Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Vampyr Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 26, 2022

Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Vampyr" (1932) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival audio commentary by critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns; archival audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro; documentary film produced by Jorgen Roos; visual essay prepared by film scholar Casper Tyberg; and more. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The monumental impact that Carl Theodor Dryer’s Vampyr has had on generations of different directors and their work truly cannot be overstated. I would like to give a couple of examples that I think prove it.

Sometime after the year 2000 I started tracking down many of Aleksandr Sokurov’s early films, and the more I saw of them, the clearer it became that there was a side of their visual identity that essentially mimicked that of Dryer’s Vampyr. I found this quite surprising because the gap between the two directors really could not have been any bigger. In Sokurov’s The Second Circle, for instance, where the main protagonist returns to a remote Siberian village to arrange a proper funeral for his deceased father the similarities in terms of ambience are just too obvious. Like in Vampyr here there are only a few lines of dialog and the unique hazy look is accomplished with the type of light management and filters that Dryer had essentially promoted decades earlier with entirely different techniques and equipment. Even more of the same similarities can be observed in Sokurov’s Whispering Pages, which is about an outcast who wanders the streets of a Russian city from the beginning of the last century that has started to disintegrate but no one seems to care. In this particular film Sokurov even overlaps the real and the surreal in quite the same fashion that Dryer does towards the end of Vampyr.

The influence of Vampyr is also very easy to detect in the films of Canadian auteur Guy Maddin, though as darkly surreal and fluid as many of them are they also frequently tend to have this very abstract sense of humor that essentially places them in a category of their own. Still, take a closer look at Keyhole, The Saddest Music in the World, and especially Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary and you will quickly discover that in addition to having a wide range of visual similarities these films also routinely twist reality by following the blueprint that Dreyer laid out in Vampyr. Maddin simply has a bigger bag of cinematic tricks to choose from and a wilder imagination that pushes his films in a completely different direction.

The above examples are not meant to make a case that at some point during their careers Sokurov and Maddin studied Dryer’s Vampyr and then consciously set out to imitate different aspects of it, but to highlight the fact that Vampyr is much more than just a great Gothic horror film. It is actually a breathtakingly bold and in a way even prophetic experimental project that uses the story about Allan Gray (played by producer Baron Nicolas “Niki” de Gunzburg) and his slow transition into the world of the undead to show that the film medium can be every bit as magical as some years later the great Swedish master Ingmar Bergman would insist it is. Dreyer simply realized it long before other directors did, and then when the right opportunity came along followed his instincts to prove it in the best way he could.

Dryer and the great cinematographer Rudolph Mate (The Passion of Joan of Arc) shot Vampyr on location in France and primarily with non-professional actors. It was Dryer’s first sound film, though according to Baron de Gunzberg during the actual production the footage was shot silent. Later on, the sound bits were inserted while the film was edited at the UFA studios in Berlin. Three versions of Vampyr were prepared for distribution: German, French, and English.

Vampyr Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratio of 1.19:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

This release is sourced from a new 2K restoration of Vampyr that was completed by the Danish Film Institute in 2020. For the purpose of this review, I did some direct comparisons with Criterion's presentation of the film from 2017.

The one and only notable difference that I could spot is the presence of some additional cosmetic work. However, you should not expect a dramatic difference because the nature of this work varies quite a bit and plenty of the surface wear that is present on the previous presentation remains. In fact, it appears that in some areas work has been done simply to tone down what is essentially impossible to remove without destroying the integrity of the visuals. You can see examples of such visible wear/damage that is still present on the new presentation in screencaptures #5, 16, 17, and 27). Also, the various native density fluctuations that overemphasize the grain and grain exposure still create minor image 'pulsations' that retain dark spots and other small wear. I did not notice any meaningful discrepancies in the grading of the new presentation that might have affected the grayscale of the visuals. If any exist, they would be unrecognizable to casual viewers, or even viewers who are familiar with Criterion's presentation of the film. I think that image stability is identical as well. However, minor shakiness can be spotted, especially in peripherals where the impact of aging is typically most pronounced, so it would be very difficult to identify any new stability enhancements. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Vampyr Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: German LPCM 1.0 and German (unrestored) LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The quality of the restored lossless audio is very difficult to critique because there are numerous native limitations on it. Obviously, background hiss has been eliminated as best as possible and there are various stabilizations, but the effects of the aging process remain. Also, I think that viewing the film with the unrestored audio is a very similar experience because of the naturally muffled sound.

Vampyr Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - an outstanding archival audio commentary by critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns, who discuses the history of Vampyr and analyzes its groundbreaking cinematic style and narrative. The commentary was recorded in 2008.

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by director Guillermo del Toro and also appeared on Eureka Entertainment's R2 DVD release of Vampyr. The bulk of the comments address the narrative construction and visual style of Vampyr, its expressiveness and historic significance, and Carl Theodor Dreyer's persona and life.

• Visual Essay - this visual essay focuses on the unique style and narrative construction of Vampyr, as well as its history and lasting appeal. It was created by Casper Tyberg, a Carl Theodor Dreyer scholar at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. In English, not subtitled. (36 min).

• Carl Th. Dreyer - this archival documentary film examines the life and legacy of Carl Theodor Dreyer. It was produced by filmmaker Jorgen Roos in 1966 for the Danish Film Institute. In Danish and French, with optional English subtitles. (30 min).

• Kim Newman on Vampyr - in this new program, critic Kim Newman explains what makes Vampyr a unique horror film. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• David Huckvale on Composer Wolfgang Zeller - in this new program, music critic David Huckvale discusses composer Wolfgang Zeller's background and relationship to German romantic opera as well as the music score he created for Vampyr and some of its unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. (37 min).

• David Huckvale on Sheridan Le Fanu - in this new program, music critic David Huckvale discusses Sheridan Le Fanu's In a Glass Darkly and the manner in which the original content from its stories was visualized by Carl Theodor Dreyer in Vampyr. There are some particularly interesting comments about the perception of existing in a world that may not be what it appears to be as well as the existence of evil spirits. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• The Baron - this archival program takes a closer look at the life and public image of Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, who plays Allan Gray, the main character in Vampyr. It was produced by Craig Keller. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Censored Scenes - presented here is censored footage from the French version of Vampyr. Silent. (4 min).

• Book - 100-page book featuring rare production stills, location photography, posters, the 1932 Danish film program, a 1964 interview with Baron Nicolas de Gunzberg (producer and actor "Allan Gray"), an essay by Carl Theodor Dreyer on film style, and writing by Tom Milne, Jean and Dale Drum, and film restorer Martin Koerber.

Vampyr Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr has never been ignored or forgotten, but since the VHS era it has enjoyed a renaissance that has prompted a lot of people to reevaluate it. It really is a lot more than just a great Gothic horror film -- it is an uncharacteristically bold and in some ways even prophetic mind-bender that I think has directly and indirectly influenced the work of generations of different directors across the globe. This upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a recent 2K restoration of the German version of Vampyr that was completed by the Danish Film Institute in 2020. Should you consider picking it up if you already have Criterion's release? No. There are minor cosmetic improvements on it, but the rest is identical. I was actually not surprised at all that this is the case because the previous 2K restoration and reconstruction that was finalized in 1998 was already very good. If you do not yet have Vampyr in your library and need a Region-B release, it is time that you consider an upgrade. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.