Dancer in the Dark

Theatrical Release Date: 2000 10 06 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 794043519925

Studio: New Line Home Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children]

Summary: Reportedly the third in acclaimed director Lars von Trier's "Golden Hearts" trilogy (preceded by Breaking the Waves and The Idiots), this film is a hip reworking of the classic Hollywood Musical, starring international pop diva Bjork. Set somewhere in rural Washington state, Czech immigrant Selma (Bjork) works in a pressing plant, struggling to make ends meet for herself and her 10-year-old son, Gene (Vladica Kostic). Her best friend is coworker and fellow European Kathy (Catherine Deneuve). While outside work, she is maintaining a cautious friendship with local yokel Jeff (Peter Stormare). She also landed a starring role as Maria in an amateur production of The Sound of Music. Selma's life would be one of relative contentment if it were not for the ugly secret she harbors -- she is on the verge of blindness due to a genetic disorder, and her young son will suffer the same fate without an operation. Selma has quietly been stashing away money for the surgery and has already amassed $2,000. When her savings, squirreled away in a can in the kitchen, suddenly disappear, she confronts her cash-strapped landlord Bill (David Morse). Of course, like all musicals, the plot periodically takes a backseat to the seven production numbers, including a show-stopping sequence in Selma's factory. Shot entirely on digital video, the film reportedly used up to 100 cameras for each musical number. Dancer in the Dark received top prizes at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival including Best Actress for Bjork and the coveted Palme d'Or for Best Picture. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best European Film – European Film Academy Best European Actress – European Film Academy Best European Director – Jameson People's Choice Award Best European Actress – Jameson People's Choice Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Best Foreign Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Musical Performance – National Board of Review Best Foreign Film – Independent Spirit Awards Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccWidescreen version of the film
5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS Surround Sound
Two feature-length commentaries: filmmaker commentary by writer/director Lars Von Trier, producer Vibeke Windelev, technical supervisor Peter Hjorht, and artist Per Kirkeby; choreography commentary by Vincent Paterson
Two documentaries: "Capturing Lars Von Trier's vision"; "Creating Vincent Paterson's Dance Sequences"
Selma's music: song-by-song access to the film
Alternate scenes
Cast and crew filmographies
Original theatrical trailer
DVD-ROM features
Original theatrical web site

Dancer in the Dark

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/20/2001

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS Dolby Digital Surround, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 141 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Special Features
0. Selma's Music.
0. Song Index
1. Overture [3:31]
2. Cvalda [4:08]
3. I've Seen It All [5:31]
4. Smith and Wesson/Scatterheart [7:07]
5. In the Musicals, Part 1 [1:59]
6. In the Musicals, Part 2 [3:26]
7. 107 Steps [2:33]
8. Next to Last Song [2:26]
9. New World (End Credits) [4:29]
Scene Selections.
0. Scene Selections.
1. Overture. [:15]
2. Washington State, 1964. [3:31]
3. Gene. [:02]
4. Movie Tin. [3:02]
5. Happy. [3:15]
6. Secrets. [4:50]
7. Daydreaming. [4:48]
8. Night Shift. [6:36]
9. Cvalda. [7:09]
10. Dark Walk Home. [6:04]
11. Stage Entrance. [4:08]
12. Let Go. [3:59]
13. I've Seen It All. [3:58]
14. Desperation. [4:01]
15. Smith and Wesson. [5:31]
16. $2,056.10. [10:35]
17. Rehearsal. [7:07]
18. In the Musicals, Part 1. [5:47]
19. Trial. [2:54]
20. In the Musicals, Part 2. [1:59]
21. Verdict. [8:35]
22. New Information. [3:26]
23. My Favorite Things. [4:21]
24. Deal. [3:14]
25. Jeff. [6:39]
26. Time. [3:49]
27. 107 Steps. [3:13]
28. On the Gallows. [4:03]
29. Next to Last Song. [2:33]
30. New World. [3:10]

Lucia Bozzola

Dancer in the Dark (2000) is nothing if not divisive, which probably pleased bad boy auteur Lars von Trier. Boldly merging two florid genres, the melodrama and the musical, with a handheld video, monophonic style (in the dramatic scenes) that is stridently drab, Dancer's ultra-soap opera, movie-literate plot and kaleidoscopically avant-garde musical interludes reveal the lie of musical fantasy while creating a sensory experience that is as powerful as it is manipulative. Waifish Selma is so tortured by her existence that she becomes a maddening confirmation of von Trier's serious issues regarding women, but Bj?rk's ethereal, deeply felt performance infuses her victim-hood with humanity. That she comes colorfully alive in eccentric, Bj?rk-composed musical dreams that defy death and turn her ugly life into syncopated rhythm sections comes as no surprise according to the musical's utopian legacy, yet von Trier's multi-camera, quick-cut approach constrains the choreography to emotionally true (and frustrating) effect. The shift to stereo surround sound and cinematographer Robby M?ller's saturated color is exhilarating, especially in "I've Seen It All" and "Cvalda," but Selma can never sing and dance away her troubles. Indeed, von Trier tips his hand immediately when the haunting overture gives away to a clumsy production of The Sound of Music. Though the prolonged finale is von Trier at his most sadistic, Selma's bluntly shot fate is also undeniably heartbreaking. A controversial Palme D'Or winner that garnered as many brickbats as kudos, Dancer in the Dark is clearly not for all tastes, but its audacity alone is something to behold. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Siobhan Fallon  Actor 
Lars von Trier  Director 
Lars von Trier  Screenwriter 
Peter Aalbæk Jensen  Executive Producer 
Vibeke Windeløv  Producer 
Björk  Actor 
Catherine Deneuve  Actor 
David Morse  Actor 
Peter Stormare  Actor 
Joel Grey  Actor 
Vincent Paterson  Actor 
Cara Seymour  Actor 
Jean-Marc Barr  Actor 
Vladica Kostic  Actor 
Udo Kier  Actor 
Zeljko Ivanek  Actor 

Country: Denmark,France,Sweden