Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom Trilogy (1994-2022) (MUBI)

[MifuneFan]

MUBI will be releasing Lars Von Trier's Danish series The Kingdom (Riget) on Blu-ray on February 6th March 26th. This will be a 7-disc set, and consists of The Kingdom (1994), The Kingdom II (1997), and The Kingdom Exodus (2022).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNY7V5QV

THE CLASSIC ORIGINAL SERIES FROM LARS VON TRIER, RESTORED AND REMASTERED

Strange things are happening in the underbelly of a Danish hospital. The anguished spirit of a young girl can be heard crying in the elevator shafts, as a phantom ambulance hurtles through the streets of Copenhagen every night. Secret societies convene in the basement, while staff congregate in the nondescript wards, so caught up in their own petty grievances they remain oblivious to the demonic awakening set to shake the very building to its core.

The Kingdom I inaugurates Lars von Trier’s magnum opus, a cult TV phenomenon three decades in the making. Described by the director as “a ghost story spiced up with a few soap-like elements,” the series is Denmark’s answer to Twin Peaks: a compulsively entertaining supernatural mystery, charged with potent melodrama and populated with a recurring cast of endearing eccentrics.

When the four episodes comprising The Kingdom I aired on Danish television in 1994, von Trier had already made something of a reputation for himself at home with his “Europe” trilogy (1984-1991), the last film of which saw him win the Jury Prize in Cannes. But it was The Kingdom which made him a household name, not least due to his mischievously enigmatic sign-offs during the credits of each installment. The filmmaker who would soon become synonymous with artistic provocation showed little interest in tempering his creative idiosyncrasies for the broader demographics of a television audience, breaking with the refined formalism of his earlier features for a handheld style that would anticipate the faux-documentary likes of The Office and von Trier’s own Dogme 95 manifesto. “We did all kinds of things to make it look terrible,” he said, impishly, of The Kingdom’s rust-colored 16mm cinematography, now beautifully restored in never-before-seen versions of each episode.

An incomparable blend of workplace comedy and nail-biting ghost story, The Kingdom I pitches science against superstition in unholy conflict. The ultimate battle may be fought between the forces of darkness and light, but von Trier keeps the boundaries between the two ambiguous, hilariously ensnaring each and every character in the quicksand of their own vanity. Like most of von Trier’s work, it’s a series of fascinating dualities, summed up by the director in his sign-off to each and every episode: “Be prepared to take the good with the evil.”

Special Features:

• In Lars von Trier's Kingdom' Documentary
• Behind the Scenes - Interviews with Lars von Trier and cast
• TV commercial for the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet - Directed by Lars von Trier
• 28-page booklet

Trilogy Trailer

Lars von Trier's THE KINGDOM TRILOGY | Official Trailer | Exclusively on MUBI - YouTube

UK thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=368921

[MifuneFan]

Individual series trailers from MUBI below. All episodes are also streaming on their site:

https://mubi.com/en/us/collections/the-kingdom-i

The Kingdom I

[Show spoiler]

Lars von Trier's THE KINGDOM I | Official Trailer | All episodes now streaming | Exclusively on MUBI - YouTube

The Kingdom II

[Show spoiler]

Lars von Trier's THE KINGDOM II | Official Trailer | All episodes now streaming - YouTube

The Kingdom: Exodus

[Show spoiler]

THE KINGDOM EXODUS | Official Trailer | All episodes now streaming | Exclusively on MUBI - YouTube

[PatLT95]

That's awesome! I wanted a US release of this for the longest time.

[Aunt Peg]

What a way to start 2024!

[cgm13]

This is the BEST NEWS EVER!!!

[justwannaboogie]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

MUBI will be releasing Lars Von Trier's Danish series The Kingdom (Riget) on Blu-ray on February 6th. This will be a 7-disc set, and consists of The Kingdom (1994), The Kingdom II (1997), and The Kingdom Exodus (2022).

Fantastic news. Streamed the whole series this year so I was wondering when we'd get it.

[Gacivory]

Very nice!

[thatguamguy]

Does anybody know what the correct frame rate is? My assumption has always been 25 fps, but I'm not sure, and I would worry that (like most US blus of native-PAL material) this will have NTSC slowdown to 24p.

[Katatonia]

I friggin' LOVE Riget (a.k.a. The Kingdom) — ever since the US VHS release of the part I. I usually always try to rewatch both Part I & 2 once a year, sometimes twice.

I streamed the first 2 "remastered" parts on Mubi about 5 months ago, and they looked great compared to my old Danish DVD set. They are 16x9, but the framing seemed natural and I didn't really consciously notice it being radically altered from the original 4:3 ratio.

I also streamed the new 3rd installment on Mubi and enjoyed it quite a bit too, so I'm glad it's finally getting a physical release along with the first two.

