Antichrist
While a married couple (Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg) is having sex, their infant son in a nearby room falls out a window to his death. She becomes distraught and is hospitalized, but her husband, who is a psychiatrist, attempts to treat her. Deciding that she needs to face her fears, he takes her to a cabin in the woods where she spent a previous summer with the boy. Once they are there, she becomes more unhinged and starts perpetrating sexual violence on her husband and herself.
Breaking the Waves
In a small and religious coastal town, a simple, devoutly religious Scottish woman, Bess McNeill (Emily Watson), finds a partner in an oil rig worker from Norway, Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgard). However, the relationship grows strained when Nyman breaks his neck in a horrific work accident on the rig and becomes paralyzed. Unable to perform sexually and suffering mentally from the accident as well, Jan convinces Bess to have sex with other men, which she comes to believe is God's work.
Dancer in the Dark
Catherine Deneuve, born 22 October 1943, is a French actress. She was born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac in Paris, as the third of four daughters to French stage and screen actor Maurice Dorléac and actress Renée Deneuve.
Deneuve was 13 when she began her film career with a small role in Les Collégiennes (1956). She remained active in European films during the 1960s and the 1970s, though she limited her appearances in American movies of the period to The April Fools (1969) and Hustle (1975). Her starring roles at the time were featured in such films as Tristana (1970) and A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973, opposite Marcello Mastrioanni). In the 1980s, Deneuve's films included François Truffaut's Le Dernier métro (1980, which garnered her the César Award for Best Actress) and Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). In 1993 she won the César Award for Best Actress again for her role in Indochine.
Deneuve was the face of Chanel No. 5 in the 1970s and caused sales of the perfume to soar in the United States, so much so that the American press, captivated by her charm, nominated her as the world's most elegant woman. Deneuve has also been involved with various charities in the fight against AIDS and cancer. (Bowker Author Biography)
Dogville
A barren soundstage is stylishly utilized to create a minimalist small-town setting in which a mysterious woman named Grace (Nicole Kidman) hides from the criminals who pursue her. The town is two-faced and offers to harbor Grace as long as she can make it worth their effort, so Grace works hard under the employ of various townspeople to win their favor. Tensions flare, however, and Grace's status as a helpless outsider provokes vicious contempt and abuse from the citizens of Dogville.
The element of crime
An exiled ex-cop returns to his old beat to catch a serial killer with a taste for young girls. This edition includes the following supplements: Stig Bjorkman's critically acclaimed 52-minute documentary Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier (1997), with optional English subtitles ; theatrical trailer.
Europa
Released in the United States as Zentropa, Lars von Trier's third entry in his loosely related "Europa Trilogy" (with Epidemic and The Element of Crime) primarily offers an exercise in style. In postwar Germany, a pacifist train conductor (Jean-Marc Barr) gets enmeshed in a Hitchcockian love affair and sabotage plot, but having characters move between rear-projected background and foreground footage provides its own thrill. For larger collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
The Five Obstructions
Iconoclastic Danish director Von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville) issues a good-natured challenge to his fellow director, friend, and mentor Leth to remake Leth's 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times. However, Von Trier stipulates that each time Leth must overcome one or more "obstructions." For example, in the first version, Von Trier orders that no shot be held longer than 12 frames (a second or two), a decree that Leth tartly notes will result in a "spastic film." Other obstructions follow, and Leth's efforts range from Cuba to Bombay, even producing a cartoon version, while in between Von Trier and Leth critique the results. This cinematic exercise has amused and divided both critics and chat room film buffs. Indeed, Von Trier seems to delight in confounding expectations and irritating the viewer (particularly those long sessions with the two directors, and an endless, aimless sequence of Leth wandering around hotel corridors). Von Trier earns points for originality, and Leth's amiable efforts (particularly the animated version) should delight die-hard cinephiles. However, the average viewer may be left wondering why Von Trier didn't tackle a project of more consequence. In Danish, French, and Spanish with English subtitles, containing brief nudity and some harsh language, this video is appropriate for academic libraries serving serious film students.—Stephen Rees, Levittown Regional Lib., PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
The Kingdom, Series 1 and 2
The Kingdom is an eight-episode Danish television series, created by Lars von Trier in 1994, and co-directed by Lars von Trier and Morten Arnfred.
