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Carl Dreyer (credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art Film Stills Archive, New York)

(born Feb. 3, 1889, Copenhagen, Den. — died March 20, 1968, Copenhagen) Danish film director. He entered the film industry as a writer of subtitles and became a scriptwriter and editor. His first film as a director was The President (1919); after several others, he made his most famous silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). He created a new directorial style based on extensive close-ups and the use of authentic settings. His other films include Vampire (1932), the celebrated Day of Wrath (1943), The Word (1955), and Gertrud (1964).

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