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Europa - Criterion Collection | 
 enlarge | Director: Lars Von Trier
Actors: Jean-marc Barr, Max Von Sydow, Barbara Sukowa
Studio: Criterion Collection
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $28.37
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 6587
Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: IMEDCC1784D
UPC: 715515034029
EAN: 0715515034029
ASIN: B001GCATWK
Theatrical Release Date: 1991
Release Date: December 9, 2008
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Product Description
Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 12/09/2008 Run time: 107 minutes
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 5 stars based on excellent Criterion production; 00000 for the movie! December 22, 2008
Open Mind (Bay Area)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This pertains to the Criterion Collection version; the movie remains interesting but BAD...painful. After trying to watch it it many times; I give up. However, this edition is superior in all aspects and the "extras" are enlightening. Buy it if you like the movie.
 Postwar Vision Is Fascinating December 21, 2008
The Movie Man (Maywood, New Jersey USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Europa," directed by Lars Von Trier, is a tale of post-World War II Germany. An American of German descent, Leopold Kessler (Jean-Marc Barr), arrives in post-war Frankfurt and gets a job on the Zentropa train line as a sleeping car conductor. On the train to learn his new job, he travels through destroyed, occupied Germany and meets Katharina Hartmann (Barbara Sukowa), daughter of the owner of Zentropa, Max Hartmann (Jorgen Reenberg). Leopold stays neutral between the allied forces and the Germans, and learns of a terrorist group that is killing the sympathizers of the allies and conducting subversive actions against the allied forces. He also falls in love with Katharina, who soon reveals something about her background that seriously strains their relationship.
Shot in both black-and-white and color, "Europa" has a dreamlike quality as it takes us through a nation still stunned and broken by defeat. We sympathize with Leopold's loyalty conflicts even though the plot is often tough to follow. The visuals, however, are amazing, as they illustrate time period and setting and contribute to mood. These images, combined with Max von Sydow's hypnotic narration, provide a surrealistic aura. Extras include two behind-the-scenes featurettes, a booklet with an essay on the film, and a 2005 interview with several of the filmmakers.
 "On the count of ten, you will be in Europa." December 15, 2008
Cubist (United States)
The first disc starts off with an audio commentary by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen. They talk about the film's troubled beginnings and the struggle to get financing. They laugh and joke like old friends and tell all kinds of filming anecdotes, pointing out some of the techniques used to get certain shots. This is quite an entertaining and engaging track.
"The Making of Europa" is a 39-minute documentary made in 1991. Europa was seen as the last film of a trilogy that included The Element of Crime - Criterion Collection and Epidemic. Von Trier shows how many of the images in the film were inspired by ones out of children's' books. He shot the fore and backgrounds separately and then merged them together which took some time. There is footage of Von Trier shooting exteriors in Poland. This doc really conveys what an impressive and technically challenging film it was to make.
Also included is a theatrical trailer.
The second disc begins with "Trier's Element," an interview with the filmmaker, including footage from the set of Europa and the press conference at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991. He comes across as very smart and shrewd about how he is perceived. Von Trier comes up with some real gems like, "I like to turn shooting into something of a happening." This featurette provides fascinating insight into his philosophy and working methods.
"Anecdotes from Europa" is a short documentary about the film's production with the cast and crew talking about the experience. Jean-Marc Barr talks about what drew him to the film. Producer Peter Jensen talks about the challenge to get the film financed. This is an excellent look at how Europa came together.
"From Dreyer to Von Trier" features director of photography Henning Bendisen talking about working early in his career with the legendary Carl Theodor Dreyer and his later, final films with Von Trier. He also talks about his approach to filmmaking.
"The Emotional Music Script" is an interview with composer Joachim Holbek and he talks about his approach to the score for Europa. He says that he was influenced by modern ballet. Von Trier asked him to work on the film and discusses what it was like to collaborate with the director.
"Lars von Trier - Anecdotes" features various crew members, who have worked with the director over the years, sharing stories about him. Early on, he hated working with actors and hardly spoke to them but has mellowed somewhat over time. However, one gets the feeling that his tyrant image is just that.
"A Conversation with Lars von Trier" was done in 2005 about the Europe trilogy. He talks about when he first got the idea to do three films. This is a pretty in-depth conversation that runs over 40 minutes. It is evident that he has lost little of the bemused provocateur over the years.
Finally, there is "Europa: The Faecal Location," which features amusing footage of the cast and crew's hotel rooms while shooting on location in Poland and the things they did to amuse themselves when not filming.
You will now read this review... December 10, 2008
Marty DiBergi (Boston, MA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Europa" is to Lars von Trier what "Brazil" is to Terry Gilliam. Need I say more?
Von Trier's Weird Nightmare on the Zentropa Railway. October 25, 2008
G. Merritt (Boulder, CO)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
"You will now listen to my voice . . . On the count of ten you will be in Europa."
While perhaps best known for his Dogme 95 films Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (Idioterne) (1998), and Dancer in the Dark (2000), Academy Award-nominated Danish film director, Lars von Trier, is also celebrated for his "Europe trilogy" of films: The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element) (1984), Epidemic (1987), and Europa (1991) (originally released as Zentropa in the U.S. to avoid marketing confusion with the film Europa Europa). Featuring an international ensemble cast including Jean-Marc Barr, Fassbinder protégés Barbara Sukowa (Berlin Alexanderplatz) and Udo Kier, expatriate American, Eddie Constantine, Max von Sydow and Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Europa tells the surreal story of an American pacifist, Leopold Kessler (Barr), determined to "show some kindness" to the German people after WWII. Kessler finds work as a sleeping car conductor for the Zentropa railway network in 1945 postwar Frankfurt, falls in love with the railway magnate's daughter, and soon becomes entangled in a pro-Nazi terrorist conspiracy. What makes Europa such a unique experience in film is von Trier's use of crisp black-and-white visuals combined with occasional uses of color, a technique later used in Schindler's List, and the actors' interactions with rear-projected footage. These techniques give Europa a truly weird, nightmare-like quality.
The Criterion edition of Europa features a newly restored high-definition digital transfer; audio commentary featuring director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen (in Danish, with English subtitles); "The Making of Europa" (1991), a documentary following the film from storyboarding to production; "Trier's Element" (1991), a documentary featuring an interview with von Trier, and footage from the set and Europa's Cannes premiere and press conference; "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; 2005 interviews with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen, composer Joachim Holbek, 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; a conversation with Lars von Trier from 2005, in which the director speaks about the "Europa" trilogy; "Europa--The Faecal Location" (2005), a short film by Gislason; and a booklet featuring a new essay by critic Howard Hampton. Highly recommended.
G. Merritt
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