The Lukas Moodysson Collection (1998-2013) [Arrow] - January 30, 2023

[MechaGodzilla]

Coming from Arrow on January 30.

Arrow Films

Ever since his debut was heralded as “a young master’s first masterpiece” by none other than Ingmar Bergman, director Lukas Moodysson has been hailed internationally as one of Sweden’s greatest filmmaking talents, delighting and confounding audiences in equal measure.

Moodysson’s first film, ****ing Åmål (released overseas as Show Me Love), tells the story of awkward smalltown teenager Agnes and her crush on popular classmate Elin, which unexpectedly blossoms into real-life romance; it was quickly heralded as a new queer cinema touchstone and one of the most authentic portrayals of youthful relationships on film. He swiftly followed this with the bittersweet, satirical 1970s-set Together, in which the inhabitants of a commune try to reconcile their ideals with their hearts’ desires.

Having made a name for himself as the new master of tragicomic, feelgood humanism, Moodysson suddenly frustrated expectations with a trio of startlingly confrontational works: the hauntingly bleak Lilya 4-ever, based on a real-life case of a Russian girl sold into sex trafficking in Sweden; the abrasive and semi-improvised A Hole in My Heart, detailing the messy (un)making of an amateur porn video; and the avantgarde Container, narrated in its English version by Jena Malone (Donnie Darko).

After making his mainstream English-language debut with the expansive Mammoth, starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams, Moodysson returned to his roots with We Are The Best! (based on a graphic novel by his wife and ‘consigliere’ Coco), the charming and funny tale of three schoolgirls starting a punk band in early-1980s Stockholm.

Available together for the first time, Moodysson’s eclectic filmography can now be appreciated as the work of a singular filmmaking voice, as avowedly uncompromising and unabashedly political as it is keenly observed, deeply felt and frequently hilarious.

Limited Edition Box Set Contents

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all seven films
• Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo mixes for all seven films
• Optional English subtitles for all films, plus English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on Mammoth and the English version of Container
• New video interviews with Lukas Moodysson and other cast and crew, moderated by film programmer Sarah Lutton
• 200-page hardback book featuring new writing by Peter Walsh, excerpts from the original press kits for each film, including interviews with and directors’ statements from Moodysson, and essays on his films from a 2014 special issue of the Nordic culture journal Scandinavica by C. Claire Thomson, Helga H. Lúthersdóttir, Elina Nilsson, Scott MacKenzie & Anna Westerståhl Stenport and Kjerstin Moody

Disc One:

• 2K restoration by the Swedish Film Institute, approved by director Lukas Moodysson and cinematographer Ulf Brantås
• New interview with Lukas Moodysson
• New interview with star Alexandra Dahlström
• Did You Know She’s A Lesbian?, an appreciation by Dr. Clara Bradbury-Rance, author of Lesbian Cinema After Queer Theory
• Talk (Bara prata lite), a short film directed by Moodysson in 1997
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Disc Two:

• 4K restoration by the Swedish Film Institute from the original camera negative, approved by director Lukas Moodysson and cinematographer Ulf Brantås
• New interview with Lukas Moodysson
• New interview with script supervisor Malin Fornander
• New interview with editor Michal Leszczylowski
• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Disc Three:

• New interview with Lukas Moodysson
• New interview with costume designer Denise Östholm
• Guardian Interview with Lukas Moodysson, a Q&A with the director filmed at the London Film Festival in 2002
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Disc Four:

• New interviews with Lukas Moodysson on both films
• Lukas Moodysson Masterclass, an interview with the director filmed at London’s National Film & Television School in 2004
• A Hole in My Second Heart, a behind-thes-cenes featurette from 2004
• Swedish and English narration options for Container
• Inside the Container Crypt, a 2007 featurette on the themes of Container
• Theatrical trailers and image galleries for both films

Disc Five:

• New interview with Lukas Moodysson
• New interview with line producer Malte Forssell
• Promotional interviews with Moodysson and Gael Garcia Bernal from 2009
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Disc Six:

• New interview with Lukas Moodysson
• New interview with cinematographer Ulf Brantås
• A New Expression, a look at the background to the film by Swedish punk historian David Andersson
• Q&A from the 2013 London Film Festival screening, featuring Moodysson and stars Liv LeMoyne and Mira Barkhammar
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Official Arrow site link: The Lukas Moodysson Collection - Limited Edition