Lars Von Trier Dancer in the Dark

directed by Lars von Trier
Denmark 2000

After the rigours of The Idiots, von Trier returns to Breaking the Waves territory with another emotionally upfront, somewhat hollow tale of self-sacrificing, saintly womanhood. In rural America, Czech single mother Björk keeps quiet about her rapidly deteriorating sight so that she can retain her factory job and pay for an op to prevent her son from going blind. After she accidentally kills her neighbour (Morse), who has stolen her savings, her continuing refusal to keep the truth from her child makes for 'tragedy' (or so the director would define it). What makes the film a little unusual is that every so often it jolts into dance-musical sequences, illustrating the optimistic fantasies into which our brave heroine escapes. The trouble is, all the cameras in the world (and a 100 were reportedly used for some scenes), coupled with MTV-style editing, can't conceal the imaginative poverty of von Trier's response to the (admittedly ho-hum) choreography, nor the disingenuous contrivances of the plot. Whether one finds Björk's angelic attempts to console fellow Death Row inmates with a song deeply moving or offensive, trivial and tasteless is a matter of personal sensibility (I gagged!), but, Deneuve's under-used presence as Bjork's workmate notwithstanding, there's no denying that this can't hold a candle to the best work by Demy, let alone von Trier's beloved Dreyer.

Excerpt from TimneOut Film Guide located HERE
Posters

Theatrical Release: May 17th, 2000 - France (Cannes Film Festival)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Amalgama - Region 5 - PAL vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL vs. New Line - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Pavel Borodin and Gregory Meshman and Ole Kofoed for the Screen Caps!

(Amalgama - Region 5- PAL - LEFT vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Amalgama (Russia) Region 5 - PAL	Sandrew Metronome (Denmark) Region 2/4 - PAL	New Line Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	2:14:20	2:14:24	2:20:30
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.49 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.37 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.90 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Amalgama
Bitrate: Sandrew Metronome
Bitrate: New Line
Audio	English (Dolby 5.1), Russian (Dolby 5.1)	English Dolby Digital 5.1	English Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1 / DD 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles	Russian	Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and none.	English or none.
Features	Release Information: Studio: Amalgama (Russia) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Biographies • Interview with Lars von Trier (10:23) • Behind the scenes (4:14) • Triumph in Cannes (1:11) • Trailer (2:17, 16x9) Snap Case Chapters: 20	Release Information: Studio: Sandrew Metronome Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Commentary with Lars von Trier and Per Streit (In Danish, subtitled in English). • Interview with Lars von Trier (10:21) (English). • von Trier's 1000 Eyes (Behind the scenes - Mostly in Danish, subtitled in English)(55:50). • Lars von Trier biography (17 pages of text in English). • Trailer (2:05). • Direct jump to music scenes. • 32 prodution stills. Keep Case Chapters: 18	Release Information: Studio: New Line Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Commentary with Lars von Trier, Vibeke Windelov, Peter Hjorth and Per Kirkeby (In English). • Commentary with choreographer Vincent Paterson (In English). • 100 Cameras - Documentary (14:04). • Choreography – Creating Vincent Paterson’s Dance Sequences (24:00). • 3 alternate scenes (4:26, 4:42, 4:05). • Direct jump to music scenes. • Cast & crew. • Trailer (2:34). Keep Case Chapters: 30

Comments:

ADDITION:

Colors are quite different in these three versions, especially between the Russian Amalgama version and the other two. The New Line has a lot of Edge Enhancement which can make it appear sharper in some scenes, but I find it very noticeable and don't like it personally. Aside from that it is sharper anyway. I don't know which color is most accurate but I like the skin tones of the Amalgama, which is also brighter. Unfortunately it also appears saturated at times. Its a tough choice as I don't like to give up anything for sharpness, but I suspect and hope that a better version of this film comes along soon. If forced I will take the New Line although Bjork's sweater in the first capture and her face in the last make me lean toward the Amalgama (which I know is not right)...

Gary W. Tooze

The New Line image in music scenes is more vibrant, but the faces are a little too red. I'm not sure if the image is cropped on New Line version or I didn't take the exact matches. Probably the latter, since the cropping mostly seen during the music scenes, with a lot of movement and it was hard to find exact matches.

- Gregory Meshman.

DVD Menus

(Amalgama - Region 5- PAL - LEFT vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Amalgama - Region 5 - PAL - TOP vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

(Amalgama - Region 5- PAL - TOP vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

(Amalgama - Region 5- PAL - TOP vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

(Amalgama - Region 5- PAL - TOP vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

(Amalgama - Region 5- PAL - TOP vs. Sandrew Metronome - Region 2/4 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. - New Line - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

Image:	New Line
Sound:	New Line
Extras:	---
Menu:	Sandrew Metronome