As you already see from the title of my review, this is as specific as it gets for a movie, or even a documentary. Dreyer's easily most known work is still his take on Jeanne d'Arc, which contains what is seen by many as one of the finest female performance in movie history, but Dreyer actually made many documentaries too. And also not only one documentary on Danish churches. There is more out there. However, I think you really have to be very religious or very interested in architecture to enjoy this black-and-white film. Being Danish will help too, otherwise you need subtitles to watch it. I myself did not find it too engaging at all. A pretty boring watch and I would not recommend it to anybody who does not fit the previously mentioned requirements.
2 Reviews
13 minutes of Danish church history and architecture
Horst_In_Translation22 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Dreyer's mix of documentary with fiction presenting Denmark's medieval churches
Rodrigo_Amaro31 July 2012
"Landsbykirken" or "The Village Church" takes us back to the Danish old churches built in the Middle Age and their transformations through the years and through the dominant groups of a certain period, like the Christians and the Protestants, and the new things they were modifying in those constructions.
Since there isn't much info on this short film I presume that Carl Theodor Dreyer was making a part documentary film with non actors peasants performing rituals, praying, showing how the church procedures were back at 700 years ago in those exact same places. Sounds hard to believe, but according to the narrator there's plenty of medieval churches with part of its original material still existing in Denmark. I say that it's "acting" and not a full documented work because of some scenes when it is explained the parts of the cathedral and there's one moment when it's told that during conflicts or wars people hide themselves in special parts of the church for protection, and we see people running and hiding in a compartment.
The creator of "Ordet" allows us to visualize the interiors and exteriors of many of those places, its rich architecture, making some positive remarks about how they changed through the years (the baptism sink that later evolved with a plate over it and we see a baptism performed on the same place before and after the change).
There isn't to much be said, cinematically, other than Dreyer makes a great work, a great piece of document, barely seen by viewers. This was made in the 1940's but parts of the camera work resembles silent movies techniques. An small historic film but very well made. 9/10
See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8HLZYRRPII&feature=colike
Since there isn't much info on this short film I presume that Carl Theodor Dreyer was making a part documentary film with non actors peasants performing rituals, praying, showing how the church procedures were back at 700 years ago in those exact same places. Sounds hard to believe, but according to the narrator there's plenty of medieval churches with part of its original material still existing in Denmark. I say that it's "acting" and not a full documented work because of some scenes when it is explained the parts of the cathedral and there's one moment when it's told that during conflicts or wars people hide themselves in special parts of the church for protection, and we see people running and hiding in a compartment.
The creator of "Ordet" allows us to visualize the interiors and exteriors of many of those places, its rich architecture, making some positive remarks about how they changed through the years (the baptism sink that later evolved with a plate over it and we see a baptism performed on the same place before and after the change).
There isn't to much be said, cinematically, other than Dreyer makes a great work, a great piece of document, barely seen by viewers. This was made in the 1940's but parts of the camera work resembles silent movies techniques. An small historic film but very well made. 9/10
See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8HLZYRRPII&feature=colike
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