VAMPYR: masterpiece of horror or pretentious and overrated? in Golden Age Horror Forum

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VAMPYR: masterpiece of horror or pretentious and overrated?

Author	Comment
Neanderthal78	I really like this film	#121	[-]
Jul 5 09 2:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts
Neanderthal78		#122	[-]
Jul 5 09 2:26 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think it's one of those films that you either love or hate.
numbercrunch		#123	[-]
Nov 7 09 9:24 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	the criterion dvd is outstanding. i love this film . i also have passion of joan of arc which is also amazing.
cris		#124	[-]
Nov 12 09 12:58 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I agree, the Criterion DVD is outstanding. The film is a masterpiece of world cinema.
Koukol 5		#125	[-]
Nov 12 09 3:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Absofrigginlutely!
Saturday8pm		#126	[-]
Nov 24 09 12:09 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I discovered this recently on TCM. It's good; tons of atmosphere, but I can see it boring people too. Really more of a ghost story.
strangenstein		#127	[-]
Oct 25 10 7:13 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wolfman Joe wrote: I've found individual scenes in the movies quite fascinating, but every time I've tried to watch it beginning to end, I've fallen asleep. EVERY time. I guess it is "dream-like" - but in my case, it actually sends me to dreamland! I'm in 5 1/2 years late, but I guess I have to second Wolfman Joe on this one. Certain scenes are quite arresting, but for the most part I just can't seem to make it all the way through in one sitting. I also used to fall asleep during White Zombie, so go figure. Strangenstein
dcwillis9		#128	[-]
Oct 25 10 8:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Rick wrote: VAMPYR is nearly a great film, but there is an undeniable "whaaa....?" factor. Of the other Dreyers I've seen: DAY OF WRATH--great PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC--really great ORDET--greatest of them all GERTRUD--the most overrated 'great' film I've ever seen I admit I had to see Day of Wrath twice before I could appreciate it. Maybe King Kong wasn't quite the right co-feature (the first time I saw it). Even twice wasn't enough, tho, for Joan of Arc. Okay, I'll try to give it a third shot.... As for Vampyr--you're right on the money: a masterpiece and pretentious. So, half a masterpiece--the first half. I think I've liked most of the other Dreyer silents, including Michael & Master of the House, but Leaves from Satan's Book I dunno....
dcwillis9		#129	[-]
Oct 25 10 8:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	strangenstein wrote: Wolfman Joe wrote: I've found individual scenes in the movies quite fascinating, but every time I've tried to watch it beginning to end, I've fallen asleep. EVERY time. I guess it is "dream-like" - but in my case, it actually sends me to dreamland! I'm in 5 1/2 years late, but I guess I have to second Wolfman Joe on this one. Certain scenes are quite arresting, but for the most part I just can't seem to make it all the way through in one sitting. I also used to fall asleep during White Zombie, so go figure. Strangenstein I used to fall asleep on The Black Cat ('34), but now I kinda love it....
oregan		#130	[-]
Nov 3 10 3:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	VAMPYR - Very stylish looking but pretentious as hell!! Way overrated.
Jon Markion		#131	[-]
Nov 6 10 12:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I like this movie, and I'm very impressed with Dreyer's use of light and shadows, but I'm wondering if a few scenes might benefit with some tinting (w/ the exception of evil Twain's final death-by-powder scene). It takes a bit more effort to accept certain scenes taking place at night, such as Allen Grey's visitation by the old man in his alleged moonlit room at the inn, with sunlight beaming through the window. Looks like Grey's in bed in the middle of the day. Still a great scene ( David Lynch must have bumped his head on it when he did "Twin Peaks"). Would be interesting if future dvd editions offered a "watch a tinted version" option. And maybe a new recording or cleaning/remixing of Wolfgang Zeller's score. In places it sounds like Criterion carved the audio out like a pumpkin.
opticalguy	Art House Horror	#132	[-]
Dec 25 10 12:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	All of this brouhaha about Vampyr makes me aware of how alien art films are to most folks. Dreyer's film is a no-budget, film as plastic art, piece of experimental cinema. If you saw it expecting a commercial general audience film then of course you feel like you've been had. It appears that Dreyer also said a lot of silly crap (it was a reaction to films like Dracula … even though Dracula had not been released when he did Vampyr) that muddied the waters. As an experimental art film (someone earlier someone who was hip enough to cite Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon) it works pretty darned well. Not everyone likes this sort of thing (lentils and tofu dishes aren't for everyone either) but pretentious? Is all art pretentious or is this a negative reaction to those who overpraise it? Of Dreyer's few "commercial" films Day of Wrath is the most watchable IMHO. Vampire I rather like but it exists in such a damaged state. opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill) Last Edited By: opticalguy Jan 12 11 1:38 PM. Edited 1 times.
