Dancer in the Dark (New Line Platinum Series)

Starring:Catherine Deneuve, David Morse
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Masterpiece or masquerade? Lars von Trier's digicam musical split the critics in two when it debuted at Cannes in 2000. There were those who saw it as a cynical shock-opera from a manipulative charlatan, others wept openly at its scenes of raw emotion and heart-rending intensity. There is, however, no in-between. Dancer in the Dark is that rarest of creatures, a film that dares to push viewers to the limits of their feelings.

In her first and most probably last screen performance (she has foresworn acting after her bruising on-set rows with von Trier), brittle Icelandic chanteuse Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant living in a folksy American small town with her young son, Gene. Selma is going blind and so will Gene if she does not arrange an important operation for him. To cover the expense, Selma works every hour she can, cheating on her eye tests so she can keep working at the local factory long after her vision has become too unreliable to work safely. She sublets a house from a local cop, Bill (David Morse), and his wife, Linda (Cara Seymour). When nearly bankrupt Bill asks Selma for a loan, she refuses, but he later returns and steals the money, which she demands back in a furious confrontation. In the ensuing melee, Bill is fatally shot and Selma is arrested and put on trial. Will justice prevail?

Amazon.com

Masterpiece or masquerade? Lars von Trier's digicam musical split the critics in two when it debuted at Cannes in 2000. There were those who saw it as a cynical shock-opera from a manipulative charlatan, others wept openly at its scenes of raw emotion and heart-rending intensity. There is, however, no in-between. Dancer in the Dark is that rarest of creatures, a film that dares to push viewers to the limits of their feelings.

Customer Reviews:

Dark~Psychological pornography garbed as "art".......2007-07-02

Director Lars von Trier's DANCER in the DARK is consummate cinematic incarnation of decadence,despair and corruption that comprises Post-modern Europe.Without Christian LOGOS to anchor Good,the Bad and the Ugly into categories reckoning a human's BEING, the director sinks into a nihilistic abyss. Innocence;edifying art(dance& music);fundamental relationality
[Motherhood/parental;friendship;collegial loyalty;childhood itself]is perverted in a Heideggerian anti-aesthetic. Joyce's PORTRAIT of the ARTIST as a YOUNG MAN receives its id chord doppel-ganger rendering in this pas-de-deux celebration of EVIL...

Star of this miserific vision,BJORK is the damned soul:condemned from Purgatory into Hell...rather than Heaven as Christian mercy provides after suffering purification(Cf Dante).David Morse'role as her police officer friend-turned-thief,and molesting pervert(& suicide/murderer)speaks for itself as damning verdict on The West as source of Justice(without/LOGOS God...everything is permitted~ Dostoyevsky).Rave reviews of many are based on FEAR:The CULTURE OF DEATH comprises the anti-Christian/rad-secularist West.Its feckless,self-apotheosizing adherents still refuse to acknowledge self-damnation and repent(See The DEVIL'S BACKBONE & more recent,PAN'S LABYRINTH).DANCER in the DARK reeks death wish.Those who applaud it are insane(though normal by PM standards).Viewers like myself ...bi-polar;
widely read in philosophy,mythology and the occult...shudder in terror to see the Gorgon's face "joyfully" aleathea'd(Heidegger)and worshiped as TRUTH.As T.S. Eliot to Czeslaw Milosz warned:Men cannot bear too much truth.Apparently capacity for mendacity and embracing it,is unlimited. Be warned~this film lauds and celebrates EVIL.Art...by once-revered tradition of the Judaeo/Christian West...comprised unity of truth, beauty and goodness. This "art"exalts evil(alogos)in a Mummer's Dance of Death.(1&1/2 give-the-Devil-his-due,fallen stars)

Pushing the envelope of your emotions..........2007-05-14

A roller coaster ride into the human soul. If you are not moved after the ride, nothing will.

Very upsetting but incredible.......2007-04-15

[...]. This is probably the most upsetting movie I have ever seen, but also the most well-written and well-directed. Bjork gives an incredible performance and soundtrack. It's a beautiful film to watch and appreciate, just be prepared for very emotional scenes that may be very difficult to watch.

Good, but...........2007-02-17

I agree with most viewers that this is a powerful and disturbing film. It can tear a viewer's emotions apart, and perhaps justly so. But good as it is, "Dancer in the Dark" is also a deeply flawed film. First, the musical numbers; they seemed to me purposeless and obtrusive; telling the story straight would have given it more power and polish. Secondly, a classic tragedy also is capable of offering a catharsis, usually obtained by delicatedly handled irony (the villain--David Morse character--could have been divulged to a third party, for instance). Thirdly, filmed in Sweden and supposedly representing rural America, this movie is openly and vitriolically anti-American. Selma's trial is the stupidest trial ever put on film, bigotry admitted, and the system of justice represented here is nothing but a sadistic machine torturing a guitless and noble victim. Yes, injustices like that do exist and should be put on film. Raskolnikov has a dream of a horse being stoned to death. Kafka has Gregor Samsa die in utter loneliness as cockroach. And Fellini gives us Gelsomina dying of unrelieved grief after a brute has killed a friend. Perhaps, Lars von Trier should have tried to imitate those masters. Or did he?

