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Poster for Day of Wrath

Day of Wrath

A Drama of Fear and Superstition in the 20th Century.

1943 · 1h 37m · Not Rated Drama, History
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

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Overview

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
100%
Tomatometer
Fresh

However bleak, Day of Wrath is a masterpiece. See it.

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Fresh

I'd be saving a spot for it near the top of my 10-best list if the movie hadn't been made 65 years ago.

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Fresh

A stark, brooding treatment of adultery, incest, and murder, an elemental tragedy not so far from a James M. Cain triangle, albeit shot so as to deliberately evoke the Dutch masters.

J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Fresh

A lesser Dreyer work, but only in comparison with his own achievements.

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
Fresh

Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1943 masterpiece begins as a film about seventeenth-century witch hunts in Northern Europe, but it's really a psychological thriller about the pull of evil on weak souls.

Sara Cardace, New York Magazine/Vulture

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