Vampyr (1932) Dir. Carl Theodor Dryer

Vampyr
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Story:  Christen Jul and Carl Theodor Dreyer
Music by: Wolfgang Zeller

Based on a book by Sheridan Le Fanu

Germany  |  1932

73 Minutes  |  Black & White

Starring: Julian West, Maurice Schutz,

Rena Mandel, Sybille Schmitz, Jan Hieronimko

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    From the Danish director of such masterpieces as The Passion of Joan of Arc and Day of Wrath comes another monumental, avant garde triumph of a motion picture. A day later, and I am still hypnotized by the experience, astonished by the artful masterpiece that just mesmerized my eyes and insides. 

Vampyr, loosely based on a short story by Sheridan Le Fanu (who also influenced Bram Stoker's Dracula), concerns a young occult student's investigation into the strange happenings at a certain remote castle outside of Paris. We're deep in vampire country, and we know it, but make no mistake: this is unlike any "vampire" film you've ever seen. It's more psychological, more spiritual, and more realistic than any of today's offerings. It's worth lies in the suggested, the unseen reality, where ancient forces loiter in the shadows. The artfully woven narrative never tires or diffuses, and I wouldn't even say it builds: the film retains a visceral power as that of a clever one-act play, where new developments feed the stage of the psyche and linger there until the conclusion of the matter. 


Our young occult student Allan Grey, upon arriving at the estate, is visited that night by the inn-keeper with strange words. The inn-keeper leaves a book for Mr. Grey's perusal, an ancient text concerning vampires. Slowly, this unseen curse assaults the castle's inhabitants, leaving clues as to it's true origins. On a personal note, I've known an Allan Grey. He was my friend Jacob Faust, whom my brother made a film with before Jacob's tragic demise (a wrongful death at the hands of the police). Jacob was that investigator. He was that truth-seeker and God-fearing student of strange and secret phenomena. And while watching the film, it became increasingly apparent that the spirit of Jacob's journey is a universal one. It is a morbid and vexing saga, the legend of Faust penetrating occult-stories like Vampyr with sobering spiritual reality. 


Vampyr employs many impressive cinematic tricks which are superior to any CGI rendering I've experienced. As transparent ghosts and dreamers haunt the platform of the estate, reality becomes detached and permeable. Wolfgang Zeller's score is an ever-present mood-informer, unraveling like a lyrical scroll. The skill of the film's players creates a rich human experience: evildoers commit dark acts, as the faithful fall victim to the unperceived. A young woman in particular, whom Allan Grey seems to fancy, falls under the curse, producing a cinematic tension that awaits resolve. Allan, who now understands the warnings of the vampire book, must act soon - although our delight is in the journey he takes to get there. 

 In summary:

I. Director Dreyer harnesses the Vampire legend with ease, producing a film of amazing visual and psychological power. 

II. The subjects play their roles with genuine transparency. We believe everything they do, and why they do it. 

III. The flow of the story is consistent, persistant, and poetic. 

IV. The cinematography is spellbinding, rich, and memorable.

V. The film will be remembered as a legendary vampire rendering, a superior work that accomplishes supernatural realism. 

    10 / 10 on the NORS [Night Owl Richter Scale]

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Pair With : 

2005 Vercesi Del Castellazzo Barbera Cla´ - get it at Spirits of Carmine

An amazing Barbera for the price, Cla´ is full-bodied with notes of plum and violet. Barbera comes from Italy's famous Piedmont region. Pair with Scharffen Berger chocolate:

A German-style connoisseur's chocolate, I first fell in love with Scharffen Berger from eating the chocoholic twist at Amy's Bread, which contains copious chunks of this bliss. Get it at Whole Foods. 

-•*  OR  *•-

Maker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey (on the rocks)

Smooth and obtainable, Maker's Mark will be fun to sip contemplatively as you watch the action unfold.

