|
 |
|
Vampyr (BFI Film Classics)x$10.55
  (2 reviews)
Best Price: $14.95 $10.55
Vampyr Der Traum des Allan Gray (1932) is one of the founding and defining works of psychological horror cinema, adapted from Gothic stories by Sheridan Le Fanu, a disturbing narrative of vampirism, obsession and posession of the soul. But it is also a film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, the revered and legendary Danish director of La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1927). Shot in France with private money and a largely nonprofessional cast and primitive sound equipment, Vampyr is to some extent a ruin. There is no definitive print and English versions are marred by poor image quality and subtitles. And yet it is unquestionably extraordinary, a vivid and haunting manifestation of Dreyer's power to make visible on screen the inner human state, and to convey a dreamlike imagery of textures of nature amidst which transient, solitary human figures pass, some illuminated by an inner light, others threatened by a malign or demonic presence. In relation to Dreyer's long but often frustrated career, Vampyr is often thought of as an uneven or disappointing film. But, according to David Rudkin, this is to misunderstand what it sets out to do, which is systematically to set the spectator adrift in a mysterious world. In a meticulous formal analysis of Vampyr, Rudkin expands on this contention, pinpointing the sources of the film's uniquely disquieting effect. And yet, however strange it is, Vampyr remains a profound and troubling artwork concerned at the last to communicate human meanings--and none more so than the essence of death - in remarkable filmic imagery.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Solving the Mystery
By ABUV8YV3CT669 on 2007-06-28
As David Rudkin, the author of this little BFI book, freely acknowledges, Vampyr is a problematic movie. Poor technical production, poor sound quality and unprofessional actors (the lead is played by the movie's financier) are just the beginning of the problems. Add to that such issues as dubbing into several languages, chopping by the German censors and various other bits and pieces cut throughout the years and you have a movie that will probably leave many people thinking, well, why bother watching it at all.
Given that the movie Vampyr is not as well known or as well loved as many others examined in other BFI publications, this book will never be as popular as others by that publisher. But for those film buffs who not only enjoy the more obscure movies of days gone by and also want a chance to better appreciate a lost classic, VAMPYR (the book) is a good place to start.
Rudkin examines the filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer and places Vampyr into the larger context of his film catalogue. Rudkin then proceeds to analyze the movie in a more straightforward manner, which is quite different than the approach taken in other BFI monographs. But such an approach works here for a simple reason. For other movies, such as Chinatown, The Birds or Belle de Jour, a viewer can appreciate the movie even without grasping any deeper meaning or symbolism that may be underneath the surface. Yet Vampyr can be a tough view. I watched the movie through once before reading this book and really shook my head wondering what I just saw. I then read this book, paying particular attention to Rudkin's breakdown of various sections, watched the movie again, and appreciated it much more.
What is refreshing about VAMPYR is that it stays true to the mission of BFI, which is to foster appreciation of film over "as wide an audience as possible." All the BFI books I have read have some degree of film analysis lingo that can be offputting. I am not entirely unsympathetic as I know from my own field of work that it is often difficult to explain things without using some professional terms. Yet the best books by BFI nonetheless impart some insight to allow even a layperson a better understanding and appreciation of a movie (see VERTIGO by Charles Barr as another example). The worst get bogged down in ridiculous postmodernist interpretation that really adds nothing useful to the conversation (see THE MATRIX by Joshua Clover as an example; also see not only my review of the same but, hilariously, the only other review of that book as of this date belittling me for not being sophisticated enough to understand things). I am happy to say that VAMPYR falls into the former camp.
Indispensable Book for the Exasperated Viewer of Vampyr
By A1B3CT7HFKCXY9 on 2007-08-09
When I watched this film, I almost took it out about half way through, such is the wretched state it's in--but something about its haunting, ghostly imagery forbade me from doing so. Reading David Rudkin's take on "Vampyr", I soon discovered that it wasn't just poor film quality that had so tried my patience, but also the unusual and innovative direction of Theodore Dreyer, whose distortion of reality is so jarring in "Vampyr" that it can leave the unwitting viewer perplexed, to say the least. Particularly helpful was Rudkin's treatment of the initial scene, where he not only explains Dreyer's disconcerting approach, but tells how a more conventional director would have shot it. He then proceeds to go through "Vampyr" methodically, analyzing each scene, further shedding light on the logic of its aesthetic form. He saves Gray's coffin scene (I almost thought he'd forgotten it!) for the final chapter, which is the most personal and philosophical. Entitled "The Journey to Our Grave", it's aptly named, considering what he reveals therein.
Of all the BFI books I've read, Rudkin's "Vampyr" has proven to be the most useful, in no small part because of the film's inherent difficulties, which the author explicates with seeming ease and expertise. And while 'useful' and 'enlightening' aren't exactly synonymous, Rudkin has, at least for this viewer, paved the way for a more enlightened appreciation of the elusive film called "Vampyr".
|
|
You may also be interested in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
