Europa

Director: Lars von Trier Lars von Trier

Overview

Europa (retitled Zentropa for the American release) is an hallucinatory Danish film set in postwar Germany. Jean-Marc Barr plays a young German who aspires for a job as a street conductor. But this is no mere "Joe Job;" Barr's adventures on the line are designed as a metaphor for the emergence of the "New Europe" following the war. Barbara Sukowa costars as the daughter of a railroad magnate--and possible Nazi sympathizer. Many of the special-effects sequences are computer enhanced, but even the "live" scenes have an unsettling, surreal quality to them (colors changing abruptly, backgrounds shifting without warning, etc.) This experimental film left some viewers confused, which may be why English-language prints of Zentropa are narrated by Max Von Sydow.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/09/2008
UPC:	0715515034029
Original Release:	1991
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Time:	1:47:00

Special Features

Disc One: ; New, restored high-definition digital transer; Danish audio commentary with director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen; The Making of "Europa" (1991), a documentary following the film from storyboarding to production; Original theatrical trailer; New and improved English subtitle translation; ; Disc Two: ; Trier's Element (1991), a documentary featuring an interview with von Trier a swell as footage from Europa's set and its Cannes premiere and press conference; Anecdotes form "Europa" (2005), a short documentary featuring interviews with film historian Peter Schepelern, actor Jean-Marc Barr, Aalbæk Jensen, assistant director Tómas Gislason, co-worker Niels Vorsel, and prop master Peter Grant; Interviews from 2005 with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen, composer Joachim Holbek, costume designer Manon Rasmussen, film school teacher Mogens Rukov, Gislason, Aalbæk Jensen, Grant, actor Michael Simpson, production manager Per Arman, and actor Ole Ernst; A 2005 conversation with von Trier in which he discusses the "Europa Trilogy"; "Europa": The Faecal Location (2005), a short film by Gislason

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jean-Marc Barr	Leopold Kessler
Barbara Sukowa	Katharina Hartmann
Udo Kier	Lawrence Hartmann
Erik Mork	Father Jaregard
Eddie Constantine	Colonel Harris
Jorgen Reenberg	Max Hartmann
Lars von Trier	The Jew
Max von Sydow	Narrator
Ernst-Hugo Järegård	Uncle Kessler
Henning Jensen	Siggy
Holger Perfort	Mr. Ravenstein
Anne Werner Thomsen	Mrs. Ravenstein
János Herskó	Jewish Man
Claus Flygare	Father
Baard Owe	Man with Papers
Leif Magnusson	Doctor Magnus
Vera Gebuhr	Depot Assistant
Else Petersen	Old Female Assistant

Technical Credits

Lars von Trier

Niels Vørsel

Lars von Trier	Director,Screenwriter
Henning Bahs	Production Designer
Henning Bendtsen	Cinematographer
Bo Christensen	Producer
François Duplat	Producer
Patrick Godeau	Producer
Joachim Holbek	Score Composer
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	Producer
Per Streit Jensen	Sound/Sound Designer
Edward Klosinski	Cinematographer
Jean-Paul Meurisse	Cinematographer
Gunnar Obel	Producer
Manon Rasmussen	Costumes/Costume Designer
Herve Schneid	Editor
Niels Vørsel	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Europa: Feature Film
1. Frankfurt, Germany, 1945 [8:42]
2. A Mythological Task [12:12]
3. Forward or Backward [12:52]
4. Young Assassins [7:18]
5. A Waste of Time [2:28]
6. "Do You Know This Man?" [4:30]
7. "I Am a Werewolf" [8:37]
8. Chalk-Mark Guarntee [9:11]
9. Munich, Christmas 1945 [5:23]
10. Honeymoon [6:24]
11. Bremen Express [3:48]
12. A Test [3:41]
13. Second Thoughts [4:49]
14. A Confession [9:45]
15. One Last Chance [7:20]
16. End Credits [5:05]
1. The Trilogy [9:05]
2. On Location in Poland [13:59]
3. The Actors in Copenhagen, July 1990 [5:30]
4. The Superimposition of Images [10:24]
Disc #2 -- Europa: Supplements
1. Thematic Parallels [7:02]
2. Film Shoot As "Happening" [4:31]
3. Commercial Success [10:56]
4. Idealism [6:34]
5. Hypnosis and Control [14:50]
1. Origin of the "E" [7:02]
2. A Film About Film [4:31]
3. An Interlude or Sequel? [10:56]
4. A Glossy Commercial Film [6:34]
5. A Director's Intentions [14:50]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Europa: Feature Film
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
      Color Bars
   Commentary
      The Commentary Is Presented in Danish With Option English Subtitles and Features Director Lars von Trier and Producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen: Off
      The Commentary Is Presented in Danish With Option English Subtitles and Features Director Lars von Trier and Producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen: Off
      Index
         Getting the Film Made
         Fluency in German
         Steckenpissestrasse
         Extras From Nordisk Film
         Charm of Errors
         The Eternal Jew
         Set-Building Secrets
         Contractual Obligation
         Center of Attention
         Restoration of the Church
         Real-Bomb Requirements
         Urmitz
         Toilets On Set
         Slept at the Premiere
         Script Full of Humor
         Great Song
         Color Bars
   The Making of "Europa"
      Play
      Index
   Original Theatrical Trailer
   Subtitles
      On
      SDH
      Commentary
      Off
Disc #2 -- Europa: Supplements
   Trier's Element
      Play
      Index
   Anecdotes From "Europa"
      Play
   From Dreyer to Von Trier
      Play
   The Emotional Music Script
      Play
   Lars Von Trier-Anecdotes
      Play
   A Conversation With Lars Von Trier
      Play
      Index
   "Europa": The Faecal Location
   Subtitles
      On
      Off

Editorial Reviews

Danish auteur Lars von Trier has rarely been one to let narrative get in the way of technical razzle-dazzle. The director's Element of Crime was as convoluted as they come, but it featured some of the most menacing cinematography in recent memory. His first breakthrough in the American art-house circuit, Europa (re-titled Zentropa in the U.S. to avoid confusion with Europa, Europa), similarly unleashed a host of marvelous cinematic tricks. If the film is somewhat pretentious, he's forgiven, since the optical trickery and the black-and-white cinematography are so sensational. It's equal parts surrealism and normalcy, and the look is appropriate to the milieu of post-World War II Germany. Like Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville or a slowly-paced David Lynch film, Europa makes a definite impact. Von Trier was supposedly so upset at his film not winning the Palme D'Or at 1991's Cannes Film Festival, he made vulgar gestures at the jury and called its president Roman Polanski a "midget."

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