Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

Director:

James Marsh

Writers:

Michael Lesy (book)
James Marsh (writer)

Release Date:

9 March 2000 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Wisconsin Death Trip is an intimate, shocking and sometimes hilarious account of the disasters that...

Plot Keywords:

River | 19th Century | Newspaper | Wisconsin | Photograph

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ian Holm	...	Narrator (voice)
Jeffrey Golden	...	Editor (as Jeff Golden)
Jo Vukelich	...	Mary Sweeney
Marcus Monroe	...	Young Anderson
Marilyn White	...	Pauline L'Allemand
John Schneider	...	Asylum Clerk / Whispering Voice
John Baltes	...	Undertaker
Raeleen McMillion	...	Crying Woman
Krista Grambow	...	Mourning Woman
Clay Anton	...	Eloping Couple (male)
Bobbie Jo Westphal	...	Eloping Couple (female)
Scott Hulbert	...	Pouch
Zeke Dasho	...	Edgar L'Allemand
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathryn Anderson	...	Mrs. Larson
Kevin Anderson	...	Larson Child
Liam Anderson	...	Larson Child
Molly Anderson	...	Mrs. Larson
Nathan Butchart	...	Dead Boy
Angel Hamilton	...	Fire Girl
Ali Ide	...	Winter Bride
Brittany Istre	...	Baptized Girl
Marc Jacobs	...	Hanging Man
Dana Joseph	...	Girl at Window
Joshua Kapp	...	Baby
Eddie Kunz	...	Abandoned Boy
Cody Marenes	...	Boy
Tyler Marenes	...	Running Boy
Tess Miller	...	Coffin Girl
Braden Moran	...	Husband
Michael Olson	...	Asylum Guard
Emily Roske	...	Sister
Will Roske	...	9 Year Old Shooter
Hutch Rowe	...	Deputy Sheriff
Clayton Simchick	...	Hanging Man (as Clay Simchick)
Debbi Sommi	...	Servant Girl
Jeana Stillman	...	Drowned Girl
Steven Strobel	...	Union Man
M. Scott Taulman	...	The Jailer

Directed by
James Marsh

Writing credits
Michael Lesy		(book)
James Marsh		(writer)

Produced by
Nancy Abraham	....	supervising producer: Cinemax
Carol Hirschi	....	executive producer: Hands On Productions
James Marsh	....	producer
Sheila Nevins	....	executive producer: Cinemax
Maureen A. Ryan	....	producer
Anthony Wall	....	executive producer

Original Music by
DJ Shadow

Cinematography by
Eigil Bryld		(director of photography) (segments: "The Possessed", "The Eighteenth", "Rikoschet")

Film Editing by
Jinx Godfrey

Casting by
Theresa Boyeson

Art Direction by
Carol Hirschi

Costume Design by
Ellen Kozak

Makeup Department
Christopher Russo	....	hair stylist
Christopher Russo	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Trevor Barber	....	sound mixer
Thomas Berna	....	additional sound recordist
Kevin Falk	....	additional sound recordist
Jinx Godfrey	....	sound effects designer
Jeff Irwin	....	additional sound recordist
James Marsh	....	sound effects designer
David Old	....	sound dubbing mixer: De Lane Lea Studios
Otto Rammer	....	additional sound recordist
Jimmy Roache	....	sound recordist
Dave Wysocky	....	additional sound recordist (as David Wysocky)

Special Effects by
Lynn Marie Neunfeldt	....	special effects assistant (as Lyn Marie Nuenfeldt)
Christopher Russo	....	special effects makeup
Clayton Simchick	....	special effects foreman (as Clay Simchick)

Visual Effects by
Steen Lyders Hansen	....	Inferno artist: Destiny 601
Andreas Rostock	....	Inferno artist: Destiny 601

Stunts
Marc Jacobs	....	stunts
Clayton Simchick	....	stunts (as Clay Simchick)
Joe Spang	....	stunt safety
Don Unverrich	....	stunt safety

