NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (January 2023): Criterion have transferred Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "4K digital restoration of Europa and 3K digital restorations of The Element of Crime and Epidemic". They are on three separate dual-layered Blu-rays with max'ed out bitrates. Back in 2000 we reviewed / compared Criterion's DVD of The Element of Crime HERE, in 2005 Tartan's 'Lars Von Trier's E-Trilogy' (with all three films) PAL DVD set HERE, in 2004 Home Vision's DVD of Epidemic HERE, and in 2008 Criterion's Europa DVD HERE. We have included comparison captures below. The films are heavily set with different color palettes, Sepia-tinge, red or yellow filters, varying levels of saturation for the monochrome occasional intrusions of colour etc. and the 1080P looks quite different from the SD transfers of, approaching, 20-years ago. Generally speaking the HD presentations are notably superior with more visible and balanced grain texture, they are brighter, often show more information in the frame and contrast is hugely improved. Von Trier's 1995 Dogme 95 manifesto, that he co-authored with Thomas Vinterberg, excludes the use of elaborate special effects or technology and despite these films being made before that - they have dark dreamlike visual camera effects - relying heavily on the visuals - that look hypnotic on these Blu-ray transfers. While I don't know the original intent of the appearance(s) - I can see that these are more impacting and certainly enhance the viewing experience well beyond the ancient DVDs. 

NOTE: We have added 94 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM tracks (24-bit) - 1.0 channel mono for The Element of Crime and Epidemic and 2.0 channel for Europa. Epidemic is in Danish and the other two films are in English. Expressions are authentically flat with bass response minimal. Bo Holten was credited with the score on The Element of Crime, Peter Bach on Epidemic and Joachim Holbek (other von Trier films including Breaking the Waves, Dogville and Manderlay) on Europa. There is other music in the three films; Der Letzte Tourist in The Element of Crime sung by Sonja Kehler, Amazing Grace, Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser (The Overture) and Lars Von Trier's own Europa Aria performed by Nina Hagen and Philippe Huttenlocher. It all sounds flawless in the uncompressed renderings. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray. and optional English for the Danish-language commentaries.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers five commentary tracks - all from 2005 - and all previously available on other digital editions. On The Element of Crime, the first commentary features director Lars von Trier, film and sound editor Tomas Gislason, and cinematographer Tom Elling. Also on that discs is a commentary with film scholar Peter Schepelern and filmmaker and critic Stig Bjorkman. Both of these are in Danish with optional English subtitles. On Epidemic there is an English commentary track featuring director Lars von Trier and screenwriter and actor Niels Vorsel. On Europa is a commentary track with von Trier and producer Peter Aalbwk Jensen in Danish with optional English subtitles. Lastly on that same Blu-ray disc is a selected-scene English-language commentary track, featuring von Trier and actors Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier.

There are many other supplements, mostly on previous DVDs; Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier is the 55-minute long interview by critic Stig Bjorkman of director Lars von Trier over the course of two years for this 1997 documentary portrait. It was also on Home Vision's DVD of The Element of Crime. Storyboarding "The Element of Crime" runs 11-minutes from a 2005 interview as cinematographer Tom Elling explains how his detailed storyboards guided him and director Lars von Trier through the shooting and editing processes. Included is a 1984 1/2 hour "Making Of" documentary that shows behind-the-scenes footage from the production of The Element of Crime. Director Lars von Trier, executive producer Per Hoist, and actors Michael Elphick and MeMe Lai are among those interviewed. Anecdotes From "The Element of Crime" is a 20-minute 2005 documentary about The Element of Crime's production featuring interviews with film scholar Peter Schepelern, film and sound editor Tomas Gislason, assistant director Ake Sandgren, executive producer Per Hoist, prop master Peter Grant, production manager Per Arman, gaffer Birger Larsen, and sound recordist Henrik Fleischer. Lastly on the first Blu-ray are two short by von Trier which include Nocturne; In 1980, while he was a student at the National Film School of Denmark, Lars von Trier made this experimental short film about a young woman who has become phobic about daylight after a frightening incident. It runs 9-minute. In 1982, while he was a student at the National Film School of Denmark, Lars von Trier made this graduation film, Images of Liberation, about a German officer and his Danish mistress waiting out the final days of the Nazi occupation in Copenhagen. There is also a trailer for The Element of Crime on this first Blu-ray.

