Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy

Europa

Part of a multi-title set

BUY AT: Amazon.com Amazon.ca

See more details, packaging, or compare

Synopsis

With his dazzling first three features, Lars von Trier sought nothing less than to map the soul of Europe—its troubled past, anxious present, and uncertain future. Linked by a fascination with hypnotic states and the mesmeric possibilities of cinema, the films that make up the Europe Trilogy—The Element of Crime, Epidemic, and Europa—filter the continent’s turbulent history, guilt, and traumas through the Danish provocateur’s audacious deconstructions of genres including film noir, melodrama, horror, and science fiction. Above all, they are bravura showcases for von Trier’s hallucinatory visuals, with each shot a tour de force of technical invention and dark imagination.

Picture 9/10

Criterion upgrades their DVD edition for Lars von Trier’s Europa to Blu-ray, presenting the film on a dual-layer disc in an aspect ratio of about 2.39:1. The 1080p/24hz high-definition encode is sourced from a new 4K restoration performed by Zentropa, taken primarily from a scan of the 35mm original camera negatives. Currently, the film is only available on the third disc in Criterion’s box set Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy.

Of the three films in the set, Europa features the more ambitious visual design, von Trier incorporating several classic optical techniques to layer the film’s images, even managing to mix black-and-white and color photography within what appears to be a single shot. The incorporated methods include double exposures, mattes, split screens, rear projection, and more, leading to incredible and striking sequences. Still, due to the nature of these effects and techniques (no CGI, obviously), there are moments where the image could be considered “less than ideal,” but I found the end digital presentation, on the whole, to be a very sharp looking one.

The film has a lovely-looking texture through its running time, and when it's at its “cleanest,” where optical tricks aren’t being applied, the image is razor-sharp with superb detail. All the fine details of the train setting pop, aided in turn by excellent contrast and grayscale with a surprising level of range that helps in the film's many shadows. The film's grain is rendered cleanly and looks fine in motion, and I can’t say I noticed any macroblocking or other artifacts.

When camera tricks are applied, sequences like those incorporating rear projection can falter. During these portions, the objects in the foreground—whether in color or in black-and-white—look sharp and crisp with a (mostly) nice-looking grain. At the same time, the projected image in the background features a somewhat blurrier appearance that could be described as “dupey.” The color portions also feature a harsher grain compared to the black-and-white sections, and that grain doesn’t always blend cleanly with any black-and-white projections in the background, making the divisions all the more apparent. But this is all to be expected, all baked into the photography, and isn't anything that could, or even should, be "fixed." At the very least, the digital encode handles it all rather well, cleanly rendering the harsher grain when it appears.

Restoration work has been thorough, cleaning up just about everything outside of a few minor marks that are more than likely related to the optical effects work. In the end, the film receives the most striking presentation in the set, and it's a pronounced improvement over the old DVD.

Audio 8/10

Criterion includes a lossless PCM 2.0 stereo soundtrack. It’s a far more vibrant and dynamic mix than the other films, this one making use of an orchestral score and featuring a bit more action. The music spreads out nicely and sports broad range with some impressive highs, and dialogue sounds crisp and clear with Max von Sydow’s voice narration sticking out. It ends up being immersive, and I'll even come out and say it's a bit of a shame it hasn't received any sort of 5.1 remaster.

Extras 8/10

Criterion’s Blu-ray replicates their previous DVD edition of the film for the most part, carrying a majority of the material over. Things start again with the Danish audio commentary featuring director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen,  English subtitles included. I recall initially expecting a relatively serious and straightforward audio commentary at the time, but it’s a surprisingly fun track, and sampling it here reminded me. Like most of the other crew tracks in the set von Trier again has trouble recalling everything, but he and Jensen still share what they can about the cast (the two picking on actor Jørgen Reenberg a lot of the time) and the difficulties that arose during filming. Unsurprisingly there is a lot of discussion around the technical aspects of the film, from its various in-camera effects to rear projection and so forth. It’s amusing at times because the two sound surprised at what they’re seeing, more than likely because they hadn’t seen the film in years (though Jensen admits he fell asleep at the Cannes premiere), and there are a good number of funny moments and comments. The only really disappointing aspect of the track is that von Trier doesn’t talk much about the film’s story or content.

Criterion then includes a second commentary, this one in English and featuring von Trier with actors Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier. Curiously, Criterion didn’t have this on their DVD edition despite it being recorded around the same time as the other. However, after going through it, I can suspect why: it’s not particularly good. The three comment on various aspects of the film, from scenes they like to the characters and actors who played them, and they also take pleasure in poking holes in the film’s plot. Still, I can’t say it’s all that insightful, and it features a shocking amount of dead space that only worsens as we get closer to the end. Having Kier on here should have been a boon, but he barely chimes in, and when he does, he’s barely audible. Some interesting items don’t get mentioned elsewhere, like how Max von Sydow was initially cast for another role before being cast as the narrator or how Barr nearly lost a pinky, which von Trier wants him to “get over” already. The filmmaker also mentions influences (The Night of the Hunter, Vertigo) and expands on other details that come up in supplements elsewhere on the set (like wanting Dirk Bogarde in a role due to his apparent dislike of The Element of Crime). Still, I'd stick with the other if you only listen to one of the tracks.

