Customer Reviews

Forbrydelsens element

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After the death of Federico Fellini, Luis Bunuel and Andrei Tarkovsky and the terrible silence of Ingmar Bergman and Werner Herzog, there are very few first rate european directors still in activity. And among them, we find danish director Lars Von Trier. You can buy now in the Criterion collection his first movie ELEMENT OF CRIME, shot in 1984.

ELEMENT OF CRIME is the confession, under hypnosis, of a german policeman to his aegyptian psychiatrist in Cairo. Suffering from severe headaches after a three months trip in Europa, the cop must find the cause of them in his memory. Then begins a journey in a near future Germany. Entirely shot in saturated yellow and orange tones, ELEMENT OF CRIME is a UFO in the european cinematographical production of the eighties.

If you've liked the movies of Terry Gilliam, specially BRAZIL, you will certainly fall in love with ELEMENT OF CRIME. I really think that this movie is one of the best science-fiction movies ever made, without interstellar battles nor special effects. It's also an hallucinated thriller involving a serial killer whose victims are young lottery tickets sellers. Finally, you can see it as a surrealistic essay about Europa.

With this Criterion release, you will have optional english subtitles (very useful), a theatrical trailer and a not-to-be missed 54 minutes documentary about Lars Von Trier with interviews of the danish author-director and the people who have worked with him. I was literally hypnotized by this documentary.

Don't be the last ones to discover this new Master, Movie History is written right in front of your eyes. You just have to consider ELEMENT OF CRIME as

A DVD for your library.

Element of Crime, the feature film debut of Danish director Lars Von Triel, is the story of Fischer (Elphick), an ex-cop who returns home after 13 years abroad to solve a series of murders. The victims were young girls, all hideously mutilated and the murders continue even though the perpetrator is (apparently) dead. He uses the methods of his aging mentor's book, "The Element of Crime", to enter the mind of the criminal, assuming his persona and retracing - or re-enacting - his steps in order to find him. I was fortunate enough to see this English language Danish film not long ago and found it thoroughly engrossing. Comparisons to Blade Runner are natural, but superficial - Element of Crime focuses much more on intrigue and plot development than special effects or a vision of a futuristic dystopia. It is more of a "traditional" noir in that respect, and Von Triel using the camera as a narrative device to explain almost as much as the dialog could hope to. A little bewildering at first and the minimal use of colour throughout might deter some people, but still an excellent and thought-provoking film.

Original, cutting edge, and riveting. All what you'd expect from this film pioneer that breaks all the rules to redefine modern cinema. Love him or hate him, he's a breath of fresh air in the stale state of current self-absorbed, independent films, not to mention the never ending studpiditiy of Hollywood rehash.

One can't help but compare this title to "Blade Runner", though I believe it makes Ridely Scotts film look like a Disney movie. Cross references throughout include homage to "Apocalypse Now", with equal success at capturing the creepy feel of great film noir classics such as "The Big Sleep". Von Trier creates a whole new world with nothing less then amazing sets and locations. One can only guess where or how he came up wiht these sites.

No doubt Von Trier is to current cinema what David Lynch was to film in the 80's. It seems to all come easy to him, but thats just what'd you'd expect from such a great master who's still far ahead of his time.

This incredible movie paints a picture of a deteriorating Europe through the eyes of a cop.

The cinematography pre-dates the '90s dogme movement that Lars von Trier also established, but even this first major picture by this leading director shows how to use cinematography for maximum impact: The film has a yellow tint that further enhances the experience of a deranged, sad, lonely Europe.

Though Lars von Trier is Danish, the movie is done in English, so it should have wider appeal -- check it out! I saw it for the first time 15 years ago, and I've anxiously been awaiting the DVD release of this ground-breaking movie!

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This 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.

Element 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)

It 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.

The DVD also has a 56-minute documantary made in 1997 about Lars Von Trier and his films.

