THE REALITY OF DREAMS

ON DREYERS VAMPYR

Mar Gonzlez Ruiz de Larramendi

wxb416

INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................pp. 3-9
a) Films and dreams in the history of cinema and film theory..pp. 3-7
b) Dreams in Danish cinema..pp. 7-9
2. CARL THEODOR DREYERS VAMPYR..pp.
7-24
Vampyr as a dream...pp. 13-24
3. CONCLUSION...pp. 24-25
4. BIBLIOGRAPHY...pp. 26-27

A) CINEMA AND DREAMS IN THE HISTORY OF CINEMA AND FILM THEORY

The negative and the camera bring about a new darkness born with the arrival of the light.
The spectators lay comfortably in their seats, relieved by the spot of light that keeps their
nightmares away. They are entering a world of dreams, or the dream of cinema.
The similarities between the Lumire brothers invention and the dreams world have been
widely acknowledged by theorists, filmmakers and spectators throughout the history of
cinema. Because of its essentially visual nature, cinema is the perfect means to portray the
reality of dreams, which are also composed by images.
In the daybreak of cinema, Melis sent the mankind to the moon, awakening their dreams
and fantasies. The dreams of this first magician were created using mainly theatrical devices
and optical tricks1. The skeletons and the devils 2 represented in the magical cinema of
Melis opened the gate to the nightmarish world that would later led to German
Expressionism.
During the dark years that the Weimar republic suffered between the two World Wars, the
German cinema tried to create films guided by the subjective point of view of the characters.
The cinematic space would become the inner dark landscape of a subjective vision, so that
the film image would become graphic art3. The Robert Wienes The Cabinet of Doctor
Caligary is just the dream or the insane vision of a demented man who is confined in a
mental institution4. The dream-like atmosphere is created by unexpected camera angles,
sharp contrasts of dark and shadows, totally stylize sets (symbols of emotional states),
theatrical acting style and heavy make- up5.
At the same time, and following the ideas of the psychoanalytical theory, the French
Surrealist movement tried to depict the essence of dreams. The eyelids of cinema shiver in
Man Rays films, undecided about where is the boundary between the dream world and
1 Cfr. Petri, V. (1981). Film and dreams, an approach to Bergman. South Salem, N.Y: Redgrave Publ.
2 Cfr. Levine, Matt. (2012, August 3). A ribbon of dreams: Dreams and Cinema {blog post}. Retrieved From:
http://www.walkerart.org/magazine/2012/dreams-cinema-history-matt-levine
3 University of Whashington. {n.d}. German expressionism in film. Retrieved from:
http://courses.washington.edu/crmscns/FilmExpressionismHandout.pdf
4 Cfr. Levine, Matt, op.cit
5 Cfr. University of Washington, op.cit

reality. The surrealists created a universe of dreams where the logic became non- logic, and
where the repressed unconscious desires of human beings were hidden under different
symbols that, as a consequence of the great legacy of this movement, would become part of
the standardized film-dream vocabulary. The influence of surrealism is clearly palpable in
many Hitchcocks and David Lynchs films.
After the Second World War, The influence of German expressionism arrived to the United
States and a dark, oneiric, strange, ambivalent and cruel film genre was created: the film
noir. Even if these movies dont include fantasy or dreams in their plots, there is a dreamy
atmosphere, created by the tone, the mood and the visual style that unifies them. As it said in
The Maltese Falcon: its the stuff that the dreams are made of6.
In the last decades, Holywoods blockbusters have also incorporated their impressive and
expensive visual effects to the art of representing dreams. We can see really well
accomplished examples in the Wachowski brothers The Matrix and in Christopher Nolans
Inception7. This last film disintegrates the boundary between dreams and reality, offering the
viewer a puzzling experience, following the Jungian8 idea of the inconclusive character of
dreams and its consequent lack of a proper ending or solution.
It must be said though, that despite of all these attempts of portraying dreams through the
cinema, the filmmakers that got closer to the cinematic representation of the dream
experience were authors like Buuel, Alan Resnais, Tarkovsky or Ingmar Bergman.
Even if cinema is the most appropriate art form to represent dreams, it is still difficult to
reproduce them if we take into account the latest scientific discoveries that have been made
in the dream field, and recreating the physiological and psychological responses that the
dreamer experiences while dreaming is extremely challenging as well9.
Many filmic dreams provide the same exact aesthetic experience that we have when reading
a book that conveys a dream or some oneiric experience. This means that the recreation of
dreams through the cinema is mostly achieved from a thematic point of view. The
identification of a certain sequence (or a complete film) as a dream is signalized by narrative
6 Levine, Matt, op.cit
7 Cfr.Levine, Matt, op.cit
8 Cfr. Petri, V. op.cit.
9 Cfr. Ibid.
4

or structural means and, therefore, the cinematic distinction between oneiric and realistic
sequences is not emphasized. For instance, the audience can identify a sequence as a dream
if it has been introduced by some sort of narrative commentary (a dissolution, a close up to
the face of an sleeping man, a visual distortion, a symbolic use of sound) or by the
inclusion of elements that interfere with our ideas of reality (characters who we know that
are dead talking in the screen), but then the essence of the dream is not conveyed by
cinematic means10.
Likewise, the Surrealist representation of the dream world has been criticized for the same
reason, since the surrealist filmmakers rely too much in the use of symbols for the portrayal
of dreams. As Bazin stated, dream imagery and dream symbols dont create dreamlike
expressions; they just enhance the metaphorical meaning of the film and increase the poetic
impact of the photographed object11.
The surrealists believed that dreams were contrary to reality, and, thus, they dedicated their
efforts to make things strange creating unreal symbols. The imagery is presented in a nonambiguous way, and this implies that the symbols could be easily deciphered if the spectator
was provided with the adequate keys for doing it (this lack of ambiguity blocks the dreaming
capacity of the spectator)12.
In summary, the aim of the surrealists to liberate themselves from the slavery of reason
ended up creating irrationality by means of the same reason that they were trying to
confront. The employment of symbols to create a dream language made the surrealist dream
become a rational construction13.
The philosopher Thorsten Botz- Bornstein also criticizes the expressionist depiction of
dreams. The expressionist way of representing dreams is based on stylistic devices such as
strange angles, contrasts of lights and shadows, and photographic distortion. These devices
seem adequate for the reproduction of subjective visions of reality, but they could only be
appropriate for portraying dreams if they were an entirely subjective phenomenon; and
according to Botz- Bornstein, dreams employ the both: objective and subjective elements14.

