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 | Newspaper | 19th Century | 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
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
Teresa 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:

UK:15 | USA:Not Rated

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:

Traumerei

Tragic, melancholic, twisted and yet completely entertaining.

'Nowhere in this great continent of ours can be found a more desirable residence.' This is a pitch for the small town of Black River Falls, Wisconsin. If by any chance you've already accepted this seemingly ordinarily little exaggeration as the truth, then its time you saw a melancholic little documentary called Wisconsin Death Trip.

This is a film which details the events that occurred in Black River Falls during the 1890s and is the director James Marsh's take on the 1970s literary cult classic of the same name, written by Michael Lesy. It seems that the whole town was besieged by fits of suicide, murder, lunacy and several inexplicable and bizarre events that could have been plucked cleanly from an Edward Gory poem. The grim and dark character of this strange little town and its inhabitants are communicated through photographs taken at the time and newspaper reports. The photos are connected to starkly beautiful black and white recreations of the odd goings-on of Black River Falls. Ian Holm narrates the film in a haunting and sometimes blackly comic manner, and a few records from the local insane asylum are whispered disturbingly, telling us about the many inhabitants who were committed there. The recreations are shot with dazzling fluidity, all are stunning to watch and every single one shocks or horrifies to an enthralling degree.

Like Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, this twisted tale takes place over several seasons and the other-worldly events just keep on happening; from a farmer who blew his own head off with dynamite to a 63 year old-14 year old paedophilliac marriage, they seem never-ending as the depressing Wisconsin Winter looms over the horizon. There are certain characters who keep reappearing throughout the film such as the 13 year old who shot an old man for fun and then participated in a western style chase and gun fight with a posse, and the has-been opera singer, Pauline L'Allemand, who moved to Black River Falls and slowly went mad, hearing voices from the spirit world and ended up in the Mendota Asylum for the Insane.

It is the morbid fascination that resides in some of us which makes us want to watch this to the end, to see just how tantalizingly strange the events in this town can get. The macabre style is pulled off with perfection; it is often grisly and melancholic to watch and yet I was fascinated by it and soaked up every moment. Wisconsin Death Trip fails, however in trying to convince us that Black River Falls hasn't changed since the 1890s. Its attempts (in colour, rather than black and white like the rest of the film), are rather forced and unsatisfying. But the blank, placid faces of the old people of the modern day town are certainly reminiscent of the photos taken back at the end of the 19th century. Perhaps the sheer number of the events at the time makes the film a little unbelievable, but it is the photos which remind us that these events actually took place and aid in bringing home the Gothic and demented atmosphere of the whole tragic tale.

The truth is: I was horrified and engrossed in the story of this freakish town and the maniacs who resided there. Then, after thinking about it, I realized that the crimes of passion, suicides and gun violence of our so-called 'modern society' were happening over a century ago. I believe that this is one of the most significant points James Marsh was trying to put across.

However, there are still some out and out undeniably weird happenings that took place in Black River Falls which would leave us utterly aghast if we saw them in the present day. When viewing, be sure to look out for the Polish girl who set fire to numerous buildings because she was 'lonely and homesick and needed some excitement.' and especially Mary Sweeney, with her window smashing antics.