Vredens dag (Day of wrath) 1943 - Dreyer's second sound film after a decade of silence

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IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Main Caast: Albert Hoeberg, Lisbeth Movin, Preben Neergaard

"Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer's Day of Wrath (Vredens Dag) is set in 1623 Denmark, where Anne Pedersdotter (Lisbeth Movin), the second wife of a Danish pastor, grows to loathe her husband for his self-asceticism and instead falls in love with the minister's son - with whom she spends an inordinate amount of time. Locals overhear her wishing aloud for her husband's death; when he dies of a stroke not long after, she is accused of witchcraft, a charge taken seriously enough to be punishable by death. Eventually, the poor woman is tortured and traumatized to such a point that she actually believes she is a witch - and she gives in to being burned at the stake. Yet Dreyer then shifts the perspective from internalized - illustrating the woman's paralyzing fear - to externalized, a point of view that enables the director to depict his subject's spiritual purification. Even allowing for the aura of raw terror, Dreyer never loses sight of the eroticism inherent in the concept of witchcraft. All of Dreyer's stylistic trademarks are in place: an extreme austerity in the compositions, an emphasis on the contrast between black and white, an abundance of slow tracking shots, and a judicious use of extreme close-ups. The film moves with Dreyer's customary deliberate pace, but nevertheless it's one of his most accessible films. Lead actress Lisbeth Movin's spectacular final moments, as she accepts her fate, bring to mind the legendary Maria Falconetti in Dreyer's early masterpiece, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc. Based on a play by Wiers Jensen, Day of Wrath was filmed during the Nazi occupation of Denmark and not released abroad until after the war, and the director reportedly had to flee his native country when he angered the government with the film's political content." - www.allmovie.com

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The hunchback of Notre Dame 1939 - The best film version of Hugo's classic tale

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IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: William Dieterle
Main Cast: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Edmond O'Brien

"Few will argue with the contention that RKO Radio's 1939 adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was the best of the many screen versions of the Hugo classic.
Set in fifteenth century France, The Hunchback of Notre Dame captures the medieval era's tumult, as superstition and prejudice war with progress, both material and intellectual. Church and state unite to attempt to hold back the waves of change sweeping over Europe, as it rides the crest of the Renaissance. Charles Laughton's performance as Quasimodo, the misshapen protagonist, is every bit as moving as Lon Chaney's work in the earlier silent film. Overcoming his physical deformity and status as social outcast, Quasimodo represents all that is most noble and heroic about mankind, while the physically commanding Frollo, a man of immense political and religious power, acts as his morally corrupt and sexually repressed counterpoint. Maureen O'Hara's film debut is also memorable; the passions she inspires in the men around her are wholly believable. The recreation of medieval Paris is an awesome achievement, and the elegance of the production values is indisputable. Director William Dieterle manages a difficult task well, creating a film of both great sweep and remarkable intimacy. The film takes some liberties with the source material, but it captures the essence of Victor Hugo's novel very well. It was nominated for two Academy Awards (music and sound); Laughton's definitive performance was overlooked by the Academy." - www.allmovie.com

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