10 Cfr. Ibid.
11 Cfr. Botz-Bornstein, T. (2007). Films and dreams, Tarkovsky, Bergman, Sokurov, Kubrick, and Wong Karwai. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
12 Cfr. Ibid.
13 Cfr. Ibid..
14 Cfr. Ibid.

Hence, instead of trying to recreate dreams externally through symbolism or distortion, or

remaining the thematic or literary level, the essence of the dream- world should be conveyed
by cinematic representation (the way the images and objects are presented in the screen) 15.
Some film directors like Buuel, Dziga Vertov or Tarkovsky have employed cinematic
devices to generate an oneiric impact on their films, even when their scenes or sequences
werent directly related to the dreams or subjective states in plot terms16.
In order to gain a greater understanding of how these cinematic devices operate it is
necessary to highlight the similarities and differences between the experiences of dreaming
and film viewing. The dreaming state is characterized by the block of the motor system, a
phenomenon that the film viewer experiences as well, as it has been largely discussed.
Consequently, the film is experienced with a high intensity in his mind 17. Nevertheless,
whereas in the first case the abreaction to stimulation is impossible because of the motor
block18, in the case of the film viewing the abreaction is possible because the motor block in
this second case is just voluntary. Furthermore, in contrast with the experience of film
viewing, while dreaming, the dreamer isnt exposed to a strong hearing and sight
stimulation.
Continuing with the similarities, both dreaming and film viewing take place in the darkness,
while the dreamer and the spectator lay down in comfortable seats. Moreover, after the end
of a film, the light evaporates the darkness leads the spectator to a blurry state in which he
finds difficult to remember specific details, a experience that resembles the feeling of the
dreamer, given that is almost impossible for him to retain the dream in his memory or even
to verbalize it19.
Besides, dreams and films are essentially visual, being the images their basic and more
important element. But contrarily to the logic of the dreams, where the action just moves
forward, films can move forward and backwards, or even remain frozen in a certain still20.

15 Cfr. Petri, V. Op. Cit.

16 Cfr. Ibid,
17 Cfr. Grodal, Torben.(1997). Moving pictures, a new theory of film genres, feelings, and cognition. Oxford:
Clarendon Press
18 Cfr. Ibid
19 Cfr. Petri, V. Op. Cit
20 Cfr. Ibid

Dreams are characterized for the delusional acceptance of the dreams as real 21, and even if
in the case of films that acceptance is usually weaker, we still watch them as real during the
screening supported by the ontological authenticity of the motion picture image22.
Above all, the most important similarity that makes the cinema a unique medium for the
representation of dreams, is its capacity to activate the sensory motor centers in the viewer in
a similar way to the stimulation that occurs while dreaming 23. Following Hobsons theory24,
dreams are physiological phenomena, and this means that: sudden scene shifts are triggered
by turns of stimuli in the giant cells of the sleeping brain. In accordance to that, the images
that we perceive during film viewing stimulate the viewers neural centers independently of
the film plot and its meaning. And while the movement of the dreamer across the space is
one of the most powerful feelings in dreaming, the strongest sensory- motor activation of
the viewer occurs in sequences executed by the cameras gliding, craning, elevating and
descending, or which is the same: penetrating through space.
This is the reason why the portrayal of dreams employing cinematic devices becomes really
important; it is the only way to enable the viewer to relate to the film both psychologically
and physically. The following techniques are the ones that must be followed for increasing
the oneiric impact of the film in the viewer: camera movement trough space (deep focus);
illogical combinations of objects, characters, settings (bizarre imagery); dynamic montage;
dissolution of special and temporal continuity; ontological authenticity of motion picture
photography; etc25.
B) DREAMS IN DANISH CINEMA
After this introductory consideration, it seems appropriate to provide a brief summary of the
representation of dreams in Danish cinema, mentioning some films from different periods
that included and developed dream sequences.