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

Does anybody know what the correct frame rate is? My assumption has always been 25 fps, but I'm not sure, and I would worry that (like most US blus of native-PAL material) this will have NTSC slowdown to 24p.

Since they were originally broadcast on Danish TV, almost surely 25 fps. I don't know which framerate they used for the Mubi streaming of the remastered versions, but they were fluid and I didn't notice any weird artifacting... so hopefully the Blu-rays won't either.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

I don't know which framerate they used for the Mubi streaming of the remastered versions, but they were fluid and I didn't notice any weird artifacting... so hopefully the Blu-rays won't either.

I think they're actually 25fps on streaming, so knowing it's the same company makes me feel a little more optimistic that they may get it right.

[eightslicesofpie]

Never seen any of this but it does sound intriguing...

[MifuneFan]

Diabolik DVD pre-order is up:

https://diabolikdvd.com/product/lars...-ray-preorder/

[JupiterMission]

Always good to see Lars getting some love on blu-ray. Excited to get this one and finally see Exodus.

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

Does anybody know what the correct frame rate is? My assumption has always been 25 fps, but I'm not sure, and I would worry that (like most US blus of native-PAL material) this will have NTSC slowdown to 24p.

Svenskfilmdatabas says 24 fps.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by TheOneWithThePrize

Svenskfilmdatabas says 24 fps.

That is interesting, and something to think about it, but it looks like that is for a theatrical release which blew up the picture to 35mm, which I believe would have to be 24 fps regardless of the original material. I don't mean to dismiss it entirely, I'm just not sure it's a definitive answer either.

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

That is interesting, and something to think about it, but it looks like that is for a theatrical release which blew up the picture to 35mm, which I believe would have to be 24 fps regardless of the original material. I don't mean to dismiss it entirely, I'm just not sure it's a definitive answer either.

I believe you might be correct. While the Swedish Film Database doesn't mention any theatrical release its Danish counterpart does mention a belated one after its television premiere.

I would have need a pillow or two to sit through the whole thing.

[ikms]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

They are 16x9, but the framing seemed natural and I didn't really consciously notice it being radically altered from the original 4:3 ratio.

Indeed: I did some side by side caps on Kingdom 2 between my UK DVDs and the Japanese WOWOW broadcasts and there was - at most - a percentage or two cut from the top and bottom whereas both sides are expanded (at times you can see heavy vignetting in the corners where they are pushing up against the limits of the lens image circle). Kingdom 1 was airing during a local blizzard ruining Professor Bondo's lecture on fællesskab - so I will wait for a "clean" BD-R copy when it re-airs on the 25th, but I expect framing expansion will look about the same. It is ironic that they shot these widescreen safe in the 1990s, but theatrical showings were 4:3 (might have even been 1.66:1). I suspect it was down to editing on videotape and blowing up the video master to 35mm. Also incredibly, back in the usenet days LVT himself used to post in one of the rec.arts groups, I was able to ask him a question about some edits to the program. Good times.

I can't believe they are going to seven discs on this one, as grainy as it is even MPEG-2 at about 12GB an episode on WOWOW was enough to do a decent job (Kingdom 3 grain is very tame in comparison). With a bit of FiM magic this could be near-reference quality on as few as three.

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by ikms

Indeed: I did some side by side caps on Kingdom 2 between my UK DVDs and the Japanese WOWOW broadcasts and there was - at most - a percentage or two cut from the top and bottom whereas both sides are expanded (at times you can see heavy vignetting in the corners where they are pushing up against the limits of the lens image circle). Kingdom 1 was airing during a local blizzard ruining Professor Bondo's lecture on fællesskab - so I will wait for a "clean" BD-R copy when it re-airs on the 25th, but I expect framing expansion will look about the same. It is ironic that they shot these widescreen safe in the 1990s, but theatrical showings were 4:3 (might have even been 1.66:1). I suspect it was down to editing on videotape and blowing up the video master to 35mm. Also incredibly, back in the usenet days LVT himself used to post in one of the rec.arts groups, I was able to ask him a question about some edits to the program. Good times.

I can't believe they are going to seven discs on this one, as grainy as it is even MPEG-2 at about 12GB an episode on WOWOW was enough to do a decent job (Kingdom 3 grain is very tame in comparison). With a bit of FiM magic this could be near-reference quality on as few as three.

Do you know for certain that FiM is working on this set? I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been encoding MUBI’s BD’s for a while - they’ve delivered one stunning release after the other in quite some time. I hope and assume at this point that The Kingdom follows suit. In any way, can’t wait for this set and to check out the series for the first time.

[kristoffer]

I hope a UK release is imminent.

[Joey9775]

Yeah just inject this in my veins. Love the whole thing.