Carl Theodor Dreyer

Directing

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Born — Died

1889-02-03 — 1968-03-20

Place of birth

Copenhagen, Denmark

Known for

Directing

Credits

53 titles

Carl Theodor Dreyer (3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director. He is regarded by many critics and filmmakers as one of the greatest directors in cinema. His best known films include The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Vampyr (1932), Day of Wrath (1943), Ordet (1955), and Gertrud (1964). Dreyer was born illegitimate in Copenhagen, Denmark. His birth mother was an unmarried Scanian maid named Josefine Bernhardine Nilsson, and he was put up for adoption by his birth father, Jens Christian Torp, a married Danish farmer living in Sweden who was his mother's employer. He spent the first two years of his life in orphanages until his adoption b…

Known for

The Passion of Joan of Arc poster
8.0

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

1928

Vampyr poster
7.2

Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.

Vampyr

1932

Day of Wrath poster
8.0

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

Day of Wrath

1943

Ordet poster
7.9

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

Ordet

1955

Medea poster
6.5

Medea after having helped the man she loves, Jason, and given him to birth two children, is driven into fury and vengeful madness after he decides to abandon her to become successor to the throne by marring Glauce, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth.

Medea

1989

Gertrud poster
7.3

Hopeless romantic Gertrud inhabits a turn-of-the-century milieu of artists and musicians, where she pursues an idealized notion of love that will always elude her. She abandons her distinguished husband and embraces an affair with a young concert pianist, who falls short of her desire for lasting affection. When an old lover returns to her life, fresh disappointments follow, and Gertrud must try to come to terms with reality.

Gertrud

1964

Film credits

Behind the camera

The Passion of Joan of Arc poster
8.0

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

1928

The Passion of Joan of Arc poster
8.0

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

1928

Vampyr poster
7.2

Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.

Vampyr

1932

Vampyr poster
7.2

Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.

Vampyr

1932

Vampyr poster
7.2

Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.

Vampyr

1932

Day of Wrath poster
8.0

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

Day of Wrath

1943

Day of Wrath poster
8.0

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

Day of Wrath

1943

Day of Wrath poster
8.0

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

Day of Wrath

1943

Ordet poster
7.9

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

Ordet

1955

Ordet poster
7.9

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

Ordet

1955

Ordet poster
7.9

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

Ordet

1955

Medea poster
6.5

Medea after having helped the man she loves, Jason, and given him to birth two children, is driven into fury and vengeful madness after he decides to abandon her to become successor to the throne by marring Glauce, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth.

Medea

1989

Gertrud poster
7.3

Hopeless romantic Gertrud inhabits a turn-of-the-century milieu of artists and musicians, where she pursues an idealized notion of love that will always elude her. She abandons her distinguished husband and embraces an affair with a young concert pianist, who falls short of her desire for lasting affection. When an old lover returns to her life, fresh disappointments follow, and Gertrud must try to come to terms with reality.

Gertrud

1964

Gertrud poster
7.3

Hopeless romantic Gertrud inhabits a turn-of-the-century milieu of artists and musicians, where she pursues an idealized notion of love that will always elude her. She abandons her distinguished husband and embraces an affair with a young concert pianist, who falls short of her desire for lasting affection. When an old lover returns to her life, fresh disappointments follow, and Gertrud must try to come to terms with reality.

Gertrud

1964

Love One Another poster
6.6

A look at various lives, one of which is Jewish girl Hanne Liebe, as she grows up and experiences the pains of living as a Jew in Russia, leading to a revolution.

Love One Another

1922

Love One Another poster
6.6

A look at various lives, one of which is Jewish girl Hanne Liebe, as she grows up and experiences the pains of living as a Jew in Russia, leading to a revolution.

Love One Another

1922

Once Upon a Time poster
5.8

A beautiful but imperious princess refuses all offers of marriage, often condemning her suitors to death. The prince of Denmark comes seeking her hand and, aided by magic objects given to him by a mysterious spirit, seeks to win her love.

Once Upon a Time

1922

Once Upon a Time poster
5.8

A beautiful but imperious princess refuses all offers of marriage, often condemning her suitors to death. The prince of Denmark comes seeking her hand and, aided by magic objects given to him by a mysterious spirit, seeks to win her love.