21 Cfr. Petri, V. Op. Cit.

22 Cfr. Ibid.
23 Cfr. Petri, V. Op. Cit
24 Cfr. Ibid.
25 Cfr. Ibid.
7

August Bloms Atlantis was the first Autorenfilm (first feature film) of the Nordisk Films
Kompagni. Based on the novel of Gerahard Hauptmann (that some people considered
prophetical), the film was released in 1913, one year after the sinking of the Titanic, and it
can be acknowledged as one of the first wrecks (both literally and metaphorically) of the
worlds silent cinema. It is possible to talk about a metaphorical wreck in this case, because
it has been claimed that even if the movie was profitable, it led to the artistic and financial
crisis of Nordisk Film and marked the beginning of the end of the golden years of the
Danish silent cinema26. In this film, while the ship begins to sink, the spectator rests in the
dreams of one of the passengers, while he walks triumphantly with a friend through the
sunken landscape of the mythic Atlantis. The dream is introduced by showing Dr. von
Kammacher going to sleep and a caption that announces that he is walking with his friend
Dr. Schmidt through Atlantis. A superimposition of the sleeping doctor is left in the right
corner of the screen during the dream, in order to signalize the images belong to the dream
imagery and avoid possible confusions in the spectators27.
In 1956, Erik Ballings film Kispus28 (Hide and Seek), the first purely Danish film in color,
shows another theatrically decorated dream sequence. Designed to make the most of the
innovative use of color, the film develops a plot centered in the world of parties, design and
stylish colorful dresses. A designer discovers the protagonist while she tries on different
dresses without permission. The designer impressed by her graceful appearance wants her to
model for him through the night. Without sleeping, the young protagonist goes to work next
morning and falls sleep. The spectator is introduced in the visually unreal world of dreams,
where the characters are dressed with strange costumes and sing, surrounded by theatrical
scenery, where even the cartoon looking two dimension images are accepted29.
Another interesting depiction of a dream can be found in Tomas Vinterbergs Festen. Being
the first film that followed the Dogma 95s Vow of Chastity, it has been criticized for the
belief that the inclusion of the dream sequence was going against the rule that restricts the
action to the here and now. But it can be successfully argued that the dream is not
26 Cfr. Sundholm, J., Thorsen, Isak, Andersson, Lars Gustaf, Hedling, Olof, Iversen, Gunnar, & Mller, Birgir
Thor. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the
Arts). Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
27 Vampyr. Denmark: Carl Th. Dreyer, 1932. film.
28 Det Danske Filminstitut. Kispus. Retrieved from: http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/2215.aspx?
id=2215
29 Cfr. Sundholm, J., Thorsen, Isak, Andersson, Lars Gustaf, Hedling, Olof, Iversen, Gunnar, & Mller, Birgir
Thor. Op.cit.

confronting this principle because it is actually taking place in the here and the now of the
action that is being represented (is not a flashback). The dreamy atmosphere is created by
the flame of the lighter illuminating her face, without the need of the prohibited artificial
lightning30.
Prior to the conclusion of this brief summary, it is necessary to mention the use of dreams in
the cinema of the other founder of Dogma 95. In many Lars Von Triers movies the integral
reality that is presented also includes the evanescent reality of dreams.
His first feature film The Element of Crime is situated on the edge between hypnosis, dream
and reality31. Apart from that, his controversial Antichrist32 has been widely considered a
discomforting nightmare (and more specifically the directors nightmare; supported by the
well known depression that the filmmaker was undergoing at that moment) that shows the
world that we acknowledge as real dialoguing with an irrational and horrifying reality of
dreams, where the apparently threatening nature hides the real source of the evil: the She33.
Finally, in Lars Von Triers approach to the musical genre Dancer in the dark, the
protagonist shifts continually into the dream world (the dream sequences in this film could
be better be considered daydreams) to scape from the unbearable reality. These dreams
appear to the viewer as a musical universe characterized by saturated colors34.

2. CARL THEODOR DREYERS VAMPYR

After providing some basic references about the relationship between cinema and dreams,
and contextualizing it in the universe of Danish cinema, we can proceed to study how Carl
Theodor Dreyer developed the representation of dreams in film through the innovative use
of cinematic devices.

30 FAQ about DOGMA 95 films. Retrieved from:

http://uffilmanalysisfour.pbworks.com/w/page/7284595/FAQ%20about%20DOGME%2095%20Films
31 Cfr. Sundholm, J., Thorsen, Isak, Andersson, Lars Gustaf, Hedling, Olof, Iversen, Gunnar, & Mller, Birgir
Thor. Op. cit.
32 Antichrist. Lars Von Trier: 2009.
33 Cfr. Badley, Linda. (2010). Lars von Trier (Contemporary Film Directors). Urbana, IL: U of Illinois P.

34 A film students perspective on Dancer in the Dark (2005, february 26). Retrieved from:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168629/reviews-566

After having a great success with Jeanne dArc, Carl Theodor Dreyer founded his own
production company financed by the Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg and focused in the
production of his visually and thematically most subversive and unusual film: Vampyr. It has
been described as a glimpse into a twisted, mystical, confused world of evil and corruption
that is bizarre in the fullest sense, both in content and execution 35. From the surface, this
film seemed a negation of all the principles that had characterized Dreyers cinema until that
moment. Even himself accepts that he had just made Jeanne dArc and that he wanted to do
the exactly opposite, and break a new path for film36.
To begin with, the attraction of the author for the world of the dark fantasy wasnt really
noticeable in his other films, maybe it was in terms of the stories he chose, but not when it
comes to the point of view that he adopted for dealing with them. When examining this films
closer we can see that they are someway related to the supernatural: Jeanne dArc claimed
that the saints spoke to her, witches are present in Day of Wrath and in Ordet the audience
witness a miracle. In spite of this, as it has been mentioned before, it is also true that in all
these films he was mostly interested in the human component, and not in the mystic aspects
of the plot, which are secondary. Even if we give that for granted, we can still perceive an
appeal for the occult in his oeuvre. As it has been noted in his biography, he read her
grandmothers occult books when he was a kid (that were forbidden for him) and probably
he became intrigued by them37.
Apart from that, instead of a construction of a solid, deep and alive world, we find a world
characterized for its undead nature that lacks the both: life and dead.
Vampyr lead the spectator into a universe were the anxiety and dread prevail, and were his
habitual celebration of love is missing. Furthermore, some critics considered that even one
of his most sacred principles, the search of authenticity, was replaced by the depiction of the
universe of the dreamlike and the fantastic38.
Nevertheless, the denial of that last principle can be easily challenged arguing that Dreyer
wasnt renouncing to the authenticity by representing the fantastic; he was trying to portray
35 Drum, J. and Dale D. Drum. (2000). My only great passion, the life and films of Carl Th. Dreyer
(Scarecrow filmmakers series 68). Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.
36 Cfr. Ibid.
37 Cfr. Ibid.
38 Rudkin, D. (2005). Vampyr (BFI film classics). London: BFI.

