Ordet (1955)

The critic finds the film difficult to enter at first but ultimately inescapable and profoundly moving, praising its deliberate pacing, religious depth, and transcendent climax. He singles out the godlike camera movements and celestial black-and-white lighting.

The critic celebrates Ordet as one of cinema’s supreme spiritual achievements, praising its blend of fleshy human emotion and transcendent faith. The piece highlights Dreyer’s humanist approach to individual spirituality over rigid religiosity.

The critic highlights the film's philosophical worldview and stripped-down aesthetic of still yet furious clarity that reveals transcendent essence. He singles out its radical Christianity and the miraculous preservation of existence through cinema.

The critic calls it a visual sermon of scalding spiritual intensity that uncoils like a majestic snail and is hypnotic rather than entertaining. He singles out the rigid but powerful blend of speeches and faces along with the stained-glass-window-like photography.

The review calls the film powerfully moving and mysterious, singling out its extraordinary final coup de cinéma as a bold, unforgettable climax that redefines the drama. It praises the austere yet spiritually resonant direction and technical mastery.

The critic describes Ordet as a work of great spiritual generosity that uses long takes and tangible interiors to explore characters' differing positions on faith. Its tragedy and concluding miracle become moving in ways that are impossible to foresee.

Ordet is a magnificently cinematic version of the play about the possibility of a modern miracle and revival of faith. Its hypnotic gliding takes crown Dreyer's pursuit of total rhythm, making the climactic resurrection scene a miracle of cinema.

A gripping and eerie tragedy of the supernatural and an unmissable re-release, though it falls a millimetre short of Dreyer's best due to its theatrical style. The film benefits from an undercurrent of sexual tension and has a hypnotic stare.

An acknowledged classic and one of the boldest films on faith and religious passion, but the ponderous pacing makes it a slog with simplistic themes and female characters as mere plot devices. Admired for its beauty and commitment but little to like.