Epidemic (1987)

A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.

Director:

Lars von Trier

Writers:

Lars von Trier (screenplay) (as Lars Von Trier), Niels Vørsel (screenplay)

Stars:

Allan De Waal, Ole Ernst, Michael Gelting

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Allan De Waal
Ole Ernst
Michael Gelting
Colin Gilder
Svend Ali Hamann	...	Himself
Claes Kastholm Hansen	...	Himself
Ib Hansen
Anja Hemmingsen
Kirsten Hemmingsen
Cæcilia Holbek Trier	...	(as Cæcilia Holbek)
Gert Holbek
Udo Kier	...	Himself
Joergen Christian Krueff	...	(as Jørgen Christian Krüff)
Jan Kornum Larsen
Gitte Lind	...	Herself

Storyline

A film director and a script writer (performed by Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel themselves) write a screenplay, in which an epidemic spreads about the whole world. Like the protagonist they do not notice, that a real epidemic is developing around them.

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Plot Keywords:

plague | male frontal nudity | male nudity | scriptwriting | filmmaking | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish English

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Epidemia

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elementfilm A/S,Det Danske Filminstitut

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script von Trier and Vørsel have just finished writing at the beginning of the film is titled "The Policeman and the Whore" - an apparent reference to their previous collaboration, The Element of Crime (1984), whose lead characters are a detective and a prostitute.

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Quotes

Cabbie: What the hell. All a nigger needs are loose shoes, tight pussies, and a warm place to shit.

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Crazy Credits

The film's title appears in red letters in the upper left corner of the screen for the entire length of the film.

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Connections

References The Element of Crime (1984)

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Soundtracks

Epidemic We All Fall Down
Music by Peter Bach (as Bach)/Richard Wagner (as Wagner)
Lyrics by Lars von Trier (as Lars Von Trier) & Niels Vørsel
Vocalist: Pia Cohn
Orchestra: Aske Jacoby, Frank Stangerup, Klaus Menzer, Jens Haack

User Reviews

Boring and Pretentious

Epidemic sounded like it had an interesting concept when I got it from Netflix. The film follows the parallel stories of two screenwriters writing a script about a plague even as an epidemic breaks out around them, and scenes from the film they are writing. Leave it to Danish auteur Lars von Trier to ruin what could have been an extremely interesting movie.

The film's problem is that it has no real plot per se, just a series of unrelated images that fail to coalesce into a unified film. Large parts of the film seem to meander with no relevance to the rest of the film. At one point, the film pauses for five minutes to discuss the diseases that plague vineyards. Lars, we're here for the human epidemic, not to hear about noble rot!

Furthermore, the film is ugly looking for the most part, shot in a grainy black and white. Although this works in a scene where they are going through a lighted tunnel, it is overall annoying. Having the title up on screen for almost the entire picture was also distracting.

There are a few interesting scenes, such as a bit with Udo Kier, but it is not enough. Only at the end does the film achieve a disturbing quality with a genuinely haunting finale. By this point, however, it's too late. The viewer has lost interest and feels that his or her time has been wasted.