Manderlay
Set in 1933, the film takes up the story of Grace and her father after burning the town of Dogville at the end of the previous film. Grace and her father travel in convoy with a number of gunmen through rural Alabama where they stop briefly outside a plantation called Manderlay. As the gangsters converse, a black woman emerges from Manderlay's front gates complaining that someone is about to be whipped for stealing a bottle of wine.
Grace enters the plantation and learns that within it, slavery persists, roughly 70 years after the American Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Grace is appalled and insists on staying at the plantation with a small contingent of gunmen and her father's lawyer, Joseph, in order to guarantee the slaves' safe transition to freedom. Shortly after Grace's father and the remaining gangsters depart, Mam, the master of the house, dies, but not before asking Grace to burn a notebook containing "Mam's Law," an exhaustive code of conduct for the entire plantation and all its inhabitants, free and slave.
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Medea
Kreon (Henning Jensen), the King of Corinth, offers the hand of his daughter, Glauce (Ludmilla Glinska), to valiant adventurer Jason (Udo Kier). The catch is that Jason's present wife, Medea (Kirsten Olesen), and his two children must leave the kingdom. Jason tries to convince his wife that it is all for the better, guaranteeing her a life of wealth and ease. Medea, however, sensing that her family is being destroyed, descends into madness and commits a horrendous crime.
Melancholia
Melancholia [videorecording (DVD)]
A planet hurtles toward a collision course with Earth. Two sisters, one of them trying to recover from a heavy bout of depression and a failed marriage, cope with their destiny in very different ways.
Helmer & Søn, an Academy Award nominated live action short by Søren Pilmark. Available on A collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films. W DVD 6388. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Scandinavian Studies scholar Mette Hjort discusses Nordic film criticism highlighting three works - The Silence, Nor the Albino, and her own critical work on Italian for Beginners - W DVD 4493 - 1 copy available at Lincoln Center
75th Annual Academy Awards short films. 2004. With Martin Strange-Hansen’s Der er en yndig Mand (This charming man). W DVD 7095. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
A collection of 2006 Academy Award nominated short films. 2007. With Helmer & Søn, a live action short by Søren Pilmark. W DVD 6388. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
A collection of 2007 Academy Award nominated short films. With Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth’s live action short, At Night. 2008. W DVD 6388. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
An act of faith. 1996. D804.65 .A37 1996. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Adams Æbler (Adam's apples). 2007. W DVD 8989. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Kontinentet der Sovover sig (Africa, continent that overslept). 1994. W VHS 2826. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Allegro. 2007. W DVD 8541. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Antikrist. 2005. W DVD 4826. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Arven (The Inheritance). Special edition. 2005. W DVD 9003. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Babette's gæstebud (Babette's feast). 2001. W DVD 992. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Blinkende lygter (Flickering lights). 2003. W DVD 8821. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Borgen. Season 1. 2013. W DVD 13,520 SEASON ONE. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Borgen. Season 2. 2013. W DVD 13,520 SEASON TWO. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Borgen. Season 3. 2014. W DVD 13,520 SEASON THREE. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Brødre (Brothers). 2005. W DVD 9011. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Carl Th. Dreyer: Min metier (Carl Th. Dreyer, my métier). 2001. W DVD 3531. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
The Danish solution. 2010. W DVD 12,264. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
De fem benspænd (The five obstructions). 2004. W DVD 1722. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Du Er Ikke Alene (You are not alone). 2006. W DVD 6945. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Efter brylluppet (After the wedding). 2007. W DVD 8435. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Festen (The celebration). 2004. W DVD 4490. 2 copies available at Lincoln Center.
Flame and Citron. 2010. W DVD 10,559. 2 copies available at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center.
Gamle mænd i nye biler (Old men in new cars). 2004. W DVD 5541. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Gertrud. 2001. W DVD 3530. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
De Grønne slagtere (The green butchers). 2005. W DVD 10,609. 2 copies available at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center.
I Kina spiser de hunde (In China they eat dogs). 2005. W DVD 8914. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
I you love. 2005. Streaming video. Available in Online Resources. Visit URL: http://aspresolver.com/aspresolver.asp?DAIV;1774287
Ildfuglen (Firebird). 1982. GV1790.F5 I4 1982. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Italiensk for begyndere (Italian for beginners). 2002. W DVD 4493. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Kick 'n rush. 2005. W DVD 5446. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
The Kingdom. Series 1. 1997. W DVD 3651. 2 copies available at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center.
The Kingdom. Series 2. 2007. W DVD 3651 SERIES TWO. 1 copy available at Rose Hill.
