Returning Through the Woods I Was Lost In
Vampyr (1932)
directed by Carl Theodor Dryer
rating: 2 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
In the spring of 2003, I lived in Harpswell, Maine, and read about the "atmospheric" Vampyr for the first time. A mangled VHS was the best copy I could procure, and I assumed a bad print could only add to the mystery and age of this famous Danish curiosity (typical). I was bored with the movie, but I gave its reputation the benefit of the doubt and assumed I would think otherwise someday.
When Criterion announced a restoration, I ogled the cover art and happily perused a new generation of glowing reviews. I added Vampyr to my Netflix queue, and even had a rare and appropriately stormy night in New Mexico to watch it in the dark. And the movie began well enough, with odd images and strange fictions, and the patina of Old World peasant dreams. But it didn't last; not even the cheapest apothecary would pedal so short-lived a spell.
I don't think Dryer could contain his obvious glee at his production's rudimentary special effects, and the truth is that they call attention to themselves because he used them too much. Vampyr is a repetitious movie, not a languid one. It is burdened more than haunted, however beautiful and effective the occasional nightmare punctuation like this one:
directed by Carl Theodor Dryer
rating: 2 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
In the spring of 2003, I lived in Harpswell, Maine, and read about the "atmospheric" Vampyr for the first time. A mangled VHS was the best copy I could procure, and I assumed a bad print could only add to the mystery and age of this famous Danish curiosity (typical). I was bored with the movie, but I gave its reputation the benefit of the doubt and assumed I would think otherwise someday.
When Criterion announced a restoration, I ogled the cover art and happily perused a new generation of glowing reviews. I added Vampyr to my Netflix queue, and even had a rare and appropriately stormy night in New Mexico to watch it in the dark. And the movie began well enough, with odd images and strange fictions, and the patina of Old World peasant dreams. But it didn't last; not even the cheapest apothecary would pedal so short-lived a spell.
I don't think Dryer could contain his obvious glee at his production's rudimentary special effects, and the truth is that they call attention to themselves because he used them too much. Vampyr is a repetitious movie, not a languid one. It is burdened more than haunted, however beautiful and effective the occasional nightmare punctuation like this one:
posted by NPK at 11:59 PM
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