BS: Th. Dreyer's movies on all month-TCM

Subject: BS: Th. Dreyer's movies on all month-TCM
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Sep 04 - 01:12 PM

Thought the movie buffs among us would like to know that Turner Movie Classic, on cable, is showing Theodor Dreyer's films throughout September on Sundays. They list the following:         
        The Passion of Joan of Arc; Vampyr; Day of Wrath;Parson's Widow; Mikael (1924;) Ordet; Leaves from Satan's Book; Gertrud; Master of the House

We watched The Passion of Joan of Arc last night and it was stunning. Here's a bit about it:

Miraculously, in 1981 a Danish print was discovered in the janitor's closet of a Norwegian mental institution. Not only was it of the original version, but it was uncut and in good condition. The 1985 Cinematheque Francaise restoration, the version broadcast on TCM, uses this print with reconstructed French intertitles.

Also, I thought the music was equally impressive:

The version broadcast on TCM is accompanied by Richard Einhorn's acclaimed 1994 oratorio Voices of Light, which has often been performed in conjunction with the film in recent years, though it is also designed to be performed independently. The voice of Jeanne is sung by Anonymous 4, a leading female vocal quartet specializing in medieval music; texts quoted in the oratorio include writings by the famed medieval feminist writer Christine de Pizan and male 'misogynist' writers from roughly the same era. The bell sounds were recorded at the church in Domremy, Jeanne's birthplace.

They are also showing a docu on him:

arl Theodor Dreyer: My Metier

Torben Skjodt Jensen's elegant documentary is a collage of memories and reflections on one of cinema's greatest directors. Visually rich and densely layered, Carl Th. Dreyer:My Metier illuminates an artist too little understood and too important to overlook. Through interviews, historical writings, and rare archival footage, a portrait of Dreyer emerges an austere perfectionist, yes, but also a passionate man possessing a genuine sense of humor.

Subject: RE: BS: Th. Dreyer's movies on all month-TCM
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Sep 04 - 03:10 PM

Thanks for posting this, Kat. I saw a tiny bit of an ad for the films they're showing, and a remark to the effect that his "perfectionism was his undoing" as a film director. We enjoy some of these special series the cable channels run. I just wish that American Movie Classics would dump the commercials and go back to their uninterrupted showings. They created this sort of cable channel, then backed away from their own creation. No doubt the decision had to do with buck$, but it's a shame they changed.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Th. Dreyer's movies on all month-TCM
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Sep 04 - 03:28 PM

You're welcome, SRS. I am mad at my vcr right now; I had it set to tape Vampyr last night, plus the docu on Dreyer and it shut itself off after 30 minutes! *Someone's* been messing with my prgramming!

I agree with you about AMC; one reason we enjoy TCM, no ad excepts the ones shown with the original movies in the theatres and those are a blast to watch.

My taping did get a short silent film on MGM studios. It was really fun to watch.

kat