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God's Country (1985) Dir. Louis Malle

God's Country

Director: Louis Malle

Story: Louis Malle

United States   |   1985

89 Minutes      |   Color

Starring: Louis Malle

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    Oh, the Midwest. I sometimes dream of your sublime simplicity, your local comforts, your deep reliance on and connection to the land. In the midst of a busy Manhattan snowstorm, the peaceful images of flatland suburbia were nostalgia to my eyes, as Mr. Malle swept me into a foreign land where life is simpler, faith is hardier, and hope has not faded from view. The setting: Glencoe, Minnesota, a flourishing farming community of 5000. The year is 1979, and everyone has a bad haircut - and a shag carpet. But these are good people. Amiable, courteous and crime-free, the mostly German inhabitants are satisfied with their lot, whether it be farming or banking. They marry young, have kids young, and carry on steadily - at least for now.

    Assuming the role of narrator and commentator, Louis Malle, that famous French director of documentaries and fictions, gently leads us on a journey of small-town identity, preferring to let Glencoe itself host us. A cultural and political odyssey, God's Country works because it doesn't have a destination. It doesn't offer a solution. It's merely a time capsule where people carry out the stuff of life. And even though Malle seems to push the question of what life might look like outside of Glencoe, we come to realize that the pursuit is fruitless, that emigration would be, in a primal sense, wrong.

    God's Country starts in a garden. A charming old lady tends her flora, happy to see the colors of God bloom. Other pictures are of a young boy on a large, successful farm. At 10, he drives the largest tractor John Deere manufactures. We also meet a young man and his wife, newlyweds with a hospitable spirit. And a woman who writes plays, and the people who perform them. And a family-run fast-food restaurant. And the words of the wise old-timers, who are filled with the American spirit, but perplexed by the Vietnam War, which has undermined their kin. We spend lots of time with a "free-spirited" young woman who, like many, was posed the question of marriage. It seems that if by 23 you're not married, it's bachelorhood (or bachelorette-hood) for the rest of your days. Next, a young man who protested the war, was thrown in jail, and yet his family stood by him. Then on to the retirement home, where a certain old man longs for the graveyard, his wife deceased, his son abroad. It seems that Glencoe doesn't age well, that the winds of change were heavy and unforgiving. We wonder if the town might ever be restored, and although it seems a fool's errand, the preservation of life here becomes a genuine concern.

    The film was produced for PBS and, at 89 minutes, is about 20 minutes too long. The positive of letting Glencoe be Glencoe results in the negative of letting Glencoe run out of gas, which results in an anti-climactic ending. But Malle tries. In fact, he was too busy to finish the film, so, 6 years later, he returns. The results are affecting: milk prices have dropped, small farmers have been pushed out, and that great spirit of the community seems to be on the wane. The subjects are heavier, older, and, while once charming, now bear a tired and disenchanted gaze. The political promises of Reagan never took root, the deficit five times higher than when the film began. And so the film itself tarries, and we await our return to metropolitan life. Maybe someday we'll look back, but for now, it's back to the bustle, back to the spirit of progress which seems weightier than the matters of plain folk. They'll always be there, and we'll aways like to visit, but for now, it's farewell. For now, we'll continue our seemingly all-important affairs, hoping that somehow, somewhere, the purity of communal life remains intact.

 In summary:

I. Director Malle does the unexpected by allowing the subjects to inform the narrative. 

II. The subjects are fascinating. High moments of wonder, comedy, and thoughtfulness.

III. The flow of the story lags a bit, especially near the end, but is still worth the venture. 

IV. The cinematography is okay. There were some out-of-focus shots that were annoying. 

V. The film will be remembered as a fascinating small-town case-study, an outsider's look inside.

    8 / 10 on the NORS [Night Owl Richter Scale]

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Pair With : 

Low Brow: Simpler Times beer from Wisconsin - get it at Trader Joe's

Medium Brow: Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale - get it at Bowery Whole Foods

High Brow: Nebraska Brewing Company Barrel Aged Melange A Trois- get it at Bowery Whole Foods [NOTE: I have not tried this beer, but wanted to give a high-brow suggestion]

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The King of Kings (1927) Dir. Cecil B. DeMille

