Lars von Trier

Epidemic

Epidemic

A jet-black comedy of contagion, a subversive medical-horror freak-out, and a sly metacinematic prank, Lars von Trier’s sophomore feature—born from a bet that he couldn’t make a film for less than $150,000—finds the director channeling his singular thematic obsessions into an evocatively lo-fi, perversely self-reflexive provocation. The filmmaker himself stars as a harried screenwriter whose efforts to complete a script about the outbreak of a deadly disease coincide with a grisly real-life plague. A twisted reflection on Europe’s haunted past—from the Black Death to World War II—and its scarred present, Epidemic is von Trier at his most idiosyncratic and audaciously experimental.

Film Info

  • Denmark
  • 1987
  • 106 minutes
  • Black and White/Color
  • 1.66:1
  • English, Danish

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 3K digital restoration, approved by director Lars von Trier, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Audio commentary featuring von Trier and screenwriter and actor Niels Vørsel
  • From Dreyer to von Trier, a 2005 interview with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen
  • Program featuring interviews with Vørsel, film scholar Peter Schepelern, cinematographer Kristoffer Nyholm, actors Udo Kier and Michael Simpson, and film consultant Claes Kastholm Hansen
  • Danish television interview with von Trier from 1991
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Available In

Collector's Set

Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy

Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy

Blu-ray Box Set

3 Discs

$79.96

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 3K digital restoration, approved by director Lars von Trier, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Audio commentary featuring von Trier and screenwriter and actor Niels Vørsel
  • From Dreyer to von Trier, a 2005 interview with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen
  • Program featuring interviews with Vørsel, film scholar Peter Schepelern, cinematographer Kristoffer Nyholm, actors Udo Kier and Michael Simpson, and film consultant Claes Kastholm Hansen
  • Danish television interview with von Trier from 1991
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Epidemic
Cast
Lars von Trier
Lars/Dr. Mesmer
Niels Vørsel
Niels
Claes Kastholm Hansen
Claes
Susanne Ottesen
Susanne
Jørgen Christian Krüff
Sommelier
Cæcilia Holbek
Nurse
Leif Magnusson
Doctor
Olaf Ussing
Doctor
Ole Ernst
Doctor
Udo Kier
Udo
Michael Simpson
Cabdriver/Priest
Svend Ali Hamann
Hypnotist
Gitte Lind
Hypnotist’s assistant
Credits
Director
Lars von Trier
Producer
Jacob Eriksen
Screenplay by
Lars von Trier
Screenplay by
Niels Vørsel
Director of photography
Henning Bendtsen
Camera assistant
Jesper Find
16 mm camera operator
Kristoffer Nyholm
16 mm camera operator
Lars von Trier
16 mm camera operator
Niels Vørsel
16 mm camera operator
Cæcilia Holbek
16 mm camera operator
Susanne Ottesen
Key grip and gaffer
Leif Barney Fick
Key grip and gaffer
Søren Danielsen
Assistant lighting technician
Thomas Gammeltoft
Prop master
Peter Grant
Wardrobe
Manon Rasmussen
Production manager
Per Årman
Editor
Lars von Trier
Editor
Thomas Krag
Music
Peter Bach
Sound
Peter Englesson
Sound
Thomas Krag
Sound
Niels Vørsel
Makeup
Søren Hedegaard
Makeup
Bibbi Bergholdt
Special effects
Søren Gam Henriksen

Current

Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy: Straight to the Bottom of the River
Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy: Straight to the Bottom of the River

One of contemporary cinema’s most provocative filmmakers launched his career with three deeply unnerving, deliriously genre-blending portraits of Europe.

By Howard Hampton