probably not more. Romeo and Juliet just manages to be among them— after Olivier’s Henry V and Kinugasa’s Gate of Hell. Olivier got his ideas for his color schemes from the illuminated manuscripts of the period. Kinugasa got his from the classical wood-engravings of his people. Except for these three films there have been only attempts to accomplish things with color. These attempts are best exemplified by Moulin Rouge, where the smoke-filled room, right at the beginning, compelled admiration. The rest Dreyer on color film Appendix D Appendix D 120 of the film, so far as color is concerned, was mediocre. Why? In other scenes the réalisateur did not have Toulouse-Lautrec to hold on to. Huston is a great réalisateur, but as a painter Toulouse-Lautrec was greater. So, in twenty years’ time there have been three or four esthetically satisfying color films. A modest yield. Apart from the amusing and surprising color effects that are to be found in film musicals, a rather plain taste has dominated the use of color in moving pictures. This may be due to a fear to depart from the firm fundament of naturalism —firm, but boring. There can be poetry, of course, in the colors of daily life, but color film does not become art by even a sincere imitation of nature’s own colors. When a film colorist is merely imitating nature, the audience is merely appraising how well or ill the colors came out. Indeed, we have so often seen the grass green, and the sky blue, that sometimes we wish we could see a green sky and blue grass—just for a change. Also, there might be an intention of an artist behind it. Let us not forget that color in film can never look exactly like the colors of nature. The reason is simple: in nature, color nuances are endless, and the human eye cannot distinguish them all from one another. The tiny color differences, the semi-tones, all those nuances the eye receives without discrimination, are missing in color films. To demand that color in color films should be natural is to misunderstand all that is involved. Indeed, the spectator can have a much greater esthetic experience because color in film differs from that in nature. Color is a valuable help to the réalisateur. When colors are chosen with due regard to their emotional effect, and se- Dreyer on color film 121 lected to match each other, they can add an artistic quality to a film that black-and-white lacks. But it must always be borne in mind that color composition is as important in color film as composition in black-and-white. In black-and-white films light is set against darkness, and line against line. In color films surface is set against surface , form against form, color against color. What the blackand -white film expresses in changing light and shade, in the breaking of lines, must, in color film, be expressed by color constellations. There is also the matter of rhythm. To the many other rhythms in films, it is necessary now to add the color rhythm. While a color film is being made the problem of how it will be cut—i.e., edited—must be a constant concern. The slightest shift can change the balance between the color planes and cause disharmony. It must never be forgotten that because persons and objects constantly move in moving pictures, the color in color films constantly slides from one place to another in changing rhythm, and, when the colors collide, or melt together, very surprising effects can occur. The general rule about this is: use the smallest possible number of colors, and use them in conjunction with black and white. Black and white are too little used in color films. They have been forgotten in the childish rapture over the many bright colors in the paint-box. All this makes the réalisateur’s task more difficult—and more attractive too. Creating a scene in black-and-white is a fight, as every réalisateur of integrity knows. Colors do not make the fight easier, but they do make...