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The Parson's Widow : Three Films by Carl Theodor Dreyer
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0014381021622
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Label: Image Entertainment
Languages: English (Original Language),
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Running Time: 71 minutes
Studio: Image Entertainment
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Editorial Review:
One of the world's greatest directors, Carl-Theodor Dreyer has long been hailed for such masterpieces as The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr, Day of Wrath and Ordet. Now we meet a different Dreyer who engages with broad humor, then gradually guides to a wise, bittersweet resolution. Aspiring parson Sofren is engaged to Mari, but her father won't allow them to marry until Sofren gets a ministry. He's hired by a small rural congregation only to discover that according to local custom, the widow of the deceased pastor may marry his successor. An aged woman who has already buried three earlier husbands, Dame Margarete asserts her right in order to keep her home, but Sofren also brings Mari to the parish claiming that she is his sister. The two plan to wait for the elderly woman to die. When it appears she might be eternal, Sofren begins a series of silly pranks to hasten the old lady's end, but before her death her wisdom, dignity and selflessness teach the young couple a great deal about fundamental humanity. Called "the first real Dreyer film," The Parson's Widow (aka The Witch Woman) prefigures key themes in his later work. Beautifully photographed in the 17th-century museum village of Lillehammer, Norway, the film's original luminous quality is captured in this digitally mastered edition from a 35mm camera-negative print. Plus two rare Dreyer shorts! They Caught the Ferry (1948, 12 mins.) adapts the technique of Dreyer's horror/fantasy Vampyr to a chilling and unforgettable miniature on driver safety. Thorvaldsen (1949, 11 mins.) uses the long lenses and confrontational style of The Passion of Joan of Arc to illuminate the search for truth in the work of the greatest Danish sculptor, which turns out to have a surprising affinity with Dreyer's own cinema. All three films digitally mastered from 35mm archive prints. The Parson's Widow is speed-corrected and tinted, with new music compiled by Neal Kurz from the works of Edvard Grieg.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Surprisingly good
Söfren wants to marry Mari, but Mari's father won't allow it until Söfren is gainfully employed. Söfren wins a competition to become a village parson, but to get the job he must, per custom, marry the parson's widow - a formidable old battleaxe who has already planted a handful of husbands.
I've seen a couple of director Carl Dreyer's movies -`Vampyr', an early (1932) vampire flick that put me to sleep, and his masterful 1928 `The Passion of Joan of Arc.' So I queued the 1920 `The ... Read More
Rating: - A lovely viewing experience
This is my favourite film by the highly esteemed Danish director, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and one that I can enjoy watching many times over. Unlike Dreyer's much more famous films such as `Vampyr' and `The Passion of Joan of Arc', "The Parson's Widow" is refreshingly light and has quite a few nice touches of subtle comedy. But perhaps the main attraction of this film is its beautiful setting in a rural Scandinavian village of times gone by, with charming wood houses and churches, as well as people and ... Read More
Rating: - A fine transfer of an overlooked film
If the only Carl Dreyer films you know are the excellent but somber (and theologically weighty) Passion of Joan of Arc, Ordet, and maybe Vampyr, then The Parson's Widow will come as a charming surprise. It's a pleasant silent comedy with real human warmth at its emotional center. The plot concerns a young theology student who has to marry the elderly widow of the village's former parson if he wants to obtain the position. It's genuinely funny at times and holds up quite well over the years. My favorite ... Read More
Rating: - WONDERFUL SILENT
THOROUGHLY WORTHWHILE VIEWING FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT DREYER IS AMONG THE GREATEST OF DIRECTORS (I CAN BELIEVE AT MOMENTS DURING HIS FILMS THAT HE IS THE GREATEST!) THE QUALITY OF THIS RELEASE IS EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH - DO NOT MISS IT. &, OF COURSE, HAVING "THORVALDSEN" AND "THEY CAUGHT THE FERRY" AS SUPPLEMENTS ON THIS DISC IS ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - THEY SHOULD MAKE ANY LIST OF THE GREATEST SHORTS EVER MADE.
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