Leaves Out of the Book of Satan
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Year Released: 1920
Rating: 2.0
Dreyer shows the recurring (and meddling) presence of Satan/"evil" (assuming human form) in major events of human history, from the betrayal of Christ all the way through the Spanish Inquisition, the French Revolution and the Finnish Civil War near the start of the 20th century. An early work by the legendary Danish filmmaker, it possesses a strong visual sense and a palpably foreboding atmosphere, except the four segments are brief and oversimplified depictions of historical calamities with wordy title cards struggling to link the scenes together. It does help establish some of the themes Dreyer would revisit in much richer later works (notably, his obsession with faith) - ironically, he planned on making a film about Jesus of Nazareth following Gertrud which would have brought his career (all so fittingly) full circle.
