The Abyss

Asta Nielsen's first film, in 1910.

"She is all! She is the drunkard's vision and the lonely man's dream... ' She laughs like a girl completely happy, and her eyes know of things so tender and shy that one dare not speak of them... A new light seemed to shine from the screen" - Guillaume Appolinaire

"Even in 1910 The Abyss would hardly have stirred a ripple of interest had it not been for the acting of Asta Nielsen... Her face has 'a tragic power without equal'. Hers was a restrained, naturalistic style, her frugal use of external gesture riveting attention on her expressive face." - Robert C Allen, Sight & Sound, Aummn,1973