Once Upon a Time

1922

No artwork available
8.0

Following some dodgy dealings, stockbroker Saccard is determined to pull himself out of the gutter and regain is reputation. He is of such ill repute that few, not even his own brother, want anything to do with him. Yet against all the odds he manages to establish a bank. Using straw men and secret knowledge of the course of the war, Saccard inflates the bank’s shares to feed his own sordid desire for speculation. Unfortunately, false success rarely endures. The preserved material is a fragment. (stumfilm.dk)

Money

1915

The Mystery of the Crown Jewels poster
10.0

On his way home from a business trip, the young detective Karl Frank meets the siblings Kuno and Margit von Krall. Immediately captivated by Margit’s beauty, Frank accepts an invitation to visit them at their hotel soon. That same evening, he is hired for an important mission: he must prevent a burglary at the city’s jeweller. However, he fails miserably as the mysterious masked thief escapes. He retires to the country estate of his new friends to nurse his wounded pride, still unaware that he will soon become part of a shady business. (Stumfilm.dk)

The Mystery of the Crown Jewels

1916

Lydia poster
9.0

A young bank clerk Karl Fribert falls hopelessly in love with the celebrated operetta primadonna Lydia, and faithfully and chivalrously puts his deepest feelings on display, following the goal of his love so vehemently that he does not turn back from either theft or murder. Lost.

Lydia

1918

Two People poster
6.7

Set entirely in one room, an innocent young man is accused of plagiarising the work of an old professor. Later, he is blamed for the professor's murder.

Two People

1945

Two People poster
6.7

Set entirely in one room, an innocent young man is accused of plagiarising the work of an old professor. Later, he is blamed for the professor's murder.

Two People

1945

Hotel Paradis poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hotel Paradis

1917

Thorvaldsen poster
5.8

Documentary short film about the work of Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), one of the most famous Danish sculptors, who spent a good part of his life in Italy.

Thorvaldsen

1949

Thorvaldsen poster
5.8

Documentary short film about the work of Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), one of the most famous Danish sculptors, who spent a good part of his life in Italy.

Thorvaldsen

1949

Master of the House poster
6.9

When a man becomes tyrannical towards his family, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude.

Master of the House

1925

Master of the House poster
6.9

When a man becomes tyrannical towards his family, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude.

Master of the House

1925

Michael poster
6.4

A mature and visually elegant period romance that remains one of the earliest and most compassionate overtly gay-themed films in movie history. Based upon Herman Bang's 1902 novel, Dreyer's Michael refashions the classical Greek myth of Jupiter and Ganymede into a love triangle between an aging artist, Zoret, his protagonist Michael, and Princess Zamikoff, an aristocratic femme fatale as entranced by Michael’s youthful beauty as Zoret is.

Michael

1924

Michael poster
6.4

A mature and visually elegant period romance that remains one of the earliest and most compassionate overtly gay-themed films in movie history. Based upon Herman Bang's 1902 novel, Dreyer's Michael refashions the classical Greek myth of Jupiter and Ganymede into a love triangle between an aging artist, Zoret, his protagonist Michael, and Princess Zamikoff, an aristocratic femme fatale as entranced by Michael’s youthful beauty as Zoret is.

Michael

1924

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

The War Correspondents

1913

Leaves from Satan's Book poster
6.1

The power of Satan is highlighted in four historical tales: the betrayal and subsequent arrest of Jesus, the Spanish Inquisition, the French Revolution and the execution of Marie Antoinette, and the Finnish War of Independence in 1918.

Leaves from Satan's Book

1920

Leaves from Satan's Book poster
6.1

The power of Satan is highlighted in four historical tales: the betrayal and subsequent arrest of Jesus, the Spanish Inquisition, the French Revolution and the execution of Marie Antoinette, and the Finnish War of Independence in 1918.

Leaves from Satan's Book

1920

The Bride of Glomdal poster
6.7

Tore, son of a poor farmer, loves Berit, daughter of a rich one, but she's promised to another man whom she does not love and thus refuses to marry.

The Bride of Glomdal

1926

The Bride of Glomdal poster
6.7

Tore, son of a poor farmer, loves Berit, daughter of a rich one, but she's promised to another man whom she does not love and thus refuses to marry.

The Bride of Glomdal

1926

The President poster
6.1

A judge sees his illegitimate daughter face trial for infanticide. He's certain that she will receive the death sentence.

The President

1919

The President poster
6.1

A judge sees his illegitimate daughter face trial for infanticide. He's certain that she will receive the death sentence.

The President

1919

The Parson's Widow poster
7.2

A newly elected village parson is required to marry his predecessor's widow. However, he's already married, and the woman is old enough to be his grandmother.

The Parson's Widow

1920

The Parson's Widow poster
7.2

A newly elected village parson is required to marry his predecessor's widow. However, he's already married, and the woman is old enough to be his grandmother.

The Parson's Widow

1920

No artwork available
8.0

he laws governing old age pensions in Denmark have recently been consolidated, and the rates of pensions improved. The film opens with visits to typical old age pensioners living independently. We pay a visit to a typical block of low-rent flats, built specially for old people who can care for themselves. Special places are provided for those who can no longer live alone without attention. We see the famous De Gamles By, which has been criticised on a number of counts, yet which has certain amenities provided by few other such places. We then visit a number of old people's homes, including a small one in a village, one of the most modern homes in Denmark in the prosperous Copenhagen suburb of Gentofte, and a typical average home.

De gamle

1947