Kira's reason: a love story. 2000. W DVD 4608. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Medea. 2003. W DVD 981. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
The monastery: Mr. Vig & the nun. 2007. W DVD 8789. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher trilogy. 2006. W DVD 5548. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Ordet (The Word). 2001. W DVD 3529. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Reconstruction. 2005. W DVD 5507. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Svält (Hunger) 2006. W DVD 7966. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Tro, håb og kærlighed (Twist and Shout). Special Edition. 2004. W DVD 5422. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
The visit of the royal physician. 2010. W DVD 10,989. 2 copies available at Lincoln Center.
Vredens dag (Day of Wrath). 2001. W DVD 3528. 1 copy available at Lincoln Center.
Dekalog 01: On The Five Obstructions by
Released in 2003, Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth's collaborative film has been received as one of the most intriguing and significant cinematic works of recent times. The film comprises five episodes, each a re-creation of Leth's classic film The Perfect Human (1967), but with five different creative constraints, or 'obstructions'. This first issue in the Dekalog series brings together writers from diverse disciplinary and national backgrounds. Together the essays present a case for seeing The Five Obstructions as a philosophically compelling cinematic work that tests our understanding of key psychological, aesthetic and ethical issues: the role that other people play in facilitating self-understanding; creativity and its relation to constraint; individual style as an artistic problem; filmmaking as a form of play; the pragmatic effects of nesting works within works; and the ethical limitations of aestheticism. An interview with Jrgen Leth helps to clarify aspects of the films context of production, including von Trier's manifesto-like call for works situated at the very boundary of fiction and non-fiction.
The Cinema of Lars Von Trier: Authenticity and Artifice by
Lars von Trier is the most controversial figure of contemporary European cinema. This volume is the first book to analyse in depth the changes he has brought to modern film. Since founding the back-to-basics Dogme philosophy of filmmaking in 1995, von Trier's name has become a by-word for taboo-breaking cinema. As a director, he has courted media controversy through films such as The Idiots (1998), with its unsimulated sex and non-conformist politics, and through his complex relationships with actresses such as Bjork and Nicole Kidman, from whom he coaxed career-best performances in Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Dogville (2003) respectively. Analysing these films as well as recent works such as The Five Obstructions (2004) from a psychoanalytic perspective, it forges a new understanding of the founder of Dogme 95 as a great democratiser of cinema in the digital age.
Lars Von Trier: Interviews by
With six entries at the Cannes Film Festival thus far, Lars von Trier has been a Cannes award winner four times. Without question, he is the most intriguing film director to emerge in Denmark since the days of his great mentor in spirit Carl Theodor Dreyer. A relentless visionary, von Trier (b. 1956) has succeeded not only in realizing his projects but also in managing to gather substantial audiences to his films. Breaking the Waves (1996) made him a well-known figure to American audiences, as did Dancer in the Dark (2000), winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
His work on the groundbreaking TV series The Kingdom (1994-97) made him a household name in Denmark. He has continued to stir controversy for his polarizing views on the characters and subject matter of his films, as well as for his film technique. Media attention reached its peak when von Trier created Dogme 95, a movement dedicated to the "Vow of Chastity," which strips cinema of its artifice, flash, and polish.
Rather than being strident or shrill, however, these collected interviews reveal the Danish filmmaker to be impish, forthright, witty, sometimes infuriating, and deeply committed to the possibilities of cinema. The conversations in this collection trace his development from the structured, image-obsessed formalist of The Element of Crime (1984) and Europa (U.S. title Zentropa, 1991) to the control-shunning game master of the 1990s.
Most of these interviews, two previously unpublished, are translated into English for the first time. They begin in 1968, when von Trier was the lead actor in a children's TV series, and end in 2001. Von Trier speaks of his visions, ideals, dislikes, and technical experimentations, of his conception of actors, his childhood, his phobias, and of his views on religion and his ill-fated female protagonists. His style in conversation is relaxed and honest, his mood affirmative and passionate.
Jan Lumholdt is a freelance journalist in Stockholm. He is a former editor of Cinema, and his work has been published in Film International and Film Comment, as well as in Danish, German, and Swedish periodicals.
Lars Von Trier by
With the international success of "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark", Lars von Trier has established himself as one of the most provocative and daring film directors. In this study, Jack Stevenson explores the achievements as well as the paradoxes of Lars von Trier.
Zentropa
Zentropa is a Danish production company founded by Lars von Trier and Peter Aalbæk Jensen, and is now closely associated with Nordisk Film.
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