Purely Putrid.......2007-01-29

If I could have given this movie negative stars, I would have. The music is horendous. The howling of my dog is a more soothing sound that listening to Bjork's squaking. Bjork reminds me of a bug-eyed stark raving mad drunken fairy on crack. I liken this movie to watching paint dry. Actually, I think paint drying has more of punch than this movie does.

Charlie Rose talks with Bjork (September 5, 2001)

Average customer rating:

BUY THIS! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Charlie Rose talks with Bjork (September 5, 2001)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Volta
Matthew Barney: No Restraint
Big Time Sensuality
Bjork: Wow and Flutter
Inside Bjork

ASIN: B000HBL6AU
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Description

Charlie Rose has an hour-long discussion with singer, songwriter and actor Bjork. Famed for such albums as Debut, Post and Homogenic, and her award-winning performance in the 2000 film, Dancer in the Dark, Bjork is known for her distinct voice and inventive music. Her latest album is Vespertine.

Customer Reviews:

BUY THIS! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!.......2007-02-17

If there is only one reason to own this DVD, then it would have to be witnessing Bjork - Superstar if ever there were one! - go all shy toward the start of this show when Charlie Rose (whom I'm guessing is a fan of her work) reads out some of the media comments of her work and career. Gosh, Bjork is such a truly magical creature. My heart both soars and breaks every time I see her and hear her speak!
This provides a good insight into her as both a person and an artist.
It centers around the release of the VESPERTINE album for the most part and, whilst I knew a lot of this stuff, it was still awesome to see/hear Bjork tell it all with her customary charm, naivetty and humor.
She is without a doubt my favorite artist (along with Grant Morrison) and, whilst I know that I don't need to persuade any hardcore Bjork fans to buy this, nevertheless, let me urge anyone and everyone to purchase this!

Charlie Rose with Catherine Deneuve; Stanley Crouch, Richard Ford, Elmore Leonard & Judith Crist (September 21, 2000)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Catherine Deneuve; Stanley Crouch, Richard Ford, Elmore Leonard & Judith Crist (September 21, 2000)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Charlie Rose with Dominique de Villepin; Catherine Deneuve (September 16, 2002)

ASIN: B000HBL83U
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Description

Actress Catherine Deneuve talks about her 40 year career as a cultural icon for her native France and her latest film Dancer in the Dark, which teams her up with controversial director Lars von Trier. Later, novelists Elmore Leonard and Richard Ford, New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch and former film critic Judith Crist, now a professor of journalism at Columbia University, answer the question, "What is true?" as posed to them and 46 other writers and thinkers by Forbes' ASAP magazine in its special big issue.

Average customer rating:

Dark~Psychological pornography garbed as "art"
Pushing the envelope of your emotions...
Very upsetting but incredible
Good, but....
Purely Putrid

Dancer in the Dark [Region 2]
Starring: Björk , Catherine Deneuve , David Morse , Peter Stormare , and Joel Grey
Director: Lars von Trier
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Breaking the Waves
Dogville
Selmasongs: Dancer In The Dark (2000 Film)
The Celebration
Manderlay

ASIN: B00005AM5B

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Dark~Psychological pornography garbed as "art".......2007-07-02

Pushing the envelope of your emotions..........2007-05-14

A roller coaster ride into the human soul. If you are not moved after the ride, nothing will.

Very upsetting but incredible.......2007-04-15

Good, but...........2007-02-17

Purely Putrid.......2007-01-29

Dancer In The Dark (Bailando En La Oscuridad) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

Average customer rating:

Dancer In The Dark (Bailando En La Oscuridad) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Lars Von Trier
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Average customer rating:

Dancer in the Dark [Region 2]
Starring: Björk , Catherine Deneuve , David Morse , Peter Stormare , and Joel Grey
Director: Lars von Trier
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Breaking the Waves

ASIN: B0000594ZK

Average customer rating:

Dark~Psychological pornography garbed as "art"
Pushing the envelope of your emotions...
Very upsetting but incredible
Good, but....
Purely Putrid

Dancer in the Dark [Region 2]
Starring: Björk , Catherine Deneuve , David Morse , Peter Stormare , and Joel Grey
Director: Lars von Trier
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Breaking the Waves
Dogville
Selmasongs: Dancer In The Dark (2000 Film)
The Celebration
Manderlay

ASIN: B00005BAUA

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Dark~Psychological pornography garbed as "art".......2007-07-02

Pushing the envelope of your emotions..........2007-05-14

A roller coaster ride into the human soul. If you are not moved after the ride, nothing will.

Very upsetting but incredible.......2007-04-15

Good, but...........2007-02-17

Purely Putrid.......2007-01-29

Average customer rating:

Dancer in the Dark
Starring: Björk , Catherine Deneuve , David Morse , Peter Stormare , and Joel Grey
Director: Lars von Trier
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00006BS9U

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