Carl Dreyer Retrospective Comes to the BFI. Win Tickets!

The BFI Southbank is gearing up for an entire season of screenings this March dedicated to the iconic Danish innovator of the Silent Era Carl Dreyer, whose powerful images of gothic macabre and humanist tragedy remain influential to this day. Best known for such landmark works as The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr and Ordet, Dreyer was actually overlooked during his time, often rebuking fashionable filmic decadence for an approach that was more minimal, calculated and experimental. The Passion of Joan of Arc, for example, consists almost entirely of painstaking and heartbreaking close-ups of actress Maria Falconetti's face as she purges through the trials of matrydom -- a style that you can quite clearly see go on to influence future generations of directors, from Ingmar Bergman to Andy Warhol.

Dreyer made 14 films in total, all of which will screen at the BFI, well as special films and documentaries dedicated to his life.

Read the full press release below, or go to the BFI website for more information. And if you like the sound of that and would like to experience one of these masterpieces yourself, why not enter in our competition for one of three free tickets to any one of the BFI's screenings!

The BFI continues to cast a spotlight on silent film with a celebration of the Danish master of light and shadow Carl Dreyer. His legacy will be celebrated with a complete retrospective of his films; from his seminal silent The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, 1928) to sound features Days of Wrath (Vredens Dag, 1943) and Gertrud (1964).

The Danish director Carl Dreyer made 14 films and, to many, at least half a dozen of them are rated outright masterpieces. With this complete retrospective -  The Passion of Carl Dreyer - audiences will be reminded why he is one of the greatest masters of cinema and of equal weight to Bergman, Renoir, Ozu, etc. His seminal silents have included comedies and presented audiences with iconic images – Jean-Luc Godard featured extracts from The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, 1928) in his debut À bout de souffle (1960) – and Vampyr (Vampyr: Der Traum des Allan Gray, 1932), Dreyer’s first talkie, is recognised as an innovative experiment with form. Days of Wrath (Vredens Dag, 1943) tells of 17th century witch hunts and is one of the greatest European films made during WWII, when Denmark was occupied by the Nazis. His subsequent short films, made during the 1940s, receive a rare outing and feature They Caught the Ferry (1948) – an inspiration to Jim Jarmusch - and screen in their own programme. With the inclusion of an Extended Run of Dreyer’s classic  Ordet (The Word, 1955) and the documentary Carl Th Dreyer, My Métier  (1995), this season is a must for fans of beautifully crafted, observational films.

WIN: A Ticket to One Free Screening In This Retrospective

If you would like to attend any one of Carl Dreyer's 14 works, simply e-mail us the answer to this question, along with your name, address and the screening you would like to attend (full list here) to cinehouse@gmail.com with the header 'Carl Dreyer comp':

Q: What Country was Carl Dreyer born in?

DEADLINE: Sunday March 4, 2012


Good Luck!


Terms & Conditions

1. All entries must be from UK & Ireland.
2. You must be 16 years and over to enter the Peoples Movies/Cinehouse has right to refuse entry if suspicous
3. The competition is to win one free entry to a BFI retrospective screening, no cash alternatives or exchanges accepted.
4. The competition is not opened to employees, friends, family of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, BFI
5. deadline for comp isTuesday Sunday March 4th (2359hrs).
6. one entry per household
7. Peoples Movies/Cinehouse have the right to change, alter or cancel the above comp with no notice.
8. judges say is final
9. The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for any damaged, late or lost/stolen prizes.
10. Any entries that do not include name, answer, contact address or any of the required details will be void.
11. All prizes come direct from supplier delivery time of prize can take anything from a few days to months.
12. Unless Stated Please Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, The Peoples Movies/Cinehouse is not responsible for any cold calling spamming issues in result of including that number.
13. The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
14. By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read these Terms & Conditions.