Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)

[pro-bassoonist]

Lars von Trier's film is set to be released on Blu-ray in Germany on August 14th.

Dancer in the Dark Blu-ray

Selma, an earnest Czech woman who adores movie musicals, emigrates to the Pacific Northwest with her 10-year-old son. She finds a job in a pressing plant, interacts with the small town's various residents, and even lands a role in a local production of The Sound of Music while harboring a profound secret: she is on the verge of blindness due to a genetic disorder, and her son will faces the same fate without an operation. Tragedy soon befalls Selma.

Pro-B

[lolwut]

Always wanted to see this. Hopefully this means a US/UK release is coming.

[pro-bassoonist]

NEWS/TRAILER
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=14348

German label Koch Media has detailed its upcoming Blu-ray release of Danish director Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark (2000), starring Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Jean-Marc Barr, and Peter Stormare. The release will be available for purchase on August 14th.

Synopsis: Director Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves) delivers a provocative mix of drama and musical theater in this acclaimed movie that won both the Palme d'Or for Best Picture and the Best Female Performance award (for lead actress Bjork) at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.

Recording star Bjork is miraculous as Selma, a factory worker in rural America and single mother who is losing her eyesight from a hereditary disease. Determined to protect her 10-year-old son from the same fate, Selma is saving her money to get him an operation.

In the evenings, Selma escapes into a world where "nothing dreadful ever happens," rehearsing for a production of The Sound of Music with her best friend, Kathy (Deneuve). But when a neighbor (Morse) betrays her trust, Selma spirals out of control. The lines between reality and fantasy blur, and Selma begins to believe that her life has actually become a Hollywood musical - as she inexorably heads toward the film's unforgettable finale. Co-starring Joel Grey and featuring original music by Bjork.

Special Features:

Video interviews (16 min).
B-roll: Behind the scenes (4 min)

Pro-B

[ionsi]

Extras are:

- Audio-Commentary with Lars von Trier & Per Streit [140:14 Min.]*
- Interview with Lars von Trier [10:21 Min.]**
- Interview with Björk [7:36 Min.]**
- Behind the Scenes [4:12 Min.]**
- English Trailer [2:05 Min.]
- Gallery

*) danish with optional english subtitles
**) english with optional german subtitles

I am a huge Björk-Fan for years and I admire the work of Lars von Trier...
Very much enjoyed some things in the commentary...

"We did a great job, Per, it was just Björk who was (beep)." (laughing)

"In the end, the fight with that b*i*t*c*h became more important than the film.
I mean, that's so sick! Thank God the film is over. Put it in a box and throw
it away." (again laughing)

"Björk had made a pop version that actually works really well. Yes, it really does.
But that wasn't what I had asked for. I wanted it to be much more cut up and violent."

"I think you can say about Björk's and my collaboration that we managed
to restrain each other in all the wrong places. We ended up being so angry
at each other that we didn't manage to achieve what we would have liked
to achieve. I really think so. Of course we achieved other things, such as
her perfomance. But this rebelliousness that we both had in each our field
we ended up restraining that simply because...

Per: Because you both are so ****ing pig-headed!

Well, yes, and vain! That really spoiled a lot."

But he has a lot of nice things to say about Björk too - about her first take (the execution)
that he considers unsurpassable. He says that everybody knew that for her it wasn't just
a take but that she actually felt she would be executed that moment and that it would
be hard for her.

[Cvalda]

Thanks for that, ionsi! Glad I didn't go for the Japanese release. I'll import this soon, though with my luck a US Criterion release will get announced shortly thereafter

[Mansinthe]

im not a huge fan of Koch media ;( i hope someone in the UK does release that one as well. or criterion...

[deckard82]

there's a screenshot comparison up on caps-a-holic. The German release looks kinda...dunno...not so great. But I don't know if the movie is supposed to look like that. But just judging it by my own taste I very much prefer the look of the Japanese release. Too bad I already bought the German release though, tee hee.

[Monroville]

Originally Posted by deckard82

there's a screenshot comparison up on caps-a-holic. The German release looks kinda...dunno...not so great. But I don't know if the movie is supposed to look like that. But just judging it by my own taste I very much prefer the look of the Japanese release. Too bad I already bought the German release though, tee hee.

I'm on the fence regarding either release. The Japanese release looks too dark and with a brown tint over the entire image. The German disc has better color and is a bit lighter, but the compression and image processing is very... weird to say the least:

German blu-ray:




Japanese blu-ray:

[lolwut]

The German release looks terrible.

[Charlie79]

The movie was filmed on SD-video so you will never have a really good HD-video, but Koch's Blu-ray-transfer was supervised by Lars von Trier.

[Cvalda]

It looks like the German release mostly exposes all the SD video noise that the Japanese release hides by making the transfer significantly darker. Brightness definitely looks heavily boosted, though. The Japanese release is a lot "redder", the German has cooler colors, which might be more accurate, but it's hard to say. Hmm.

[Mary Mason]

Criterion pleeaaassseeeee release this on blu ray!!!!!!!

[James Luckard]

I'm just watching this BD, and if Von Trier supervised this version, it appears he has altered the film.

The theatrical version, at least in the US, had a nearly 4 minute prologue with an orchestral overture. Meanwhile, we saw various abstract, colorful paintings, fading into each other, representing Selma's fading eyesight.

The German BD has the same musical overture, but just a black screen, with the word "PROLOG".

Does anyone know if perhaps the film always looked like this in Europe? I always loved the imagery, but if it was just created for the American version, I can live without it. I hope this is not an alteration Von Trier has made.

[murphywmm]

The film was actually shown in Europe with the intention of the opening music to play while the curtains were drawn in front of the cinema screen, with the curtains opening dramatically at the end of the overture. Since theatres in North America don't typically have curtains, he came up with the paintings instead for the NA release.

[ijustblumyself]

With something like this I the transfer is going to be pretty sub-par either way. I bought the Japanese edition and am happy with it.

[TheBoss062]

Does anybody know if the Japanese Blu-ray is region free?

[themp3000]

Originally Posted by TheBoss062

Does anybody know if the Japanese Blu-ray is region free?

It should be Region A compatible since we share the same BD code as Japan but the Japanese blu is 1080i and doesn’t look good at all.

[TheBoss062]

Originally Posted by themp3000

It should be Region A compatible since we share the same BD code as Japan but the Japanese blu is 1080i and doesn’t look good at all.

It is the only region A friendly Blu-ray in existence so I kind of have no choice.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by TheBoss062

It is the only region A friendly Blu-ray in existence so I kind of have no choice.

The German disc is the most correct. The Japanese one is too dark and has way incorrect colors. Better to buy the German release and region-free player.

[TheBoss062]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

The German disc is the most correct. The Japanese one is too dark and has way incorrect colors. Better to buy the German release and region-free player.

I’m not going to buy a region free player on the spot just for one movie.