Vampyr - Criterion Collection

After eons of settling for one blury dupe-of-a-dupe after another, we finally have been presented with a decent print. Such Joy! The transfer is by far the best I've ever seen (I prefer the "English Text" version--included with this awesome set). The EXTRA's are a mindf***---wow! Just listen to that man talk! Brilliant, unaffected, enlightening etc. Thank you CRITERION! A joyous occasion. (Must take this opportunity to commend their magnificent restoration of NOSFERATU--it, too, is to die over...)

For anyone interested on the history of horror, this film is a must. Carl Dreyer has a unique style of storytelling and filming that stands apart from all other filmmakers. I have other transfers of this film, but the Criterion version is the best. A viewer will notice some spots and blotches left on the film. Criterion does not clean it up completely. From reading the write-ups of previous Criterion transfers I own, I gather the reason they do this is to preserve the version in a state that would be very similar to how it would have looked in the theatres when it was released. They would not have been pristine. The technology was not advanced enough and, in this case, a viewer in the early 30s would have noticed some spots and blotches still left on the film. I hope this write-up was helpful and I hope you enjoy this film as much as I do.

This is a review of the Criterion Vampyr release. I will not review the film itself, but just a few comments on the quality. I have no other version of Vampyr to compare, but generally speaking this version is only so-so in terms of quality (as compared to, say, a 1930 hollywood film). It is all in soft focus, which seems to be unavoidable, and the outdoor scenes are very soft focus indeed, but apparently intentionally. All of this is fine, and the overall effect is good and creepy. However, the entire film is running at too fast a speed. For the most part, the characters themselves are moving slowly so the fast speed isn't too apparent or intrusive, but any scene involving energetic motion is far, far too fast- simply jogging, walking quickly, or the brief scuffle between the doctor and Mr Gray are almost comically too fast. I know some directors undercranked the camera for certain effects, but this entire film is transferred at too fast a speed. An amazing mistake for Criterion. Also, the outdoor scenes seem not to have been restored at all, with a LOT of flicker, inclusions and scratches in nearly all of those scenes. So, do not expect the sort of miraculous restoration that Nosferatu got in the Kino Ultimate Edition. From what I've read, this Criterion Vampyr is a major upgrade from what was previously avaiable, but it certainly could have been better than this.

Danish film maker Carl Dryer (1889-1968) is considered among Europe's finest directors, the creator of innovative 1928 THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC and the legendary VAMPYR--but some cinematic legends are best left recalled instead of revisited, and such is the case with the latter film. Produced in 1930, released in 1932, and very loosely based on the novella CARMILLA by Sheridan LeFanu, VAMPYR does indeed have moments of great poety, but on the whole the film is akin to watching paint dry.

The plot of VAMPYR is trivial, the tale of a young man who stumbles into a mysterious estate where one of two sisters is under vampiric attack. The appeal of the film is actually in Dyer's truly remarkable cinematic ideas, ideas that are often described as surrealistic in execution. Shadows move independently of those who cast them--or exist without any source at all. Fog and mist drift strangely through the landscapes. A skull moves of its own accord. And most spectacularly, the young man experiences an out-of-body vision in which he foresees that he himself will fall prey to the vampire unless he can destroy it.

These moments are memorable indeed and there is no doubt the film is visually stunning. Unfortunately, it is also very, very, very slow. In theory, this slowness exists to intensify the poetry of the images and a crawling sense of horror; in actual fact, however, I found it simply slow, and that the extremely languid pace undercut both poetry and horror to a very significant degree. Fans of the film--and it has many--will no doubt curse me as a Philistine and declare VAMPYR is too fine to be appreciated by the likes of me.

As in most instances, the Criterion Collection edition offers a group of interesting bonuses. It is worth noting, however, that the film itself is not in pristine condition (it never has been); even so, this is easily the best print in circulation. Recommended for hardcore cinephiles, but most others should give it a miss.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Vampyr, is a film directed Carl Theodor Dreyer and based on "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan LeFanu. The film itself has many special effects which were impressive at the time of its release.

The plot is kind of undescribable, but mainly about a vampire haunting a village. It is very dark, and has some scenes in it which were intense for its time.

This release is spliced from various prints of the film, as the original negative was lost.

The special features are also nice and includes the original novella, "Carmilla" and a copy of the film's screenplay.

Disc one contains a new ediion with English text and audio commentary by Tony Rayns.

Disc two contains a 1966 documentary on Dreyer, a visual essay by Casper Tybjerg about the influences of the film, and a 1958 radio broadcast by Dreyer.

This is a unique film that is a classic.