Arguably the greatest of Scandinavian filmmakers, Danish director
Carl Dreyer was neglected in his lifetime and spent long periods
inactive due to the indifference of producers. Nonetheless, his
slender body of work includes some of the supreme masterpieces both of
silent film (The Passion of Joan Of Arc) and of sound cinema (Ordet,
Gertrud). His style, like Bresson's, is austere and concentrated, but
despite their frequent bleakness his films display an extraordinary
serenity and joy. Dreyer is often pigeonholed as a religious artist,
but his greatness lies in his understanding of the power of love,
whether secular or spiritual. Dreyer was never fashionable, but
directors as diverse as Godard and Lars von Trier have acknowledged his
influence; his work endures while fashions fade.
