The Cinema of Lars von Trier: Authenticity and Artifice (Directors' Cuts)

Lars von Trier is the most controversial figure of contemporary European cinema. This volume is the first book to analyse in depth the changes he has brought to modern film. Since founding the back-to-basics Dogme philosophy of filmmaking in 1995, von Trier's name has become a by-word for taboo-breaking cinema. As a director, he has courted media controversy through films such as The Idiots (1998), with its unsimulated sex and non-conformist politics, and through his complex relationships with actresses such as Bj'rk and Nicole Kidman, from whom he coaxed career-best performances in Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Dogville (2003) respectively.Analysing these films as well as recent works such as The Five Obstructions (2004) from a psychoanalytic perspective, it forges a new understanding of the founder of Dogme 95 as a great democratiser of cinema in the digital age, presenting von Trier as one of the most daring cinematic exponents of postmodern politics and satire. "Lars von Trier is the most controversial figure of contemporary European cinema. This volume is the first book to analyse in depth the changes he has brought to modern film. Since founding the back-to-basics Dogme philosophy of filmmaking in 1995, von Trier's name has become a by-word for taboo-breaking cinema. As a director, he has courted media controversy through films such as The Idiots (1998), with its unsimulated sex and non-conformist politics, and through his complex relationships with actresses such as Björk and Nicole Kidman, from whom he coaxed career-best performances in Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Dogville (2003) respectively. Analysing these films as well as recent works such as The Five Obstructions (2004) and The Boss of it All (2006), it forges a new understanding of the founder of Dogme 95 as a great democratiser of cinema in the digital age, presenting von Trier as one of the most daring cinematic exponents of postmodern politics and satire."--Book cover Lars von Trier is one of the most controversial figures of contemporary European cinema. This volume analyzes the themes and motifs of the director's work and the changes he has brought to modern film. Ever since he founded the back-to-basics Dogme philosophy of filmmaking in 1995, von Trier's name has been tied to taboo-breaking cinema. He consistently courts media controversy through films such as The Idiots (1998), with its unsimulated sex and nonconformist politics. This volume presents von Trier as one of the most daring cinematic exponents of postmodern politics and satire. Caroline Bainbridge. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 193-202), Filmography (p. 185-192) And Index.