IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
When a man becomes tyrannical towards his family, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude.When a man becomes tyrannical towards his family, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude.When a man becomes tyrannical towards his family, the women of the house decide to teach him a lesson in gratitude.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAt its original release in Paris, France, this film played in 57 theaters in three weeks.
- Quotes
Opening Title Card: In the numerous streets of the Big City, house follows house, and in those houses, people live in layers - like wild birds carving their nests into the rock... nest above nest...
- Alternate versionsA 107-minute version with English intertitles and an uncredited piano score was shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel in 2006. It had no crew credits other than the director (as Carl Dreyer) and only three cast members: Johannes Meyer (as Johs Meyer), 'Astrid Holm' and Mathilde Nielsen. The English names used were John and Mary for the husband and wife, presumably to indicate a typical family, and "Nana" for the Wetnurse. The two older children were called Kathleen and Dick.
- ConnectionsEdited into Mathilde Nielsen - Kavalkade (1941)
Featured review
Who says Dreyer is boring?
After seeing this movie (along with many other Dreyer's movies) I still wonder why people think that this Danish director is kind of boring.
This is perfect example of what Dreyer's cinematography is and what is not. This is a film where you can find some gentle spirit lying beneath. Some sort of quietness that fulfils the whole movie. As in many other of his early movies, Dreyer puts the spectator in a superior level. We are given the opportunity to watch an everyday's scene: a woman subjugated to a spoilt man's will. We watch her wake up early in the morning, wash dishes, clean the whole house, prepare her husband's breakfast and all she gets in exchange is bad manners and retreats from him. The complot that the nanny builds up to make the man feel guilty and so, to make him behave, unfolds in a subtle and sometimes funny way, making the watching more enjoyable from the distance.
It's hard to describe the perfect acting that the main characters bring to this beautiful film; an acting full of details and emotion.
Enjoyable form the first frame to the last one, this film will work perfectly for Dreyer's fans as long as for those who ever thought this was a tough one. It's, probably, the perfect bridge to approach to Dreyer's masterpieces such as "Ordet" and "Gertrud".
Hope you like it as much as I did.
This is perfect example of what Dreyer's cinematography is and what is not. This is a film where you can find some gentle spirit lying beneath. Some sort of quietness that fulfils the whole movie. As in many other of his early movies, Dreyer puts the spectator in a superior level. We are given the opportunity to watch an everyday's scene: a woman subjugated to a spoilt man's will. We watch her wake up early in the morning, wash dishes, clean the whole house, prepare her husband's breakfast and all she gets in exchange is bad manners and retreats from him. The complot that the nanny builds up to make the man feel guilty and so, to make him behave, unfolds in a subtle and sometimes funny way, making the watching more enjoyable from the distance.
It's hard to describe the perfect acting that the main characters bring to this beautiful film; an acting full of details and emotion.
Enjoyable form the first frame to the last one, this film will work perfectly for Dreyer's fans as long as for those who ever thought this was a tough one. It's, probably, the perfect bridge to approach to Dreyer's masterpieces such as "Ordet" and "Gertrud".
Hope you like it as much as I did.
helpful•272
- Marc Ambit
- Sep 27, 2000
- How long is Master of the House?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Mannen och hans överman
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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