Jonatwork		#133	[-]
Dec 26 10 5:38 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	opticalguy, I was aware of Maya Deren back in the 90's (I worked in a video store near an art school), but didn't actually see any of her work until this year. My response was "This looks like film school stuff" (what can you expect, I've seen film school projects that came decades AFTER these short films)...and I really enjoyed it. The use of mirrors, the simple thrills from using draped human figures and other visuals that seem rudimentary NOW--all of this worked for me, because it had that feeling of something felt, something that emerged without being forced. One of the word I watch out for (I used it in another post here within the last week) is 'pretentious"--one man's pretentious is another's ambitious. Some works of art leave me cold--Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc for one. But your post and the images you used to illustrate it make me want to see this, after passing on it several times in the past. Every artist could probably be described, on some level, as pretentious--if he or she doesn't pretend that these images on celluloid are the most important, burning things he or she knows, despite all evidence to the contrary, I don't know what kind of artist he or she can be.
Wich2		#134	[-]
Dec 26 10 12:30 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The JOAN film is a flat-out masterpiece, all across the board. Hasn't dated at all.
Jonatwork		#135	[-]
Dec 26 10 2:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2, I may have to give JOAN another shot. While I appreciated the artistry, I found it tough going, and rather monotonous when I saw it a few years ago. The enthusiasm of its fans makes me think I should watch it again.
Robert Troch		#136	[-]
Dec 27 10 1:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Saw Joan over 25 years ago and fell asleep. She couldn't burn up quick enough for me. Now Vampyr......I see what he was trying to do (at least I think I do) and I give him kudos for trying, but it's a film that I never pull out to watch so that probably says something about the way it resonates with me. Robert T.
Koukol 5		#137	[-]
Dec 30 10 12:12 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wich2 wrote: The JOAN film is a flat-out masterpiece, all across the board. Absolutely! And so is VAMPYR!
Melkes		#138	[-]
Aug 30 11 4:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	opticalguy wrote: It appears that Dreyer also said a lot of silly crap (it was a reaction to films like Dracula … even though Dracula had not been released when he did Vampyr) that muddied the waters. Just getting back to an old thread ... I don't think Dreyer has ever referred to Dracula and definitely not in connection to making Vampyr. Even though Dreyer's film premiered later than Browning's, it predates that film production wise. Dreyer concocted the idea for Vampyr already in 1929 and filmed it around the beginning of April to October 1930 (Dracula was filmed end of September to November in the same year). It was edited the following couple of months and a silent work print was shown for a small audience by the end of 1930. According to Dreyer his inspirations for the movie were French avant-garde artists of the 1920's, older artists like Goya, and of course literature like Sheridan Le Fanu. He did mention something to the extent that vampires were in fashion at the time but it's not clear what he had in mind - perhaps the 'Dracula' stage plays and London After Midnight.
bela lugosi		#139	[-]
Aug 30 11 7:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Have to chime in that I really love VAMPYR, and THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC as well! Both films just suck me in and hold onto my attention like few others like them. JOAN OF ARC more intensely, while VAMPYR is more of a quiet trance for me. Both are masterpieces in my eyes.
stuthehistoryguy		#140	[-]
Aug 31 11 1:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Very good comments throughout this thread. Vampyr is of the same flavor as surrealist films like L'Age d'Or or Un Chien Andalou. While more conservative than the Bunuel/Dali pieces, it's still more of a demonstration of the power of images than a plot played out. I do feel it's dated; the "waking up in a coffin" scene may have inspired dread in it's day, but now the protagonist just looks like a Mercury astronaut. As an "experiment", it's just not that far out--if you've seen Un Chien Andalou, you'll know what I mean--and as a plotted film, it's not cogent. I'm going to have to come down on the "pretentious and overrated" side for that reason. It's nice to see a top director trying to stretch the genre, but he went too far--or not far enough, even for 1932.

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VAMPYR: masterpiece of horror or pretentious and overrated?