or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more
More Buying Choices
Discs4all Add to Cart
£3.76
FilmloverUK Add to Cart
£9.99
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Dancer In The Dark [DVD] [2000]
 
See larger image
 

Dancer In The Dark [DVD] [2000]

 Suitable for 15 years and over   DVD
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
Price: £3.76 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.
Only 10 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, May 30? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
This Title is in Our Summer Sale
Find great prices on DVDs and Blu-ray in the Film & TV Summer Sale. Offers end at 23:59 on Sunday, July 1. Find more great prices on DVD and Blu-ray Bargains.
Learn about LOVEFiLM
Amazon.co.uk’s choice for film and TV series rental has over 70,000 titles, including thousands to watch online - search LOVEFiLM for titles. Enjoy a 30-day free trial and a £15 Amazon.co.uk gift certificate if you become a paying member. Learn more at LOVEFiLM.com

Frequently Bought Together

Dancer In The Dark [DVD] [2000] + Breaking The Waves [DVD] [1996] + Dogville [DVD]
Price For All Three: £12.76

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Product details

  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.77:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Channel 4
  • DVD Release Date: 17 Sep 2007
  • Run Time: 134 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000S399G0
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 13,836 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Masterpiece or masquerade? Lars von Trier's digicam musical split the critics in two when it debuted at last year's Cannes film festival. There were those who saw it as a cynical shock-opera from a manipulative charlatan, others wept openly at its scenes of raw emotion and heart-rending intensity. There is, however, no in-between. Dancer In The Dark is that rarest of creatures, a film that dares to push viewers to the limits of their feelings.

In her first, and most probably last screen performance (she has foresworn acting after her bruising on-set rows with von Trier), brittle Icelandic chanteuse Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant living in a folksy American small town with her young son Gene. Selma is going blind and so will Gene if she does not arrange an important operation for him. To cover the expense, Selma works every hour she can, cheating on her eye tests so she can keep working at the local factory long after her vision has become too unreliable to work safely. She sublets a house from local-cop Bill (David Morse) and his wife, Linda (Cara Seymour). When nearly bankrupt Bill asks Selma for a loan she refuses, but he later returns and steals the money, which she demands back in a furious confrontation. In the ensuing mélee, Bill is fatally shot and Selma is arrested and put on trial. Will justice prevail?

Von Trier's passionate, provocative film runs all our emotional resources dry with suspense, giving us occasional flashes into Selma's gold heart and mind with superb song-and-dance numbers she conjures to banish the nightmare (Björk also wrote the score). At some two-and-a-half hours, it's not for lightweights, but anyone bored with today's smug, "ironic" cinema will relish this as an astonishing assault on the senses and a stark reminder of Von Trier's uncompromising talent. --Damon Wise

Synopsis

The final installment in Lars von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy (which includes "Breaking The Waves" and "The Idiots"), Dancer In The Dark takes the director's original blend of heightened pseudo-realism and fabricated melodrama to a dangerously intense level. The story concerns Selma (Bjork), a Czech immigrant living in 1964 Washington State with her 12-year-old son, Gene (Vladan Kostic). On the verge of blindness, Selma spends her days working in a factory, as well as performing other odd jobs, in order to save up enough money to pay for an operation that will cure Gene of the same disease. To pass the time, Selma fantasises that her own life is a musical--one in which her friends join her in sweeping song-and-dance routines. After her neighbor Bill (David Morse) discovers Selma's hidden savings and steals them from her, she is forced to perform an act of salvation that will condemn her forever. As the innocent Selma, Bjork is one of the most fragile and heartbreaking presences the screen has ever seen. Her unbearably moving performance is enough to keep the viewer mesmerised throughout, even amid the story gaps and inconsistencies. Featuring compassionate supporting performances by Catherine Deneuve and Peter Stormare, Dancer In The Dark will have sympathetic audiences quivering with uncontrollable emotion.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
moving 23 May 2007
Format:DVD
A movie that sparks polarised opinions. I loved it. There are two hurdles before one should consider this movie.

Firstly, Bjork. This movie is largely about her music, style and speech. Watch a couple of her music videos and if you find yourself detesting any of the above, spare yourself the two hours.

Secondly, this movie is essentially a musical. If this genre doesn't appeal to you, then steer clear.

If you pass the above two criteria, then expect to be transported to the musical world of Bjork, where dreams and reality come together in song. Excellent character portrayal of the Selma you end up loving and the Bill you end up hating.

I last watched this movie three years ago and still remember the impact it had on me.

Reiterating, it is only worth the watch if you are able to tolerate Bjork's eccentrics.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film was by far the most emotionally charged I have ever seen. Really shouldn't have watched it on a train in front of shocked and concerned onlookers as I have never cried harder in public. Bjork is cast brilliantly, it is shot and directed with exceptional sensitivity - demonstrating Trier's ability to handle any genre or subject with beautiful cinematic style. Bjork's personality shone through the character of Selma and as heated as the conversations reportedly were between her and Trier, Bjork's musical genius and attention to rhythmic form is present throughout - I genuinely felt closer to her music afterwards. Definitely should be added to everybody's 'must see before you die' list.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
dancing and singing in a machine shop! How's that incorporated in a sad tale of human tragedy, I hear you ask? This is one of the most engaging films I've seen. I don't like Bjork in any other context but she's fantastic in this and Catherine Deneuve brings subtle grace to the factory floor.

Wonderful stuff

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A film? A musical? An experience!
As a big fan of Bjork's music and having seen only a small section of this film previously once upon a time in music class, I felt driven to purchase this film in the hopes that it... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Hadley
Unconvincing Czech Immigrant
I Just can't buy the idea that BJork is a Czech immigrant in this movie! She has a sort-of-Cockney accent, for one thing, and doesn't look Czech either. Read more
Published 11 months ago by H. Petre
The art-house equivalent of a trite daytime movie
Bjork's final performance at the end of this film is the only part that I found genuinely honest and moving. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Odelay In Space
No...no....and no......
I love cinema and therefore find it so very strange that this
is one film that I just couldn't watch....I actually left the
movie theatre halfway through...... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Tulipano
BJORK In The Dark !
A fantastic musical form the Iceland icon Bjork,
Amazing is the word and sensitvie to an extent that it makes you cry;
An all time favorite .
Published 15 months ago by Stallion
amazing
One of the best films ever just unbelievably sad but amazing! arrived very quickly too!
Published 19 months ago by penfold
The worst film I ever sat through
The story was vile, the acting awful, the hand held camerawork worse, the editing was absent. And the "music"!!! Embarrassing. Unspeakable. Read more
Published on 20 April 2010 by G. Robinson
very disapointing
As a huge fan of Van Trier's work and also a fan Bjork's music, I must say that I was utterly disappointed by Dancer in the Dark. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by L I V E F I S H
Excellent
Simple story but very good intensely emotional performance from Bjork.

Well worth watching.
Published on 10 Jun 2009 by Chatterbox
Love her or hate her watch this film.
I had been told to see this film for years, as a Bjork fan, everyone said I would love it. But no one prepared me for what I saw. Read more
Published on 23 April 2009 by J. Winn
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject





i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges