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Mr Sausage wrote:Thinking about it, the book doesn't so much compel the past into the present as pull the present into the past since it comes across as a description of the very events occurring in the narrative. The old book, which kicks off the supernatural events proper, seems to pull Gray into its world (which fits with the theme of Gray being Quixotic, in the sense of having an imagination driven wild by books--also a late addition), forcing him, a person from the present, to reenact events from the distant past. One could well read the movie as being about a person forced to inhabit a story!

Very nicely put. I think a big part of this film's creepiness resides in the constant sense that Gray is drawn into a set of rituals and patterns that have been repeating themselves for several generations - and I like your point about the element of 'deduction' being removed by the absurdly helpful explanations found in the book. The characters seem to be left with nothing to do, no agency. The book does of course give them instructions on how to break the curse, by killing the vampire, and Gray accomplishes this (with the help of his fellow bookworm, the manservant) just after attaining 'peak impotence', in his dream of living-death-and-burial. But after this, arguably, the film goes on to follow the pattern established in Dreyer's other films, where the set narratives, rituals, orthodoxies and texts are surpassed and transcended. The book becomes irrelevant in the final reel, and both Gray and the manservant seem to be acting in ambiguous harmony with the benevolent (but vengeful) spirits that have taken over at the end. At least, that's one alternative to the reading I suggested above, and maybe a more persuasive one...

swo17 wrote:Is Dreyer taking sides here, proposing a rejection of the past, or merely acknowledging how it hangs over everything that we do? Perhaps in his other films more than this one, does he find fault with the past itself or with how people in the present dishonor it by twisting it to fit their own ends?

Drucker wrote:Like Griffith, Dreyer's films often are centered on both 1) innocence of good characters and 2) the hypocrisy of others. Joan of Arc is an example where both contrast perfectly in Dreyer's film. Master Of The House being another one.

matrixschmatrix wrote:The head of the other household in Ordet definitely comes off as a viciously doctrinal traditionalist, but that feels more like it's part of the film's critique of organized religion and the way it blots out faith than anything to do with the battle of old vs. new.

I don't think the conflicts always centre on 'the past' or the old as such, but the antagonist in Dreyer's films is usually some form of received idea, orthodoxy, prejudice or superstition, and it's often signalled by a piece of heavily foregrounded text: the legal records that punctuate Day of Wrath, for example, or the panning shot of 'BORGENSGAARD' at the start of Ordet, a loftily inscribed word that comes to be associated with old Morten's doctrinal rigidity ('no son of Borgensgaard will ever, etc.'), and perhaps stands in contrast with the unspoken, unwritten 'word' referred to in the film's title, the word that means simple, unprejudiced faith.

But as swo says about the distinction between 'the past' and 'those who twist it to fit their own ends', I'm not sure whether it's organised religion as such that Dreyer tends to oppose or just the way it gets enlisted to support conflicts and persecutions that have nothing to do with religion. Look at Rylowitsch in Love One Another, disguising himself as a monk to stir up anti-Semitic feelings; the importance of the military presence in Joan of Arc, hanging over the ostensibly Christian trial (which several of the monks speak out against); or the ending of Day of Wrath, which is really motivated by the mother's jealousy rather than by any genuine religious fervour.

This title is currently showing as 'Out of Print' on criterion's webpage. Are they just reissuing with new ISBN or is something going on here?

Most likely they're changing the packaging to a standard plastic case and dropping the huge book. Happens from time to time (eg. Short Cuts).

swo17 wrote:BD upgrade in October

No mention of any new restoration it seems.

Interestingly it lists the book...

I'm thinking those specs haven't been updated yet. Aren't they all true of the DVD?

Pretty sure this page is only half-updated. The Blu-ray is listed as one disc, despite saying Double-Disc Set. Also, the Vampyr re-issue for the DVD nixed the book. It'd be amazing if it was brought back, though. It's a fantastic read.

Yes. I just checked Beaver's original review. Even the wording of the transfer is the same.

Apperson wrote:

swo17 wrote:BD upgrade in October

No mention of any new restoration it seems.

Nor the release date.

The sell sheets simply reflect what's on the site, so it's possible the book will be included again

• High-definition digital transfer of the original
German version of the film, from the 1998
restoration by Martin Koerber and the Cineteca di
Bologna, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Alternate version with English text
• Audio commentary featuring film scholar
Tony Rayns
• Carl Th. Dreyer, a 1966 documentary by Jørgen Roos
chronicling Dreyer’s career
• Video essay by scholar Casper Tybjerg on Dreyer’s
influences in creating Vampyr
• Radio broadcast from 1958 of Dreyer reading an
essay about filmmaking
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics Mark Le
Fanu and Kim Newman, a piece by Koerber on the
restoration, and a 1964 interview with producer and
actor Nicolas de Gunzburg
• AND: A book featuring Dreyer and Christen Jul’s
original screenplay and Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872
story “Carmilla,” a source for the film

The date is October 3rd.

The page no longer lists the book among the specs. It actually doesn't show a Blu-ray listing now either.

The bluray listing including the release date and book are back.

I don't have high hopes for this to be a good looking bluray.

FrauBlucher wrote:The bluray listing including the release date and book are back.

I don't have high hopes for this to be a good looking bluray.

Actually, the DVD has surprisingly good tonal range for being from nth generation elements. I'd expect it to be similar to Sunrise in quality.

Seems more than likely they upgraded when stock ran out as with other dated-mastered upgrades.

Based on the product description ("high definition digital transfer") it sounds as if it is the same transfer originally released on DVD. It should still look better, what with the superior resolution and dynamic range of Blu-ray. It would not surprise me if the grey tonalities in the film are rendered with more atmosphere, to say nothing of the grain.

If they made a new transfer of the same restoration, that would be even better--but I'm fine with a simple Blu-ray upgrade.

Pity the alternate French and US versions couldn't be included.

Was anyone else really disappointed with this one? I guess I hyped it up to myself a lot and I didn't really know what to expect from a Dreyer horror film but I felt Vampyr was terribly dated and stretched a thin concept to the point where I didn't care about any of it.

I felt it could have done without the lengthy book inserts, which interferes with the dreamlike feel.

Minkin wrote:Svetpyr

Rarely has someone discussed a film less in the course of reviewing said film.

Do people actually think this guy is good at his job?

Looking at the current activity in its dedicated Infighting thread, I'm not sure many think so.

Well ... we all know how to kill vampires =D

Discussion re: restoring Vampyr:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.ph ... 359&page=7