Camera and Electrical Department
Janice Arthur	....	Steadicam operator
Carlo Besasie	....	gaffer (as Carl 'Vinny' Besasie)
P.J. Bodi	....	crane operator: Bodi & Company
Frank G. DeMarco	....	additional photographer (as Frank DeMarco)
Frank G. DeMarco	....	camera operator: additional black & white photography (as Frank DeMarco)
Kevin Dexter	....	additional assistant camera
Bob Donnelly	....	additional photographer
Bob Donnelly	....	camera operator: additional color photography
Doug Foote	....	assistant camera
Mike Gillis	....	electrician
Mike Gillis	....	grip
Patrick Haley	....	electrician
Patrick Haley	....	grip
Otto Mation	....	key grip
Scott Quimby	....	electrician
Scott Quimby	....	grip
Chris Shelley	....	camera operator: rostrum camera, Frameline
Joe Spang	....	electrician
Joe Spang	....	grip
Don Unverrich	....	electrician
Don Unverrich	....	grip

Casting Department
Carol Hirschi	....	casting consultant
Raeleen McMillion	....	casting consultant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ellen Kozak	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Phil Bricklebank	....	colorist
Pamela Esterson	....	post-production coordinator
Richard Wilding	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Todd Bausch	....	horse wrangler
Warwick Gee	....	production consultant
Kristin Gibbons	....	production assistant
Darleen Gutknecht	....	production assistant
Joe Hazelton	....	production assistant
Roger Hendry	....	finance manager
Ron Micoley	....	production assistant
Lynn Marie Neunfeldt	....	additional production coordinator (as Lyn Marie Neuenfeldt)
Becky Whitehorse	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• BBC Arena
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Cinemax Reel Life
• Hands On Productions
• Virtual Television (in association with)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Cinemax Reel Life
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)

Special Effects

• Destiny-601 (digital compositing) (as Destiny 601)
• Mo 42 Special Effects (special effects) (as MO 42 Special Effects)
• The Warehouse (digital grading and scanning)

Other Companies

• Bodi & Company  camera crane
• De Lane Lea  sound dubbing and mixing
• Digital Film Lab  film processing
• Dylan Scott Casting  casting (as Dylan Scott Agency)
• Frameline Productions  rostrum camera (as Frameline)
• H.H. Bennett Collection  additional photographs courtesy of
• Jackson County Historical Society  additional photographs courtesy of
• Kansas Collection  additional photographs courtesy of
• Soho Images  35mm print
• State Historical Society of Wisconsin  photographs courtesy of
• Whitehouse, The  avid editing facilities

Also Known As:

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Black River Falls, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

BBC Arena

Trivia:

Broadcast in the UK as part of the BBC's prestigious "Arena" (1975) series.

Soundtrack:

Oh, Never Sing to Me Again

A fascinating look at a town hitting the Modern head on

Some seem to have missed the whole point of this engrossing documentary. I wouldn't normally regard myself as a documentary person but this film is stylistically excellent using period photographs and specially shot black and white footage mixed in with colour shots of the town of Black River Falls (which the movie examines at the turn of the century) as it is now. To put it bluntly, and I don't feel I'm spoiling anything by saying this, the population is suffering from insanity ranging from the homicidal to the simply inexplicable. Ian Holm provides a haunting narration culled entirely from the local newspaper of the day and this is interspersed with excerpts from the records of the local asylum to which many of the towns inhabitants are committed.

The story is one of collapse as harsh victorian values prove incapable of dealing with the economic and social conditions the town is experiencing. The towns inhabitants are simply incapable of dealing with their circumstances. Suicide and mania are the results.

An excellent film let down almost not at all by the slightly banal comparisons made between the town in its victorian 'glory' and its modern status as a crime capital which falls a little flat but is not without interest. Proof of the effect of environment on psychology.