SPOILERS
| Added | Fri, 20/11/2020 |
| Release date | 06-05-1932
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| Original title | Vampyr — Der Traum des Allan Grey
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| Феномены | |
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The Vampire: The Dream of Allen Grey (German: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Grey) is a mystical film by Karl Theodor Dreyer, shot in the tradition of German expressionism in France.
Dreyer went through about thirty short stories in the Gothic style, before his attention was attracted by Sheridan Le Fanu's book "Through a Dim Glass" (1872). In the credits, it is stated that the plot motifs of" The Vampire "go back to two novels from this book – "Carmilla" and "The Mystery of the Soaring Dragon Hotel". If you believe modern researchers, the plot of the film is largely a figment of Dreyer's own imagination.
Full-scale shooting took place in 1930 and 1931 in the remote French village of Courtampierre (Loiret department).
A young man named Allen gray stops for the night in the village of Contanier. In the middle of the night, an old man enters his locked room. He leaves a package on the table marked " Open after I die."
The next morning, Allen looks through the window of a neighboring estate and sees the same old man. A shot is fired from somewhere, and the old man falls lifeless. After unpacking the package, Allen finds inside an old book about sinister creatures, popularly called vampires.
The old man has two daughters, Giselle and Leon. Of these, the second is suffering from a serious illness. She wanders like a somnambulist in the courtyard of the manor. On its neck find traces of teeth, similar to rat. Allen guesses that Leon is at the mercy of a vampire.
The village doctor, after examining Leon, declares that only a blood transfusion can save her. Allen agrees to give his blood to save the girl. Weak from the loss of blood after the transfusion, he gradually comes to his senses and notices in the hand of the doctor, who is bending over the girl, a bottle of poison. He realizes that the doctor is a puppet in the hands of a vampire.
Allen follows the doctor to the castle, where he is visited by a strange vision: he is carried in a coffin and buried alive. Meanwhile, the faithful Butler of the dead old man finds a book about vampires and finds out that you can kill an alien from the other world by piercing his heart with an iron rod. He finds the grave of the old sorceress Marguerite Chopin in the cemetery and fulfills the order exactly.
The evil spell is broken, and Leon comes to his senses. The doctor hides in an old mill, where he is waiting for a terrible death. Allen and Giselle sail away in a boat on a fog-shrouded river.
Phenomena in artwork: A vampire
All information about vampires is provided through the text of the fictional book "The history of vampirism" by Paul Bonnat (orig " Die Seltsame Geschichte Der Vampyr by Paul Bonnat"):
Many cultures have a popular belief about creepy demons, popularly called vampires. These are the dead, who will not find peace in the land because of the terrible things they did in life. The light of the full moon draws them away from their graves to search for the blood of children and blooming women – only it can prolong their ghostly existence in the realm of Shadows. Their Lord-the Prince of Darkness-gave them the power to subdue both the living and the dead.
Creatures of chaos, they enter the homes of the living in the dark of night to sow only death and despair. The vampire's victim must inevitably die out without any hope of healing. And two wounds on the neck, as if from a cat or rat bite, will help you recognize the cursed mark. Medicine is powerless in this case.
The vampire bite infects the victim like a plague, and the victim does not long struggle in agony, trying to drive away the criminal passion, while the sparks of humanity still smoulder in the mind. But now an innocent child hatches a monster, greedily hungry for blood in the circle of his family and friends.
The vampire is truly served by the shadows of executed villains, but even a living soul has happened to fall into their infernal networks. In Hungary, you will be told how the village doctor sold his soul to Satan and, once in His service, diligently covered up the evil deeds of the vampires that shook the area.
As soon as the vampire gains power over the victim, he pushes her to commit suicide in order to entrust her soul to the Devil. For whoever commits suicide is lost forever, and the gates of Paradise are closed to him. And there is no hope of salvation.
Is it possible to comprehend the riddle of being? Who has power over the dark secret hidden in the rays of the sun? No matter how outlandish the existence of a vampire may seem, the method of destroying it is no less strange. These dead will not find peace until man finds justice for them and frees them from the age-old nightmare. The libraries of the monasteries keep the secret archives. There we will find a number of evidence of how it was possible to subdue vampires in various villages. For example, the village of Kisilovo suffered a terrible fate half a century ago: it was chosen by a vampire hidden in the body of a deceased old woman. The people there did the following: at dawn they opened the cursed grave, made sure that the old woman was lying there as if alive, as if sleeping, then drove an iron stake right into her heart, so that the earth swallowed up her sinful soul. Only then did it disappear completely and forever, and the witchcraft curse was broken.
Our heavenly Lord is merciful to these lands. But even this blessed land, according to legend, was subject to the invasion of vampires in individual villages. The last such epidemic occurred about 25 years ago, when 11 young lives were suddenly cut short in a village called Courtempier. Doctors explained this case with a scientific term, but a different rumor was fixed among the residents: as if the evil intent of the vampire was to blame for everything. Many claimed that this vampire could be none other than Marguerite Chopin, recently buried in the village cemetery. Even when she was alive, she looked more like a devil than a good laywoman. And on her deathbed, she persisted and did not repent, so the Church had to refuse her last communion.
The events that take place in the film fully confirm what is written in the book. After the vampire in the coffin is pierced with a metal stake, she turns into a skeleton, and her victim finds peace.
Thus, the vampires described in the film, on the one hand, have classic features, and on the other, have significant differences: they act only during the full moon, do not have visible differences from ordinary people (fangs, burning eyes, etc.). it is Unclear whether they drink the blood of their victims or just put a mark on them, pushing them to suicide. Remains unsolved the question of dealing with vampires by the use of crucifixes, Holy water, garlic, etc.
Vampires have familiars who serve them not for the sake of becoming vampires, but out of their own malice. At least some of them have supernatural abilities: their shadow can move separately from their body. Whether there are any paranormal abilities in the vampires themselves remains unknown.
A vampire leaning over a victim
Vampire in a coffin
A vampire impaled with a metal stake turns into a skeleton
Vampire bite mark on the victim's neck
Phenomena in artwork: Shadow Man
The shadows of executed intruders serve the vampires. In addition, some living servants also have the ability to move and act separately from their bodies.
The shadow of a vampire's henchman moves separately from its body
Shadow of the executed villain on the lawn in the woods
Phenomena in artwork: Ghost
The film shows two ghosts. The first is the restless spirit of an old man who overtakes his murderers. It appears in their window, in the form of a huge translucent face.
The second Ghost is Allen gray himself, whose soul has separated from his body and is traveling through the vampire's hideout. There he sees both episodes of the real world (a kidnapped girl locked in a room) and imaginary pictures (of himself in a coffin).
The Ghost of a murdered old man
Allen gray's spirit separates from his body
The spirit of Allen gray walks the field
The spirit of Allen gray looks at his body in a coffin
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