SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Michael_Elliott Leaves from Satan's Book (1922) ** (out of 4) Carl Theodor Dreyer's tale of Satan's attempt to use temptation to get back into Heaven. We follow Satan through four periods including the crucifixion of Jesus and the Spanish Inquisition. The film is visually beautiful and the set design is remarkable but the stories are all deadly boring. The third segment, which is the longest, is downright bad. The first segment with Jesus has way too unintentional laughs and it's rather strange that Jesus looks a lot creepier than Satan!Those expecting a horror film will probably be disappointing as this film plays out more like a historical drama.

Spent Bullets Carl Theodor Dreyer's second feature film is an ambitious study of evil through the ages, but the great Danish filmmaker is years away from his masterpieces of The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr, Day of Wrath, Ordet and Gertrud. The inexperienced filmmaker was influenced by D.W. Griffith's 1916 Intolerance and aimed to map out the path of the Devil using Griffith's innovative filming style as a guide. He added on his realistic approach to the subject matter, as he believed realism to be the most essential part of any film.Like its inspiration, Intolerance, Leaves from Satan's Book contains stories from four historical periods linked thematically. Unlike Griffith's film though, Dreyer chose not to cross cut between stories, which makes for a less confusing film.Satan is the character who links the four stories. The film starts with his fall from grace, as told through inter-titles, and God's proclamation that he walk the Earth tempting humanity. For each soul that turns from God, 100 years will be added to Satan's sentence, but for every person who resists his temptations, 1000 years will be removed. Hoping to fail in his duties so that he may be admitted back into heaven, Satan tries to get men to betray what they hold most dear in four eras of history.The first section of the film is the biblical story of Jesus' betrayal by Judas. The next story takes place during the Spanish Inquisition. The third section of the film takes place during the French Revolution. The final segment is set in the Finland during the Russo-Finnish war of 1918. As a film, this wasn't Dreyer's best, but it was fairly entertaining. This early Dreyer film shows his almost innate ability to compose attractive images within the limits of the frame.Though this film isn't the grand spectacle he was hoping for, Dreyer did a wonderful job with it. His use of the film frame and style of story telling make this a movie interesting and attractive to watch.

capkronos BLADE AF SATANS BOG (titled LEAVES FROM Satan'S BOOK on the DVD cover but LEAVES OUT OF THE BOOK OF Satan on the print) is a lurching silent film epic, running over two hours in length, that hypothesizes Satan's influence on weak-willed men and altering certain historic events. The film is divided into four highly variable sections, all taking place at different time periods, with the impressive Helge Nissen appearing as various guises as Satan in each segment. All are tinted a variety of different colors, from black-and-white to monochrome to lighter hues (blue, green, pink, etc.) and the cinematography, lighting, art direction, costumes and editing are often striking, just not often enough to completely overcome the uneven writing and a very slow pace.The first story is one we're all pretty familiar with - Jesus' betrayal by Judas, with Judas here being influenced by a turbaned and bearded Satan. Familiarity with this biblical tale takes the edge off and best can be said about this segment is in regards to a few moments of clever lighting (the last supper shot as another reviewer mentioned). The second story, set during the Spanish Inquisition, is an improvement. This is also the most horrific of the segments, with scenes set inside a torture chamber and Nissen's heavily-rouged face and intense, sneaky glares instantly bringing to mind Lugosi's classic Dracula character. Here, Satan plays Grand Inquisitor, leading astray a very nubile young love-struck priest who uses self-flagellation to rid his body of sin. One interesting scene features the priest whipping his back while envisioning the object of his desire draped below a cross (a shot I've seen used many times since).The third, and by far best, segment takes place during the French Revolution and opens with a striking shot of a guillotine sitting alone atop a hillside right as the sun is setting. This is also the strongest tale from a narrative standpoint as it cuts back and forth between two separate story lines but brings everything together at the end. A young man named Joseph helps a noblewoman and her daughter flee the city when authorities show up to execute the entire family for aiding the escape of a queen sentenced to death. When Joseph's advances are rejected by the daughter, Satan shows up to convince him to turn his back on both the mother/daughter, and later Marie Antoinette herself. The fourth segment, set in "modern times" (1918!) is about the Russian occupation of Finland and only has moments of occasional interest, both visually and thematically.There are a few memorable performances in this movie. Nissen is truly fascinating as all four visions of Satan; alternately creepy, clever, vengeful and weary. Also worth mentioning are Tenna Frederiksen Kraft, who is a graceful and sympathetic Marie Antoinette, and Elith Pio as Joseph, a man seriously torn between doing the right thing when lives hang in the balance... or just the right thing to advance himself.All in all, it's very slow and very uneven, but worth checking out if you are either a Dreyer completist or into silent pictures. But truth be told, the director has seen much better days; MICHAEL (1924), THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928), VAMPYR (1932), VREDEN'S DAG (1943), etc.

whpratt1 Decided to view this film because I wanted to see what other countries in Europe were watching in their movie houses in 1921. The director, Carl Theodor Dreyer had a great talent and produced many interesting films through out his lifetime. This film showed how the devil down through the centuries was able to destroy peoples souls, including Judas in betraying Jesus to the Roman soldiers. There was a bargain that God had with the devil according to this story, where the devil would continue to remain on earth to fight for human souls and their destruction. All the actors performed with excellent skill for the Year 1921 and the fact that it was a silent film. It was very interesting to see the outdoor scenery in various countries and also observe the old furniture and customs.In one scene in Finland, the family who had young infants, seemed to keep them in a closet with a cloth curtain as a door and hung in a cradle held by straps! If you get a chance to view this film, it is really worth the time.