The King of Kings

Director: Cecil B DeMille

Story: Jeanie Macpherson

United States   |   1927

155 Minutes    |   Color and Black & White

Starring: H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming 

and Ernest Torrence

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    What a way to start things off! I don't play around. I'm pulling out the stops on this one, even before we get going. Here is a gorgeous technicolor and black & white epic of cosmic proportions. Here is an MOS (completely silent), 2 1/2 hour masterpiece that was the most expensive film ever made according to it's time. I'm talking about a 2.5 million dollar film from the late 1920's that features a cast of, literally, thousands. But before we get going, I'm also going to show my cards. The pick was entirely unintentional,  but given the sobering and reverential subject matter, of which I am personally connected, I cannot endorse an alcoholic beverage to accompany this mega-film. I don't think it's wrong, I just don't feel comfortable with it, and while an e-critic of a more facetious manner might suggest a tannin-rich cab [cabernet], I simply say watch the movie and soak in the sweet nectar of it's visual power. 

    The King of Kings gets inside of you. I would highly recommend watching it alone, in a quiet environment, for although it's silent, it penetrates the mind to such a degree as to warrant an inner soundtrack. I mean that. You will literally start to hear sound in your head, the imagination filling in the gaps to the affect that it's entirely natural. And I don't even think you have to be a Christian to appreciate the power and beauty of how passion-week plays out in this lyrical, magnetic light show. 

    The story (post inter-titles) begins peculiarly with Mary Magdalene and company in their den of iniquity. Like other sub-plots in the film, the event is fictitious, though it makes for a fascinating case study: Mary's 7 demons [Luke 8:2], once raging in prideful subversion, are finally exorcised by Christ himself - at least, according to writer Jeanie Macpherson, who interprets the demons as representing the 7 Deadly Sins. Other inventions pertain to order and context, although one can't be dogmatic - besides, film is that great artform where reinvention is encouraged, not dry literalism. We go to movies for that existential pit-stop, where the pulpit is the screen and the message is shown, not told. 

    To it's credit, the content of the film is mostly accurate, Biblical references sprawling throughout via inter-titles. The effect is one of anticipation, not abeyance, as the plot thickens and emotions take root. Filmed partially in technicolor, the aesthetic change to and from black & white is fairly annoying. Also, the film print has a generous amount of noise ("snow" on the picture), though neither of these unfortunates detract from the overall experience. From a logistical standpoint, the production is legendary, featuring hundreds of extras filling epic spaces, such as the seat of Pontis Pilate and outside of the temple where Jesus makes a whip of cords, driving out the money-changers [John 2:15]. Other memorable experiences include a young boy's exorcism, Peter's denial, Judas' betrayal, and the white dove [Holy Spirit] motif, which serves as spiritual anchor-point and is beautifully contemplative. ~ N.O.

    In summary:

I. Persistent vision of director DeMille results in artistic and memorable visual experience.

II. Well-cast with strong performances, an emotional, mental and spiritual substance is reached.  

III. Well-edited and scripted, the story builds to a fluid and essential climax. 

IV. The sets and costumes are exquisite and masterful, as is  J. Peverelle Marley's cinematography

V. Ahead of it's time, King of Kings is a piece of film history that holds it's weight even today. 

    9 / 10 on the NORS [Night Owl Richter Scale]

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Pair With : N/A

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More Information

IMDb

                                                                                

A Introduction From A Novice "Film-tender"

Hello, night owl here...

  While I don't pretend to have trail-blazed the film & beverage blog, I do intend to skillfully weave great films with beverages that will enhance the movie-going experience. My wife, in recommending I start blogging about the films I'm seeing, set my mind moving on a way to personalize the experience and hopefully make it creative, insightful and fun enough to read.

  I don't have any money motivations in starting this blog (though if google paid me, that would be neat) and I won't pretend to wax film historian in my reviews, nor am I highly cultured in the ways of fine beverages, but I hope you'll visit me every now and again for a great recommendation. As a filmmaker, trained in the sound editing arts, with film composition and screenwriting credits, I hope to provide short, but insightful filmic anecdotes that will whet the appetite just enough as to warrant a repeat visit.

  Most of the films I will be reviewing and recommending are from the Criterion Collection/Janus Films and can be purchased at their website: www.criterion.com

                                                                                                                                          ~ n.o.