Blu-ray 2, with Epidemic, has the 1/2 hour Portrait of Lars Von Trier from a 1991 interview for Danish television where director von Trier talks about the fears, influences, and fascinations that he draws on to tell his stories. Anecdotes From "Epidemic" runs 17-minutes and is a 2005 documentary about Epidemic's production featuring interviews with film scholar Peter Schepelern, screenwriter and actor Niels Vorsel, cinematographer Kristoffer Nyholm, actors Udo Kier and Michael Simpson, and film consultant Claes Kastholm Hansen. From Dreyer to Von Trier involves a 2005 1/4 hour interview where cinematographer Henning Bendtsen talks about his early experiences working as a young director of photography for filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer, as well as what would be some of his final films, which he made with director Lars von Trier. There is also a short 51-second trailer for Epidemic on this first Blu-ray.

Blu-ray three starts with a Making of documentary of Europa, produced by Same Films in 1991. It presents the making of Lars von Trier's Europa, from its conception as the third chapter in his Europe Trilogy through its painstaking storyboarding process to its full-scale production. It runs almost 40-minutes long. Anecdotes From "Europa" is a 20-minute 2005 documentary about Europa's production featuring interviews with film scholar Peter Schepelern, actor Jean-Marc Barr, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, assistant director Tómas Gislason, cowriter Niels Vørsel, and prop master Peter Grant. Lars von Trier Anecdotes is a 1/4 hour 2005 documentary about various collaborators' experiences working with director Lars von Trier featuring interviews with costume designer Manon Rasmussen, film-school teacher Mogens Rukov, editor and filmmaker Tómas Gislason, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, prop master Peter Grant, actors Michael Simpson and Ole Ernst, and production manager Per Årman. The Emotional Music Script for "Europa" runs a dozen minutes and consists of a 2005 interview with composer Joachim Holbek discussing the method he and director Lars von Trier employed for creating Europa's musical score. There is also a 2005 3/4 hour interview entitled A Conversation with Lars Von Trier where Danish journalist Bo Green Jensen sits down with von Trier to discuss the director's Europe Trilogy. Trier's Element also runs 45-minutes and is a documentary produced by Denmark Radio, featuring an interview with director Lars von Trier as well as footage from the set of Europa and its premiere and press conference at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991. Lastly is a trailer for Europa on this Blu-ray disc. The package has liner notes with an essay by critic Howard Hampton.

I was, kind of, dreading reviewing Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy as I had trouble connecting with his filmmaking when I saw these three efforts so many years ago on DVD. I remember feeling that I was seeing a lot of 'art for art's sake' in these early (and some later) experimental efforts. Perhaps I have matured - regardless, things have changed in my perception. I suspect that I also didn't give them a full chance or the 1080P-effect has swung me over, yet, again. The Element of Crime, Epidemic and Europa feature plenty of creativity, innovation and the use of handheld camerawork to embody powerful, expressionist, cinematic creations that include genre vibes touching on film noir (a detective who undergoes hypnosis in order to recall his last case in The Element of Crime plus a self-serving femme fatale seductress in Europa), horror (war, murder, a pro-Nazi terrorist conspiracy), science fiction (a futuristic plague!) and historically-based traumatic events. I probably enjoyed Epidemic - brilliantly inter-cut with scenes from the film that the characters are writing - the most, followed by The Element of Crime that both evoked Tarkovsky to some degree, imo. There are thematic connection in this trilogy and I am now looking forward to revisiting them again. The Criterion Blu-ray is stacked although with nothing new in the supplements but to have the 5 commentaries, many interviews, 'Making of's, and so much more in one set makes it essential. Very strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze