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Film details
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Featuring
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Director
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Country
Denmark
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Year
1955
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Genre
Drama
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Type
Film
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Category
Fiction
Alternative titles
- The Word Alternative
- Ordet, la parole Alternative French
Introduction
“Ordet is a highly accomplished work of cinematic art. Dreyer’s formal and technical mastery, the seeming simplicity of his style, and the depth of the film are overpowering.” Jonas Mekas, Film Culture, 1958
Ordet was the only film Carl Theodor Dreyer directed during the two decades between Two People (1945) and his final film, Gertrud (1964). With Gertrud, it represents the apotheosis of his controlled visual style, consisting of long, uninterrupted takes, with one shot often sufficing for an entire sequence. The 124-minute running time contains only 114 shots.
The film focuses on a devout parson and his three sons, the eldest of whom, Mikkel (Emil Hass Christensen), has rejected God altogether, while his sibling Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye) has had a breakdown and thinks himself to be Jesus.
Based on a 1932 play by Kaj Munk, the material is transformed by Dreyer into uniquely slow, hypnotic cinema that examines the nature of believing. The ending ranks among the medium’s most beautiful and mysterious.
Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light (2007) borrows the audacious climax of Ordet for its own story of an austere religious community.
Cast & Credits
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Cast
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[Morten Borgen]
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[Mikkel Borgen, Morten's son]
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[Johannes Borgen, Morten's son]
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[Anders Borgen, Morten's son]
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[Inger Borgen, Mikkel's wife]
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[Maren Borgen, Mikkel's daughter]
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[Lilleinger, Mikkel's daughter]
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[Peter, the tailor]
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[Kristine, Peter's wife]
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[Anne, Peter & Kristine's daughter]
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[the doctor]
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[the pastor]
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[Karen, the servant]
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[Mette Maren]
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[]
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Credits
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Direction:
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[Director]
Production:
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[Production Company]
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[Producer]
Writing:
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[Screenplay]
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[Script Collaborator]
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[Script Collaborator]
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{Based on the play 'Ordet' by}
Photography:
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[Director of Photography]
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[Camera Operator]
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[Camera Operator]
Editing:
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[Editor]
Design:
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[Art Director]
Costumes:
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[Costumes]
Music:
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[Music]
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[Music Director]
Sound:
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[Sound]
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[Sound Assistant]
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[Sound Assistant]
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