The President

Dazzlingly restored in 1999 with the original colour tinting, Dreyer's first feature is, like much of his work, a tale of love, bigotry, cruelty and (mostly female) suffering. A sophisticated interlocking narrative tells of the fates of three 'commoners' made pregnant by aristos of high repute; since patriarchal tradition and self-interest outweigh honour, the seducers, willingly or otherwise, tend to abandon the women to their fates. Familiar melodramatic material, then, but Dreyer mostly underplays things, with naturalistic but intense acting, elegant but stark designs, and a keen eye for cruel irony and moral nuance. Very watchable, and often very beautiful: a torchlight procession is especially impressive.