A mature and visually elegant period romance that remains one of the earliest and most compassionate overtly gay-themed films in movie history. Based upon Herman Bang's 1902 novel, Dreyer's Michael refashions the classical Greek myth of Jupiter and Ganymede into a love triangle between an aging artist, Zoret, his protagonist Michael, and Princess Zamikoff, an aristocratic femme fatale as entranced by Michael’s youthful beauty as Zoret is.
Cinematography
Rudolph Maté's lighting makes every frame a painting.
Acting
Benjamin Christensen's eyes do what dialogue cannot.
Costume
Princess Zamikoff's gowns are weapons of mass destruction.
Director
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dreyer filmed this in Berlin, not Copenhagen, to escape Danish censorship — yet even German censors trimmed the 'excessive' male gazes.
Walter Slezak later became a Hollywood character actor; his father Leo was the legendary opera singer who originated roles in Wagner premieres. Talent ran deep, and tragically.
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