The next feature to make its way over from the DVD is the featurette The Making of “Europa.” It begins by offering an overview of von Trier’s Europe Trilogy and before moving on to Europa with von Trier immediately talking about his intentions, even going as far as to explain how a children’s book inspired the look of the film. Complex storyboards are also shown. Most of the documentary focuses on the filming done for the sequences that would be projected onto the screens that serve as the background, which offers a fascinating perspective. These sequences were shot in Poland, and there’s a bit of discussion on working with the Polish extras (this comes up in the commentary as well, and though I didn’t note it, I recall von Trier being very dismissive of them). It then moves on to the main shoot, primarily done in the studio in front of projection screens. While the documentary doesn’t offer visual documentation on how some of the sequences in the film were done, like the color-on-black-and-white scenes, a verbal explanation is at least provided. I also enjoyed watching how the train sequences were filmed, and I was happy to get a brief interview with Eddie Constantine (I’ll throw in here that Barr mentions in the commentary that he got to watch the World Cup with Constantine during filming). It’s a surprisingly decent making-of, probably the best one in the set.

Anecdotes from “Europa” is a 20-minute collection of interview clips featuring film historian Peter Schepelerin and various members of the crew of Europa, including actor Jean-Marc Barr, assistant director Tomas Gislason, co-writer Niels Vørsel, and prop master Peter Grant. The crew members reflect on the making of the film, offering up their memories around the Polish locations and mentioning how they had to bribe actor Ernst-Hugo Järegárd with cigars so he’d be “less difficult” to work with. As with the other “Anecdote” features in the set, it offers a nuanced reflection on the film’s production but nothing more.

We then continue with more anecdotes, this time in Lars von Trier – Anecdotes. This 16-minute feature serves up stories about von Trier from those who have worked with him on several of his films, not just Europa. We hear from costume designer Manon Rasmussen, film schoolteacher Mogens Rukov, editor-director Tomas Gislason, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, art director Peter Grant, production manager Per Arman, and actors Michael Simpson and Ole Ernst. Overall, it’s just the interviewees sharing their memories about working with the director. There’s some solid material in here (Simpson seems to have gotten it the worst out of everyone here), but it does feel a little like filler in the end. Most interesting aspect: Apparently, von Trier is a nice guy and only "pretends to be an asshole.”

Emotional Music Script is a 12-minute interview with composer Joachim Holek, who talks about working with von Trier and coming onto Europa. He brings up the challenges of composing film scores and his techniques for doing so, which consist of watching the film repeatedly until he catches the appropriate feel. He even breaks down one sequence for which he had a lot of trouble writing music. It proves to be an intriguing discussion of its type.

An immense frustration around this set is that there are many good supplements to be found throughout it, yet there needs to be more academic or analytical material. The closest we can get is through the 44-minute A Conversation with Lars von Trier. Here von Trier sits with film critic Bo Green Jensen to discuss the trilogy. It still comes off a little dry but does feature a handful of energetic moments when the two can get a particular topic going. Similar to many of the newer (in 2005) supplements spread across the set, von Trier can have trouble recalling specifics. However, he still manages to share details about the films and gets a bit more into the influence of Tarkovsky on his work, his early work at least. Other directors like David Lynch come up, Twin Peaks sounding to have directly influenced The Kingdom (though he mentions that he still finds Lynch’s work to be “too glossy” for his tastes), and then brings up Orson Welles, whose films were an influence on Europa. A moment where the director appears to take offense from Jensen’s comment about Europa’s “glossy” look is still a little funny, the director stating a dislike of “glossy” films as hinted at by his comment around Lynch’s films. And it’s still a little amusing that von Trier insists he’s trying to make entertaining films that find an audience, despite everything in them usually suggesting otherwise. I still don’t know if he likes doing interviews, as he can come off as resistant (he does in most of them throughout the set), but this is a reasonably insightful discussion.

