Antichrist [Blu-ray]

Product Information

As expected, Criterion have put together a fantastic package for it - the film looks and sounds terrific, and all of the supplemental features from the French Blu-ray release have been ported. Visual style" (HD, 15:31) takes a look at the stylistic flourishes the film employs, which is about as far away from von Trier's regimented Dogme 95 aesthetic, which compelled filmmakers to use handheld cameras, available light, etc.

I cannot recommend it for everyone as the film's content is extremely graphic, however, as a piece of cinema it is brilliant and I highly recommend it to people who have an open mind and can get past some pretty intense imagery.She becomes distraught and is hospitalized, but her husband, who is a psychiatrist, attempts to treat her. Humourously the effects team admit they’re probably the only people that watch the scene closely, if only to make sure there are no noticeable mistakes. Eden – Production Design" (HD, 5:12) isn't the most interesting bit in this section of the disc, but it does offer a hilarious detail – that the cabin they had built had to be left alone because some sort of rare, indigenous bird had chosen to nest near it.

Mixed with some behind-the-scenes bits we see the test film, shot with different actors, which includes a demo of the “falling acorn” scene, one of the more striking moments in Antichrist (it’s the moment in the finished film where Dafoe stands in front of the cabin with the acorns slowly falling around him. The Artificial Eye disc appears to have retained the exact same qualities we noted in our review for the M6 disc - the cold color-scheme, the "dreamy" look, the unusual contrast fluctuations. Deciding that she needs to face her fears, he takes her to a cabin in the woods where she spent a previous summer with the boy. They are indeed living in the end times prophesied in the Bible and facing the rise to power of the evilest and most dangerous human being in history…The Antichrist.As if deliberately courting critical abuse, the Danish bad boy densely packs this theological-psychological horror opus with grotesque, self-consciously provocative images that might have impressed even Hieronymus Bosch". She addresses the nudity and some of the more extreme moments of the film, and even talks about the unorthodox shoot, which was very professional with huge crews during the slow moments sequences and then very small and almost chaotic with handheld equipment during the “real” scenes. First off, there's "Confessions About Anxiety" (HD, 4:57), in which director von Trier talks briefly about the basic thematic components of 'Antichrist.

The film was shot with the Red Digital Camera and it appears this transfer was taken directly from the digital source. Among its claims to infamy is the instant-classic sequence in which Willem Dafoe encounters a rather talkative fox in the woods.

Now, mankind’s only hope for salvation is a harrowing exorcism that will either cast out the Devil forever or open the door for the unspeakable birth of the Antichrist! Lars von Trier's controversial exploration of depression, guilt and sexuality stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple grieving the death of their young son. The film was originally shown at 25fps and other Blu-ray releases from other regions presented the film in 1080i/50hz. With superb audio and video and some truly great supplemental materials, this Blu-ray casts a new light on a film that was booed out of Cannes (but, it should be said, barely made a peep when it showed up stateside). Sie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) muß ihre Dissertation in der Hütte in dieser bewaldeten Einsamkeit in den Wahnsinn getrieben haben.

She's working on a project about men's perception of women through the ages, while he is working on an even bigger project: trying to get her to cope in a genuine and cathartic way. Sound Design" (HD, 12:59) shows how the sound designers/composers walked the fine line between sound design and score, using all natural elements to create the various sounds in the movie. The film’s sound design is surprisingly complicated, and very subtle (for the most part at least—there’s a few great jumps thanks to the use of a sound effect that von Trier refers to as the “Polish Sound” in the commentary track) and Criterion’s transfer presents it about as perfectly as I could imagine. The transfer handles both modes quite well and is just a gorgeous, nearly jaw-dropping transfer that always looks "filmic" even if it was shot digitally. The prominent colors, such as the variety of greens and grays for instance, are once again remarkably cool, at times even cold.Since the sound design of 'Antichrist' is more impressionistic than anything, you can't really judge the mix on the regular list of sound mix pros and cons, although dialogue does always sound crisp, clear, and well prioritized, and when music does take over (like in the provocative opening sequence), it sounds truly great; overall, a wonderful mix. While those looking for the crash-smash-bang hallmarks of a truly active surround sound mix will be disappointed, if you're looking for moody, atmospheric sound that is truly enveloping without ever really pushing the surround channels, you should be appropriately impressed.