Carl Theodor Dreyer, a director who worked in France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway, as well as in his native Denmark, spanned the silent and sound eras of filmmaking. He was adopted, and only learned at 18 of his natural mother's tragic early death from an illegal operation, a revelation that affected him deeply and perhaps contributed to his film portraits of martyred women. His 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc is regarded as one of the greatest silent films ever made. Through the use of such techniques as uncut sequences, careful composition, and tight closeups, he illuminated the spiritual passion of the French saint burned as a heretic in the Middle Ages. In this film and in Day of Wrath (1943), a tale of medieval witch hunting, Dreyer's theme is the suffering born of intolerance and deliverance from evil through death. Dreyer made several other notable films, including the classic horror movie Vampyr (1932) and The Word (1955), a monumental story of spiritual and physical regeneration. His last film was Gertrud (1964).
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