The film’s original trailer and the 44-minute Trier’s Element then close off the disc, the latter a discussion with the director filmed in 1991 around the time of Europa’s release. Things start with the trilogy, only for the focus to move precisely to Europa, where he explains how he wanted to make a more commercial/accessible film. He also recalls the shoot in Poland, complete with footage chronicling their living conditions, before getting deeper into the technical difficulties involved with shooting the film, most of those difficulties being found in properly pacing the various layers to the film so they all sync in the end. There’s some footage from Cannes mixed in, along with a press conference where the director seems unsure how to answer some of the questions. He also talks a bit about his relationship with the press. The most exciting aspect of this feature is the last portion, which concentrates on a film von Trier had planned to shoot over 30 years called Dimension. I’m still not all that familiar with this project, but it appears the film was abandoned in 1997 following some key actors' deaths, including Katrin Cartlidge and Eddie Constantine. What was filmed was eventually released as a short film in 2010 called Dimension 1991-2024. I’m a little surprised this doesn’t appear in the set in some fashion, though I can’t speak for the rights around it or whether it would even be appropriate.

“Missing” from Criterion’s previous DVD edition are two features: an interview with the director of photography Henning Bendtsend and a featurette called Europa: The Faecal Location. The former can be found elsewhere in the set on the disc for Epidemic, but the latter appears to have been completely removed. Faecal (and I assume, based on the content, the title is a play on words) focused more on the crew’s living conditions while filming in Poland, focusing on problems that arose with their plumbing and toilets. Even though I would have thought a feature like this would be right up von Trier's alley, he may have asked for it to be omitted this time.

I recall being a bit disappointed with the supplements when I first went through them on the DVD, though I have to say I enjoyed going through them more this time around, maybe due to now having them in the context of the rest of the trilogy and the box set as a whole. The second commentary is a dud and easily the most disappointing feature in the set. The lack of an academic element to close things off still feels like a huge oversight (though this could have been at the director's request). Yet, the features do a commendable job covering the film’s production and the work that went into creating its detailed visuals.

Closing

The new high-def presentation provides a sharp update over Criterion’s previous DVD. Outside of a newly added commentary (that proves to be a big disappointment), the supplements remain mostly the same.

Part of a multi-title set

BUY AT: Amazon.com Amazon.ca

 
 
Blu-ray
3 Discs | BD-50
1.66:1 ratio
1.85:1 ratio
2.39:1 ratio
English 1.0 PCM Mono
English 2.0 PCM Stereo
Subtitles: English
Region A
 
 Audio commentary for The Element of Crime featuring director Lars von Trier, cinematographer Tom Elling and editor Tomas Gislason   Audio commentary for The Element of Crime featuring film scholar Peter Schepelern and filmmaker and critic Stig Björkman   Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier (1997), a documentary by Stig Björkman   Storyboarding "The Element of Crime": interview with cinematographer Tom Elling   Ennenstadt Europa - The Making of "The Element of Crime": 1984 documentary on the making of the film featuring interviews with director Lars von Trier, executive producer Per Holst, and actors Michael Elphick and Meme Lai, plus more   Anecdotes from "The Element of Crime": 2005 documentary featuring interviews with film scholar Peter Schepelern, film and sound editor Tómas Gislason, assistant director Åke Sandgren, executive producer Per Holst, prop master Peter Grant, production manager Per Arman, gaffer Birger Larsen, and sound recordist Henrik Fleischer   Two short student films by von Trier: Nocturne (1980) and Images of Liberation (1982)   Trailer for The Element of Crime   Audio commentary for Epidemic featuring director Lars von Trier and screenwriter and actor Niels Vørsel   Danish television interview with Lars von Trier from 1991   Anecdotes from Epidemic: a short 2005 documentary on the making of the film featuring interviews with film scholar Peter Schepelern, screenwriter and actor Niels Vørsel, cinematographer Kristoffer Nyholm, actors Udo Kier and Michael Simpson, and film consultant Claes Kastholm Hansen   From Dreyer to von Trier: interview with director of photography Henning Bendtsen   Trailer for Epidemic   Audio commentary for Europa featuring director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen   Audio commentary for Europa featuring director Lars von Trier and actors Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier   The Making of “Europa” (1991), a documentary following the film from storyboarding to production   Anecdotes from Europa (2005), a short documentary featuring interviews with film historian Peter Schepelern, actor Jean-Marc Barr, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, assistant director Tómas Gislason, co-writer Niels Vørsel, and prop master Peter Grant   Lars von Trier - Anecdotes: a short 2005 documentary about various collaborators' experiences working director Lars von Trier features interviews with costume designer Manon Rasmussen, film-school teacher Mogens Rukov, editor/director Tómas Gislason, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, art director Peter Grant, actor Michael Simpson, production manager Per Arman, actor Ole Ernst   The Emotional Music Script for "Europa": Interview with composer Joachim Holbek   A Conversation with Lars von Trier: the director talks about the Europe Trilogy   Trier’s Element (1991), a documentary featuring an interview with Lars von Trier, and footage from the set and Europa’s Cannes premiere and press conference   Trailer for Europa   Booklet featuring an essay by Howard Hampton