Haunted screens and spiritual scenes: Film as a medium in the cinema of Carl Theodor Dreyer

In exploring the nature of cinematic self-reflexivity, this article investigates the relationship between the medium of film and Dreyer’s interest in the spiritual and religious experience. It draws upon Freud’s concept of the ‘Uncanny’ to determine the boundaries of cinematic space and time in relation to the transience of life and death, as represented on screen.