Carl Dreyer's Vampyr is unquestionably an astonishing feat of film-making, due in no small part to the innovative craftsmanship which must have seemed so radicaly new in 1932. That is, admittedly, what impressed me most on my first viewing. 'What? This is 1932?...Wow'. The movement of the camera in particular seems very sophisticated, even by contemporary standards. Many of the film's effects are hokey by comparison with modern cinema, but to zoom-in on these effects strikes me as uncharitable and misguided...better to appreciate the strange and mysterious imagery of the film...
On the DVD commentary Guillermo del Toro quotes Magritte stating that the duty of the artist is to connect us with mystery. While I can't find that exact quote, I have found these others from Magritte: "Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see" & “My painting is visible images which conceal nothing... they evoke mystery and indeed when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question 'What does that mean'? It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable.”
Want more time for reflection on this one, particularly because Guillermo del Toro's such a big fan. So, more to come...in the meantime, here are some images from the film , and some scans of the beautiful programme which was printed for the Danish release...
No comments:
Post a Comment