|
The Element of Crime (Widescreen) | 
| Director: Lars Von Trier
Actors: Lars Von Trier, Michael Elphick, Esmond Knight, Me Me Lai, Jerold Wells
Studio: Criterion
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 66.99
Buy New: CDN$ 36.22
You Save: CDN$ 30.77 (46%)
New (7) Used (4) from CDN$ 36.00
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 30811
Format: Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: Danish (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: DELE90D
ISBN: 0780023277
UPC: 037429149423
EAN: 9780780023277
ASIN: 0780023277
Theatrical Release Date: 1984
Release Date: October 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships from the USA. ALL ITEMS ARE BRAND NEW! Delivery takes from 10-14 Working Days.
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.com
It may prove confounding to anyone expecting a more conventional narrative, but IThe Element of Crime/I--the debut feature of Danish visionary Lars von Trier--marks the arrival of an audaciously original talent; the film is deeply personal in its inspirations yet richly informed by a pure love of cinema. Approaching a hard-boiled detective plot from a hypnotically subconscious perspective (thus establishing the tone he would echo in his later films IEpidemic/I and IEuropa/I), von Trier presents a murder case solved from the inside out. Which is to say, the plot unfolds as recollected under hypnosis by Fisher (Michael Elphick), the grizzled cop who investigates the case.p This framework is arguably beside the point; it's merely von Trier's way of entering a post-apocalyptic world of his own making, flooded and decaying, and filmed entirely in an amber-tinted tone punctuated only by blue police lights and sickly green fluorescents. By following principles of crime solving conceived by his mentor (played by British film veteran Esmond Knight), Fisher closes in on an awful revelation that spins IThe Element of Crime/I into another psychological dimension. Multilayered, deliberately paced, and atmospheric in the extreme (which less appreciative viewers may find intolerable), IThe Element of Crime/I elicits a dream state that is simultaneously oppressive and visually unforgettable, crammed with symbolic subtleties and cinematic references that can only be fully absorbed over multiple viewings. To say the least, this is a film that grows on you. I--Jeff Shannon/I
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
From the director of Dogville... May 31, 2004
Ted M. (Pennsylvania, USA)
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.pThis is Lars Von Trier's first major film. It is truly a masterpeice debut. Filmed in monochrome using orange tinted film, it adds a film noir effect to it in a way. There are a few scenes though with shades of blue and green. Just like Dogville, The film is the first in a trilogy. pElement of Crime follows a policeman who returns to Europe to solve a murder after a long stay in Egypt. The film takes place in a post-disaster Northern Europe (it is not said what the disaster is but it appears to be major war) pIt is a very dark film and the use of color is very impressive and reminds me of the 1 tone color scenes in Birth of a Nation The film obviously slated for an internaional release being a Danish movie but in the English language. Though the original title, Forbrydelsens element is Danish.pThe DVD also has a 56-minute documantary made in 1997 about Lars Von Trier and his films.
 Unwatchable Art House Refuse... April 27, 2004
H. A Huffman (Mt. Prospect, IL USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I wanted to watch a murder mystery, I got this instead. The real Crime is the one committed by the director of this boring, hard to watch jumble of a movie.pThis film literally hurt my eyes. Its your typical boring, nonsensical, European art house garbage. I guess I was supposed to sit through this red-shifted movie (most everything in the film is red - oooh, how artsy of the director..) and feel really smart for enduring this torture; but I did'nt.pDo yourself a big favor, unless you dress all in black and wear a beret, don't even think about watching this train wreck of a film.
 5 star DVD edition January 7, 2003
hihuy (Saint Paul, Minnesota United States)
This movie should only be seen on a high definiton TV or a PC. Video transfer is amazing! It's not that faces are just clearly seen, it's the colors that amaze me. The Director tried to show imaginary, nightmarish post-apocalyptic world using shades of sepia, with occasional, startling flashes of bright blue. He did an excellent job. In my opinion movies should show a viewer something he or she never saw before, the world he or she never been to. I think that's the main point of this movie and the DVD shows the version of it as close to the Director's vision as possible. I refer to Criterion Collection DVD edition.
5 star DVD edition January 7, 2003
hihuy (Saint Paul, Minnesota United States)
This movie should only be seen on high definiton TV's or a PC. Video transfer is amazing! It's not that faces are just clearly seen, it's the colors that amaze me. The Director tried to show imaginary, nightmarish post-apocalyptic world using shades of sepia, with occasional, startling flashes of bright blue. He did an excellent job. In my opinion movies should show a viewer something he or she never saw before, the world he or she never been to. I think that's the main point of this movie and the DVD shows the version of it as close to the Director's vision as possible. I refer to Criterion Collection DVD edition.
enh ruute, ennh ruute! November 29, 2002
Amir W. Saeed (NYC, NY)
of all the film i've seen, this film stands at #1, though i'm quite indifferent to lars von trier in general as a filmmaker, he's done it on celluloid folks, notice the move to the digital format.pthe film is an exploration of (1)madness and (2)the shadow, under hypnosis a police detective reverts back to a case 13yrs back involving the lotto murders in an unnamed post-apocalyptic european ciy, where he uses a technique drawn out in a book called the element of crime, involving the investigator coming to assume the mindset of the killer, a man by the name of harry gray, suspected of subversive activities. it gets thicker.pthere is meaning behind the malice, truly.
|
|
|
|
| |
