Leaves From Satan’s Book (1921) by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Sunday, December 2, 1984, 8:00 pm
The Early Films of Carl Dreyer
Program I
Leaves From Satan’s Book (1921), by Carl Theodor Dreyer, 118 min., silent. This was the second feature of one of the world’s greatest film directors (Passion Of Joan Of Arc, Vampyr, etc.) and narrative stylists. Dreyer began Leaves… in 1918 after viewing Griffith’s Intolerance. While he doesn’t intercut them, Dreyer also uses parallel stories through the ages to elaborate a single theme. “The story tells of Satan’s temptation of Judas, and subsequent episodes set in the Spanish Inquisition, the French Revolution, and the Russo-Finnish War of 1918 amplify the theme with tales of people tempted to betray their trust. This early film is already characteristic of Dreyer’s emphasis on flat architectural spaces framing people and isolating faces, intensifying feeling and defining character.” – Eileen Bowser.