10

authentically an integral reality that fuses together the inner and the outer world of the
human beings. And for achieving that authenticity in the representation of the dream world,
he would open new ways for the portrayal of dreams in cinema by effectively employing
cinematic devices that stimulate the physiological stimulation of the viewers, bringing them
closer to the dream experience.
Due to this fact, even if the plot is really improbable, the director has achieved an aura of
unreal, dreamlike evil ()[that] the improbability of the plot is forgotten in the mastery of
the treatment39.
We could talk in this case about a realistic approach to the fantastic 40. Instead of using
studio settings he decided to shoot on location, under the idea that for an audience so used to
the films realized in studios it would look more unusual and strange. In addition, he was so
obsessed with the realistic details that he even filled a house with cobwebs by releasing
many spiders in the inside41.
Aside from that, many other elements present in Vampyr link this cinematic jewel to the rest
of his oeuvre. We can clearly see the influence of the German Expressionism and of the
surrealism in the imagery and lighting. This influence is especially present in his use of
contrasts between lights and shadows, even if in this case the shadows stand out because
they are not casted by objects and because they have a stunning independent existence 42.
Notwithstanding, it must be stated that although these influences are undeniable, Vampyrs
look is still extremely unique and personal.
The expressionist influence is also present in the depiction of the faces that reflect the evil or
the innocence of the soul. In this film the importance of the faces is not as essential as in
Jeanne dArc and they cant match the idea of nude landscapes shining with inner light 43.
The main characters face is even characterized by his lack of expression that can be justified
by his non- actor nature and by the fact that he wasnt even chosen by Dreyer: he paid for
the film with the only condition of acting on it. But the great master of cinema even

39 Drum, J. and Dale D. Drum. Op.cit.

40 Tybjerg, Casper. (2008). Waking life.(Vampyr)(Movie review). Sight and Sound, 18(9), 33.
41 Ibid.
42 Cfr. Tybjerg, Casper. Op. Cit.
43 Cfr. Rudkin, D. Op. Cit.
11

managed to make use of that absence of emotion in one of the greatest scenes of the film: the
journey of the main characters corpse to the grave44.
Therefore, we can still consider that the facial expressions are really important in the movie.
Contrarily to what happens in other horror films, in Vampyr the violent incidences take place
off screen, and as a consequence of this, the faces of the witnesses have to act as messengers
of what takes place out from the view of the spectators45.
The importance of the face as a reflection of the human soul is also present in one of the
most beautifully disturbing scenes of the film. After the encounter with the vampire in the
garden, Lone has been brought to her bed again. When the housemaid tries to heal her
necks wound Lone slowly awakes with a lyrical expression in her face: staring vacantly
into an uncertain point in the space, her mouth slightly opened, in a semi conscious state.
Her face goes darkening shot by shot, showing the spectator her inner desolation. She covers
her face and cries desperately. Gradually, her expression goes turning into a disturbing smile,
as she stares towards the ceiling. This disquieting smile transforms her expression into a
personification of dementia. Still smiling she turns her head in her sisters and the spectators
direction, and while she is staring at us, her face darkens46.
Previously, we have already talked about the realistic approach to the fantastic, but in this
case, it seems more appropriate to define it as a human approach to the fantastic; a so
human way of portraying the vampire state. Dreyer couldnt feel satisfied by creating a
vampire based in fake teeth and wardrobe scenery; the vampire nature had to be constructed
through acting skills, dealing with the naked landscape of the face47.
Even if Dreyer chose to incorporate sound in this film, the silence prevails beneath the
dialogue, as a reflection of the directors will to undress the images of all the accessory
elements that werent essential to show the inner imprescindible meaning that remains under
the artistic forms.
We also notice that instead of relying in darkness for creating the horror landscape, Dreyer
uses white for creating uneasiness in the viewer48. As in films like Jeanne D Arc, Day of
44 Cfr. Drum, J. and Dale D. Drum. Op.cit
45 Cfr. Tybjerg, Casper. Op. Cit.
46 Cfr. Rudkin, D. Op.cit.
47 Cfr. Ibid.
48 Cfr. Drum, J. and Dale D. Drum. Op. Cit.
12

Wrath or Gertrud, the director seems fascinated by the simplicity of black against white.
Apart from that and as I am going to explain later, here the whiteness prove to be a really
effective tool for the depiction of the dreamy atmosphere.
Another last characteristic that shows this film as a continuation of Jeanne DArc, is the
intensification of the fracture of the sense of physical continuum that binds the features
and events that the spectator see to create a moral space49.

VAMPYR AS A DREAM

As we have stated before, even if Dreyer had already dealt with topics related to the
supernatural in other films, in Vampyr he approaches the fantastic in a more explicit and
direct way. The boundaries between the awaken state and dream universe become weak, and
the viewers enter a world dominated by the logic of dreams, but where there are not
unambiguous clues that allow us to be certain about the dream nature of the images that
appear on the screen.
With Vampyr I wanted to create a daydream on film, and I wanted to show that the sinister
lies not only in the things around us but in our subconscious. If we are, trough one
occurrence or another, brought to a state of great tension, there are no limits to where fantasy
can lead us or what strange meanings we can ascribe to the real things towards us 50.
Imagine that we are sitting in an ordinary room. Suddenly we are told that
there is a corpse behind the door. In an instant the room we are sitting in
is completely altered; ev- erything in it has taken on another look; the
light, the atmo- sphere have changed, though they are physically the
same. This is because we have changed, and the objects are as we
conceive them. That is the effect I want to get in my film 51.

