They Caught the Ferry was apparently an anti-speeding film made in Denmark in the later 40s and, while it is undoubtedly a superlative piece of movie-making, director Carl Th. Dreyer does such a masterful job of capturing how it feels to be belting along the road at insane speeds (complete with one terrific POV shot) that you can't help wondering whether the film actually ended up encouraging speeding.
There's no real story other than a man and his girlfriend have to travel a distance to catch a ferry which requires them to give their motorcycle a real workout along winding country roads. To be fair, they take few risks until they cone across one motorist - a sinister, cadaverous figure - who refuses to let them pass and forces them off the road and into one of those trees that has waited fifty-odd years for you to turn up. Everything about this film - directing, editing, cinematography - is first class, and it even includes a macabre little twist for a finale.
There's no real story other than a man and his girlfriend have to travel a distance to catch a ferry which requires them to give their motorcycle a real workout along winding country roads. To be fair, they take few risks until they cone across one motorist - a sinister, cadaverous figure - who refuses to let them pass and forces them off the road and into one of those trees that has waited fifty-odd years for you to turn up. Everything about this film - directing, editing, cinematography - is first class, and it even includes a macabre little twist for a finale.