Vampyr

For the video game, see Vampyr (video game). For other uses, see Vampire (disambiguation).

Vampyr
Poster depicting Léone's staring up with an eager smile. In the bottom right corner, the Lord of the Manor holds a Candelabra while having a shocked expression. Text in the middle of the image includes the film's title written diagonally in red.
Promotional image for Vampyr by Erik Aaes.[1][2]
Directed byCarl Theodor Dreyer
Screenplay byChristen Jul
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Based onIn a Glass Darkly
a 1872 story collection
by Sheridan Le Fanu
Produced byCarl Theodor Dreyer
Julian West
StarringJulian West
Maurice Schutz
Rena Mandel
Sybille Schmitz
Jan Hieronimko
Henriette Gerard
Albert Bras
CinematographyRudolph Maté
Edited byTonka Taldy
Carl Theodor Dreyer[3]
Music byWolfgang Zeller
Production
companies
  • Carl Theodor Dreyer-Filmproduktion
  • Tobis-Filmkunst[4]
Distributed byVereinigte Star-Film GmbH (Germany)[5]
Release dates
  • 6 May 1932 (1932-05-06) (Germany)
  • September 1932 (1932-09) (Paris)
Running time
73 minutes
Countries
  • Germany
  • France[6]
LanguageGerman intertitles

Vampyr (German: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray, lit. 'Vampyr: The Dream of Allan Gray') is a 1932 gothic horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. It was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 collection of supernatural stories In a Glass Darkly. The film was funded by Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, who (credited as Julian West) also played the starring role of Allan Gray, a student of the occult who wanders into the French village of Courtempierre, which is under the curse of a vampire. Most of the other members of the cast are also non-professional actors.

The film presented a number of technical challenges for Dreyer, as it was his first sound film and was recorded in three languages. To simplify matters, he decided to use very little dialogue in the film, and much of the story is told with title cards, like a silent film. The film was shot entirely on location, and to enhance the atmospheric content, Dreyer opted for a washed out, soft focus photographic technique. The soundtrack was created in Berlin, where the characters' voices, the sound effects, and the score were recorded.

After having its release delayed by nine months, allegedly so the American films Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) could be released first,[7] Vampyr was released in Germany, where it opened to a generally negative reception from both audiences and critics. Dreyer edited the film after its German premiere, and it opened to more mixed reviews in France. The film was long considered a low point in Dreyer's career, but modern critical reception has been much more favorable, with critics praising the film's disorienting visual effects and atmosphere.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference VEspirit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Vampyr booklet". Masters of Cinema. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  3. ^ Bazin 1999, p. 103.
  4. ^ "Credits". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  5. ^ Rudkin 2005, p. 79.
  6. ^ "Vampyr Der Traum des Allan Grey". BFI Film & Television Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rayns was invoked but never defined (see the help page).