With this statement Dreyer himself opens the door to the interpretation of Vampyr as a
dream, and this has several implications. First, he states that the fantasy of his film is created
49 Cfr. Ibid.
50 Cfr. Drum, J. and Dale D. Drum. Op.cit.
51 Ibid.
13

through our imagination, and this would be really coherent with the realistic approach to
fantasy that we have defended before. If this were the case, both fantasy and the supernatural
would have a certain source, and as we all have already experienced the incredible creative
power of our imagination, it seems credible to think that the supernatural elements of
Vampyr come from the subconscious. At the same time, by these means, Dreyer could be
defending that the images that we create with our subconscious when we are dreaming or
daydreaming, should be considered part of the integral reality52; because for
comprehending the reality in all its complexity, it is imprescindible to understand that inside
of it both the conscious and unconscious dimensions of the human beings must be included.
But whose imagination, dream or subconscious are we entering in Vampyr? Not just the
statements of the director about his intentions, but also the prologue of the film give the
viewer the answer to that question.
The film was shot in three different languages at the same time 53: German, English and
Danish. Depending on the version that we are working with the title of the film changes.
Even if this information doesnt seem relevant to the topic that we are discussing, this
perception changes when we realize that the use of these different titles slightly modify the
meaning of the film. One of the versions receives the name of The strange adventure of
David Grey and in the first intertitles54 that appear on the screen the main characters is
described as one of those: beings whose very life seem bound by invisible chains to the
supernatural. They crave solitude. To be alone and dream- their imagination is so developed
that their vision reach beyond that of most men. This title and prologue could lead the
viewer not to consider the supernatural as part of the main characters imagination. We are
just witnessing his adventures, and even if it is mentioned that he has a tendency to dream
and imagine, in this case it just seems that this enhances the development of a special
sensibility for perceiving the supernatural in this character, and, consequently, the fantastic
elements dont have to be creations of his mind necessarily. On the contrary, the title of a
German version is The dream of Allan Grey and the protagonist is described as an aimless
dreamer whose studies in devil worship and vampire terror have dimmed for him the

52 From this point on we are going to understand for Integral reality, that reality that comprehend the
complexity of the concious and the unconcious.
53 Rudkin, D. Op.cit.
54 Vampyr. Op. cit,

14

boundary between the real and the unreal55. This title makes a direct reference to the film
giving for granted its dreamy nature, and even if it can has several interpretations, we could
defend that the boundary between the real and the unreal has just been dimmed specifically
for him, and thanks to that we as viewers can accede the world of the supernatural trough his
dream.
For being able to pursue an all-embracing research of the dream creating devices used in
Vampyr we will depart from the consideration of the film as Greys56 dream.
We are going to defend that the director introduces the spectator in the dream universe by
two different paths that work together at the same time to transform the film into a real
dream for the viewers eyes.
On the one side, we find a thematic representation of dreams. Apart from the introductory
prologue that we have already cited, there are other direct references to sleeping and dreams
through the movie.
In the first place, it is noticeable that in his approach to the supernatural, Dreyer mixes myth
and dreams. On the one side he introduces us in the vampire mythology that frightens the
human beings from the ancient times, fused together with the universe of dreams. Jung
defended that the myths were the dreams of the cultures, and following that idea, we could
defend that when including the world of the myth in Vampyr we still are in the realm of
dream. Apart from the obvious vampire mythology that appears in the film, we can also
track other subtler references to the world of myth. For example, the scythe man that appears
in the beginning of the film could be considered the clear Caronte of Vampyrs universe,
about to take the ferry to cross the Estigia lake; a Caronte lost in this dreamy world were his
duty of carrying the death to the other side seems absurd, because the reality of the death (or
the undead) and the living are already mixed57.
In the very beginning of the the film (or dream), Grey, having recently arrived to
Courtempierre and already feeling that the unveliable had taken possession of him 58 lies in
55 Rudkin, D. Op.cit.
56 We are going to avoid calling the main character Allan or David, because the name change between the
different versions of the film. .
57 Azerrad, Michael. (2009, December 7). Whats in a dream? On Carl Dreyers Vampyr {blog post}.
Retrieved from: http://michaelazerrad.typepad.com/you_and_what_army/2009/12/carl-dreyer-vampyr.html
58 Cfr. Vampyr. Op. cit,

15

bed trying to rest, but as the intertitles state, fear and horror persist in his sleep. Here we
encounter the first dream inside the dream: if the entire movie is Greys dream, here we see
him going to sleep inside his own dream. It can also be argued that the introductory images
werent part of his dream, and that the films starting point takes place just afterwards. But
as it will be defended later, the sequences that are set before this scene have already an
unequivocal dreamy quality.
Grey opens his eyes and sees how the locked door opens mysteriously. An unknown man
enters the room while the protagonist stares at him astonished. Afterwards, the man gives
Grey a package, where it is written that it should opened after his dead. The ambiguous way
in which Dreyer constructs the film doesnt make clear whether the man is a dream, a ghost,
an apparition or part of reality. The package that the man gives to Gray could be a proof of
the materiality of the visitor, because later we will see that Grey has the package and that he
make use of it; but as we are departing from the consideration of the film itself as Greys
dream, it wouldnt be illogical to have the package delivered by a character who belongs to a
dream or by a ghost. Both the package and the man are part of the integral reality that we
were talking about before.
Later in the film, already in the chateu where the mysterious man of the apparition lives, we
see him looking after his daughters, who appear sleeping in their own beds. One of them is
resting peacefully, but the other sister seems to be tormented by strange bloody dreams. She
is the victim of the vampire, and in another scene she will escape to encounter the creature in
a kind of a sleepwalking trance, somewhere between the dream and the awaken state.
We have two further examples of dreams inside the main dream. The first one occurs after
the doctor has taken blood out from Gray. The protagonist falls into a brief sleep where he
sees a skeletons head and a skeletons hand holding a bottle of poison. This is a premonitory
dream, because even if the skeleton belongs to this dream inside the dream, on the contrary
the poison is material and seems to belong to the ambit of the main dream, putting Lone in
danger of poisoning herself with it59.
The second of Grays dreams can be admired as the most audacious concept in film
history, for successfully representing Grays dream, where he is shown lying in his coffin
59 Cfr. Rudkin, D. Op.cit
16