I was sure that I would like this film. I have seen everything Lars Von Trier has made -- save "The Idiots" -- and I have nothing but good things to say about his work. "The Element of Crime," however, is far from his best.

The first problem with the film is that it's flat-out dull. And I have nothing against dullness per se; a film can be nearly unwatchable but also be very interesting. Godard's Alphaville is perhaps a good example of this. However, The Element of Crime is also not very interesting. Stylistically it is decent, and one could say impressive for a first time director. For those of you who have seen "The Kingdom," Element is filmed in the same yellowish shades. There are also a number of wonderful shots and sequences.

But these stylistic virtues cannot redeem "Element." If you want interesting earlier Von Trier, see "Zentropa" instead -- a movie I can unequivocally recommend. Unfortunately it is out-of-print now.

The problem with Amazon's reviews is that they are mostly written either by people who love the movie or people who hate it. Usually you've got to have either some great passion or animus to spend time writing a review. Thus you often don't get an accurate representation of a film or book from the reviews. I neither hate nor love this film, thus I think I can offer the average reader who is interested in it a fair perspective. I would say that if you like Lars you find this film at the local video store, go ahead and rent it. But in the name of all that's holy, do not waste $36 on the DVD or $18 on the VHS. Trust me.

After reading the reviews I have seen so far I sprung for this movie. Brazil is my all time favorite movie and the reference to Blade Runner was also positive.

There is absolutely nothing similiar to either except that all three are film noir. Unlike Brazil and Blade Runner, this movie could not hold my interest - or my conciousness - I fell asleep after the first 45 minutes and was given a mercy nap of 10 minutes before I was woken up.

Part of the problem is the intially cool but ultimately boring lighting where there is no difference between night and day. There are always endlessly flowing linens and water not far away. Another part of the is the monotone tedium of the language and the scenes. Part of it is the absolutely unbelievable - yes I know this is sci fi - story leaps. And I'm not talking about the sanding over of Cairo either.

This may be the best movie that I can't sit through. Or it may be one of those movies that is supposed to be so good since it has cool scenery, a hero that who you love and hate at the same time, a dented up VW that is the ultimate in cool when he uses it to have sex with his sex object while she hangs on to the moving windshield wipers - all those things that are supposed to be in a cool movie.

This one doesn't quite make it for me. Anyone want to buy a slightly used copy?

Seen together, Lars Von Trier's Europa trilogy isn't exactly a profound experience, but it does underline the fact that even when he's boring he's never dull. Seen separately - The Element of Crime, Europa and Epidemic are only available together in a lavish European PAL 4-disc set, with Epidemic currently unavailable at all in the US - none of them should work and none of them do, yet on another there's an audacity to them that engages far more than the subject matter: at times, the hypnotic execution is more than enough to compensate for the narrative confusion. Indeed, the whole trilogy seems to be driven by dreams and trances. Element of Crime is a tale emotionlessly told by a detective under hypnosis, his lack of passion in his voice-over often mirrored by the artificiality of the performances and the dreamlike imagery of a burned out, waterlogged Europe that feels like one of the fevered headaches that consume him as he becomes the monster he is supposedly tracing down. Unfortunately it's wilfully inaccessible at times, which can make it a difficult viewing experience, and the oppressive decayed orange/sepia color scheme doesn't make the film any easier to get in to, yet its curiously hard to turn away from.

While it sadly fulls short of the comprehensive extras on the european 4-disc set, Criterion's disc does at least include a good 52-minute documentary on Von trier, Tranceformer.

Watch this DVD on a good television with a good sound system turned up loud and you'll never be the same. I must have watched this DVD at least 20 times since it came out not too long ago. The meticulous cinematography and trance-inducing narration allow the viewer to sink into another world, and it's just not as interesting here as it is there. The transfer is spotless, the sound is rich and lush, and there's a documentary on Lars von Trier called Transformer which, if you're a die hard fan of him, you'd probably dig. This is an essential DVD to own.

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.