as he is borne into his own grave. David Rudkin 60 says that every time [he] comes to this
sequence, [he] begins to feel a deep and shaking sorrow. This dream sequence begins with
Gray sitting on a bench. Suddenly, his physical body seems to stay on the bench while a
sleeping self, a transparent (it is possible to see through him) version of himself is
disjointed from his material body. His dream self walks inside a room where a coffin is
placed. Filled with curiosity, he removes the sheet that covers the coffin and finds his own
corpse in the inside. The shock that the appearance of a dead self causes is increased by the
fact that in this case the dead self seems more real that the evanescent self from the dream61.
Shortly after, Grey sees through the window of a door the captive Gisele on the other side,
her hands tied. He tries to open the door to save him, but his evanescent hands arent able to
open it.
As the doctor appears on scene, the dreaming Gray hides beneath a trapdoor, and here is
when the magic happens.
We observe the kaporal covering the coffin with the lid, and suddenly we find ourselves
looking at the scene from within the coffin. Grays dream self is now united with the dead
self and with the audiences sight (our sight). By this technique, the sequence is not anymore
Greys journey to the grave, but our own journey to the grave. And at the same time, we still
see Greys corpse looking up from within the coffin. We could interpret that this perspective
is provided by the kaporals point of view, but when we perceive it through the corpses
eyes, we notice that the kaporal doesnt seem to see what is inside the coffin. On the
contrary, later on, when the vampire looks down at the coffin we can feel that she is able to
see Gray, as if the fact of being dead would allow her to see through the wood. And in the
opposite case, when we are placed in Greys viewpoint, we can see the world through a kind
of window above us that allows the viewer to see the trees, the sky and the church as we are
approaching to the grave from this subjective point of view.
As we have stated before, being aware of the way in which the director managed to make
use of the absence of emotion and the acting emptiness62 of the main character is specially
enriching in this sequence, a sequence that if it wasnt for the ability of Dreyer would have
been one of the weaker aspects of the film.
After this review of the thematic appearances of dreams in the film, we are going to focus on
how the dreamworld is created cinematically and on the devices that Dreyer uses for this
60 Cfr. Ibid.
61 Cfr. Ibid.
62 Cfr. Rudkin, D. Op.cit
17

purpose. This analysis is interfered by the principal difficulty that the film critics have
suffered at the time of studying this film: due to the dubious state of prints of Vampyr, it is
difficult to distinguish between the techniques Dreyer used consciously for creating a
dreamy atmosphere and the effects that are just caused by the damages (or missing scenes)
of the prints63. Anyway, and even if we are going to mention this ambiguity at the time of
analyzing the scenes, whether they were created consciously or by chance, they contribute to
the construction of the dream and that is enough for considering them relevant.
Following David Rudkins classification there are three different problems that contribute to
create the dream atmosphere: the poor sound quality, the variable quality of the acting and
the overall sense of technical inadequacy.
At the time of looking for the reasons that could lead to a poor sound quality, it must be
understood that this was Dreyers first sound movie and that he had chosen to shoot it in
three different languages, which made all the process more difficult. But the truth is that the
imperfect sound and the sparse dialogue emphasize the dreamlike character of the film: the
fragmentary conversation of characters, delivered in a expressionless fashion, heighten the
dream effect64 and the trance- like images could stand on their own as a visual poem in
which the anchor seem to take place on the cusp of dreams and reality65.
This first problem could also be associated to the lack of acting skills of the actors. We have
already explained how Dreyer made use of the absence of emotion of the protagonist for
creating a glorious sequence. Because of his search of authenticity Dreyer preferred to use
non-actors in his films, and probably the expressionless interactions are a consequence of the
directors principles. Dreyer decided to shot around Gisele, avoiding close facial expressions
and the use of her voice. Consequently, following this idea, we can also infer that the poor
acting skills could also have provoked the decrease of the dialogues between the characters.
But surprisingly, these apparent imperfections contribute to the dreamlike style of the film.

63 Cfr. Swaab, Peter. (2009). ''Un film vampirise'': Dreyer's Vampyr .(Carl Theodor Dreyer)(Critical essay).
Film Quarterly, 62(4), 56.
64 Cfr. Drum, J. and Dale. D. Drum. Op.cit.
65 Billson, Ane. (2010, October 22). The Greatest Films of All Time: Volume seven: Horror: 9 Vampyr Carl
Theodor Dreyer, 1932.(Guardian Newsprint Supplement). The Guardian (London, England), p. 14.

18

When trying to convey the technical inadequacies of the film, we are also going to mention
other elements that work along with the disjunctions to emphasize the eerie aesthetics of
Vampyr. To properly face this purpose is necessary to begin specifying how improbable is to
associate these inadequacies with Dreyers lack of ability. Even if it seems fair to maintain
the benefit of the doubt, the truth is that this absence of technical knowledge is inexplicable
for a genius like Dreyer; and as Rudkin has suggested a student of film school would have
been more accurate66. So with this in mind, we have to follow the hypothesis of the
conscious desire to create an unclear reality or follow the logic of dreams.
The dysfunctional grammar is highly noticeable from the beginning of the film. We can say
that in this film Dreyer shrugs off conventional linear narrative and takes an experimental
approach67. In some cases, the camera movements tend to bind the features we see creating
a more coherent space, but shortly after, the time and space become fragmented again. The
disjunction of time and space could be aimed to difference the moments where the world of
the supernatural is taking possession of the screen and when its power upon reality is
weaker. For example, when Gray arrives to the Chateu and the humans are still governing
that environment, the flowing camera is enfolding and integrating each with those in their
care68, but after the father is shot by a shadow that binding camera movement that connect
people together starts to fracture and disintegrate.
The discontinuity of time and space, and the difficulty to build special coherence arises from
the fact that every succeeding image frustrates our expectations. It is so difficult to
understand the coherence of the space and the narrative; and at the time of trying to create
sense, the feeling experimented by the viewer is so similar to the sensation that we undergo
while dreaming69. There are no establishing shots; the camera alternates randomly from
Grays subjective view to objective points of view, and the space and angles are disjointed
from shot to shot and within the shot itself.
For example, just in the first sequence of Vampyr the audience can feel that it is entering a
world that conveys a dreamy reality because of the technical dysfunction that affect the
shots. Gray appears from the left side of the screen and we never see his feet as if he was
66 Rudkin, D. Op.cit
67 Billson, Ane. Op. cit.
68 Ibid.
69 Cfr. Azerrad, Michael. Op.cit.
19

suspended between the earth and the sky. The distance is also subverted, and when
looking to the scythe man from Grays gaze we see him closer and closer, as if he was
coming towards us, when following a coherent space construction he should be situated
further (he was taking a ferry that was supposed to take him away from the camera, not
towards the camera). Apart from that, the camera pans in the direction of Gray (and in
different scenes in the direction of different characters) and in the direction of what he is
looking at, so that the viewer believes that the camera is adopting his point of view, but
suddenly, instead of seeing what he sees the image flies to a different space that cant be
seen through Grays eyes. This arbitrary alternation between the subjective and the objective
point of view creates a feeling of displacement in the viewer. That displacement is also
caused by scenes where for example the characters appear upstairs without going up, or
when they dont look in the correct angle to see the elements that appear in the following
shot.
To finish with the structure means that help to create an eerie atmosphere, its important to
mention the mastery of Dreyer to pursue a dynamic montage 70. This is especially evident in
the sequence in which the vampire is killed or in Grays journey to his own grave. In the first
one the killing of the vampire is shown counterpointed with images of the sky that goes
getting darker and darker, and in the second one the expressionless face Grays corpse is
contrasted with the view that he has from inside the coffin (the church, the trees).
It is also important to mention other elements that help in the construction of the dream, like
the visuals, the light and the disembodiment.
The whole dream of Allan Gray happens trough the night, but we find a pallid daylight
enveloping the film. It seems contradictory to represent the night accompanied by the
whiteness of daylight, but Dreyer has his own argument to defend his choice:
The night is only black in comparison with the daytime; in the night, the relation between
light and shadow is roughly the same as during the day, and when the eye has become used
to the darkness, the night is indistinct in a muted watery way.

70 Cfr. Petri, V. Op. Cit

20

And independently of whether we accept or not this argument as valid, this unusual
representation of night gives the viewer a sense of unreality that helps in the creation of a
dream effect. In addition to this, the power of the light in the recreation of the eerie visuals
doesnt stop here. Because of the night being shown covered by daylight, the artificial lights
that we witness throughout the film dont cast light. Therefore, the candles and the lamps
acquire an unreal nature when creating dark shadows without providing light. In the first
sequence of the film, we already feel that the use of light is going to be focused in the
underlining of the irrational: Gray knocks a lighted window for getting an answer from the
inside and reversing our expectations the light turned off (usually the lights turn on when we
knock the window or the door of a house)71. Also the function of the light can be considered
reversed, because instead of illuminating, it creates problems to visualize the images of the
screen. This is especially remarkable in the garden scenes, when Lone has run to the
encounter with the vampire. The light is reflected into the camera and the images appear
blurry, foggy and obscure, denying our perceptibility. This effect was created by filming in
predawn hours72 and shooting through a layer of tulle placed over the lens 73. As Rudkin says,
as well as the vampire is denied of what she most needs (blood), the viewer is also denied of
visibility.
In the same exact way that happens with the construction of the space and the coherent film
grammar, the denial of visibility makes the impression of being underlined in those moments
where the world of the supernatural takes possession of the screen. While we see the figures
of Gray and Gisele tenuous and illusory while they stay in the side of the river that is related
to the universe of the undead, once they cross the water they become substantial again.
This substantiality links the function of light with the question of the disembodiment, which
is another essential element in the creation of the dreamlike atmosphere. Through the movie
we are witnesses of disembodied figures moving autonomously without the need of their
material bodies. One of the most stunning and beautifully composed scenes in this sense is
the one that welcomes us to the world of the unreal through the landscape of the wicked
disused factory, where the shadows live independently from their owners bodies.
In a discrete homage to the cinemas ancestor, the shadow play, Dreyer experiments with the
fascination that shadow and light create when projected in the whiteness of the wall. And the
71 Cfr. Rudkin, D. Op.cit
72 Cfr. Ibid.
73 Cfr. Drum, J. and Dale D. Drum. Op.cit.
21

charmed spectator, captivated by the magic of the black against white, realizes that thats
mainly what cinema is about: a romance between light and shadows.
The world of shadows is entered by following the reflection of a peg legged figure, that
moves on the screen independently from the human being that casts the reflection. Then we
spot the shadow of a gravedigger who is unmaking a grave in preparation for the
resurrection of the undead74. We follow the peg legged shadow, which now is holding the
shadow of a rifle, upstairs; and there we find the real peg legged man sitting on a bench,
with his identically shaped shadow sitting next to him.
Later on, we observe shadows dancing to the music of a little waltz [that] goes darkening to
a valse macabre75 and the shadows of cartwheels () leaping and spinning in a demonic
abandon of themselves76.
And as we enter de world of the shadows, they also can interfere in the live of the living, as
the protagonist finds out when the owner of the Chateu is shoot by a shadow and dies.
Apart from the visual disembodiment caused for the light, other two literal examples of
disembodiment occur provoked by Grays last dream. When Gray is shown falling asleep in
the bench, a transparent insubstantial self leaves his material body literally to follow the path
of his dream. This scene unavoidably reminds us of that previous image in the disused
factory where the man with a rifle is sitting down in a bench with his own shadow placed
sitting besides him.
Inside this same dream, we find the most striking example of disembodiment, but also of reembodiment: the already disembodied dream-self of Gray watches his own corpse that lies
inside a coffin. The re-embodiment takes place when the dream-self suddenly becomes
united with his death self and also with the viewers sight77.
It is also appropriate to mention the sensation of disembodiment caused by a strange
sibylline conversation, almost poetic in its confusion of cross purposes between Gray and
the doctor. The doctor asks Gray if he has heard something, and when he answers that he has
heard kids screaming and dogs barking, the doctor just replies, there are not children or
dogs here: we have the barking but with have no dogs; we have the yelling but no kids. The

74 Rudkin, D. Op.cit
75 Ibid.
76 Ibid.
77 Cfr. Ibid.
22

incoherent conversation enhances the dreamlike quality of the images and contributes to the
overall dream logic.
In recent times, due to the restoration of some film negatives of Vampyr, it has been
discovered that the movie as we know it is missing one shot passage where wild dogs
obeying to the orders of the vampire follow and catch a young shepherd boy 78. This
explanation seems to suppress the dreamy appealing of the dialogue, but the truth is that
Dreyer himself could have chosen to exclude those images because he preferred the
ambiguous environment created by the uncertainty.
Also related to the appearance of irrational elements, the unmotivated focus on strange
details must be highlighted in the analysis of the film: a locked door is opened from the
outside; we stare at a blind old man going down the stairs, and we never see him again
afterwards; a dying man gives a locker to Gray, but this detail has nothing to do with
Vampyrs plot79. Even if these elements could also be related to other missing scenes, their
usefulness for emphasizing the dream quality of the film is undeniable.
To finish with, and related to the importance of light discussed before, it is important to
remark the significance of the whiteness in the film. Shortly after Dreyers dead, Francoise
Truffaut wrote and article discussing the prevalent use of white in the directors ouvre,
mentioning among other films elements the whiteness of the mill sequence in Vampyr.
The night in this film is not just an illuminated night, but it is also a night of white
discomfort and uneasiness80. The white color acquires the feelings that are usually
associated to the darkness, and the light doesnt provide a sense of safety.
As we notice in the walls of the factory where the shadows perform their dances, many of
the films backgrounds are totally white; Rudkin81 underlines that the color of the drained
victims of vampires are also white; and the doctor of Vampyr dies buried in an avalanche of
white flour. In Rudkins words: the flour cascading whiteness also visually suffocates and
the darkness of death here is deadly white82.

78 Cfr. Swaab, Peter. Op.cit.

79 Cfr. Azerrad, Michael. Op.cit.
80 Cfr. Drum, J. And Dale D. Drum. Op.cit.
81 Rudkin, D. Op.cit
82
23

3. CONCLUSION
In the introduction of this essay, we have briefly summarized how dreams have been
represented across the history of cinema. Afterward, we have criticized some approaches to
the portrayal of dreams following the ideas of some theorists and philosophers. The
undeniable similarities between cinema and dreams have also been presented and the way in
which these similarities make the cinema the most suitable art for representing dreams.
The discoveries in the scientific understanding of dreams lead to more complex and
proximate portrayal of dreams, surpassing the merely thematic or symbolist approaches 83.
But even if we agree on the importance of the advancements in the scientific field, it should
be pointed out that, through the intuition that Dreyer has shown as a filmmaker, he has
opened the way for making the cinema find its own path and cinematic devices for the
depiction of dreams.
These directors have pursued this goal following their own conceptions of reality and dream,
and there has been a simultaneous evolution through the time of both the ideas about the
boundary between dreams and reality and the way of representing it. Indeed, we can notice
that the illustration of dreams changes significantly within different films of a certain
filmmaker. For instance, in his film Persona Bergman abandons the Freudian and narrative
depiction of dreams that we find in the first dream sequence of Wild Strawberries to be more
faithful to the dream logic84.
Moreover, we need to have in mind that aside from the scientific and philosophical theories
that influence the filmmakers approaches to dreams, what essentially justifies the different
ways of creating them is the filmmakers subjectivity, which impregnates his own
representations. When portray dreams, we are confronted with the same paradox that we
face when trying to apprehend reality.
Even when photographers [or filmmakers] are most concerned with mirroring reality, they
are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience. [...] Although there is a sense in
which the camera does indeed capture reality, not just interpret it, photographs [and films]
are as much an interpretation of the world as paintings and drawing are 85.

The reality of the dream, and the dream as we remember it are not the same thing. What is
more, the reality of the dream and the dream, as we represent it, are even further between
83 Cfr. Petri, V. Op. Cit
84 Ibid.
85 Sontag, S. (1977). On photography. New York: Penguin Books.
24

each other. The first source for the depiction of dreams is the fragmentary memories of
dreams that remain in the filmmakers mind because the real dreams disappear as soon as our
rational mind awakes when we open our eyes.
The decision of choosing between portraying the dreams as we experience them while
sleeping and as we remember them when we wake up provoke essential differences in their
representation: representations that are composed of clear or blurry images; respecting the
time and spatial coherence or avoiding them; creating or not the links between the sequences
that our rational mind constructs once we are awake
Therefore, the use of elements like distortions or filters to difficult visibility as Dreyer does,
can be considered a good method for constructing dreams as we remember them, not as they
are really reproduced in our minds.
Nevertheless, this consideration doesn't lessen the admiration that Dreyer deserves for
perfecting the ways in which dreams are represented. Consequently, the cinematic depiction
of dreams that other filmmakers have nowadays achieved owes much to the Danish master.
The proficient portrayal of dreams that we find throughout the films of a genius like
Bergman owes much to Dreyers influence; and therefore, this same influence arrives at
other geniuses of the cinema and dreams like Tarkovsky, aroused by their fascination with
Bergman.

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