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Epidemic

  • 19871987
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Epidemic (1987)
  • Drama
  • Horror
A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Lars von Trier
  • Writers
    • Lars von Trier(screenplay)
    • Niels Vørsel(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Allan De Waal
    • Ole Ernst
    • Michael Gelting
Top credits
  • Director
    • Lars von Trier
  • Writers
    • Lars von Trier(screenplay)
    • Niels Vørsel(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Allan De Waal
    • Ole Ernst
    • Michael Gelting
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 27User reviews
    • 25Critic reviews
    • 66Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos10

    Epidemic (1987)
    Lars von Trier in Epidemic (1987)
    Epidemic (1987)
    Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel in Epidemic (1987)
    Epidemic (1987)
    Epidemic (1987)
    Lars von Trier in Epidemic (1987)
    Epidemic (1987)
    Forbrydelsens element (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Allan De Waal
    Ole Ernst
    Michael Gelting
    Colin Gilder
    Svend Ali Hamann
    • Selfas Self
    Claes Kastholm Hansen
    • Selfas Self
    Ib Hansen
    Anja Hemmingsen
    Kirsten Hemmingsen
    Cæcilia Holbek Trier
      Gert Holbek
      Udo Kier
      Udo Kier
      • Selfas Self
      Joergen Christian Krueff
        Jan Kornum Larsen
        Gitte Lind
        • Selfas Self
        Leif Magnusson
        Gunner Ottesen
        Susanne Ottesen
        • Selfas Self
        • Director
          • Lars von Trier
        • Writers
          • Lars von Trier(screenplay)
          • Niels Vørsel(screenplay)
        • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
        • All cast & crew

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        Storyline

        Edit
        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. —Fredrik Klasson <fredrik.klasson@boras.mail.telia.com>
        • post punk
        • plague
        • male frontal nudity
        • male nudity
        • scriptwriting
        • 8 more
        • Plot summary
        • Add synopsis
        • Genres
          • Drama
          • Horror
        • Certificate
          • Not Rated
        • Parents guide

        Did you know

        Edit
        • Trivia
          The story Udo Kier's character Udo tells Lars and Niels, is actually the real story of Udo Kier's birth.
        • Quotes

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

        • 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.
        • Connections
          Featured in The Making of 'Europa' (1991)
        • Soundtracks
          Tannhäuser (The Overture)
          Composed by Richard Wagner

        User reviews27

        Review
        Top review
        8/10
        This Hypnotic Abstraction is Truly Very Atmospheric and Creepy.
        Epidemic appears to be all stylistic self-indulgence. It is filmed in black and white, with often purposely redundant subtitles. Each shot is very very long. Some are stoic, some are suddenly goofy, some are disturbing, mostly stoic. When there is dialogue, it is intellectually stimulating, but borderline irrelevant.

        Mainly, it is that director Lars Von Trier and his screenplay collaborator Niels Vorsel play themselves, coming up with a last-minute script for a producer. This strand takes disproportionate turns with scenes from their script, in which Von Trier plays a radical doctor attempting to cure a modern-day epidemic. In an warped turn, the doctor finds that he himself has been spreading it. For so long, one is left without a clue as to why there is such a coincidence between the screenplay and the outside world, or any progressions of the different narrative strands' signifying signs. But it infects you. It burns you.

        Whether or not the film is narcissistic, it is not form over function. Essentially, it is a basic exercise in what metaphysically affects the viewer. Consider the scene of the darker, quieter of the screenwriters in the subway, knowing predeterminately that the other one is going to die. Or when he looks in a mirror, turns to us, the camera, then the mirror again. Everything one expects would create a cohesive, sense-making narrative film is inverted and indeed develops an immediately conscious connection between itself and the audience.

        That is not to say it eschews any fundamental aspect of quality. Udo Kier delivers one of the most amazing, fantastic performances I have ever seen. Really, many of the performances, whoever these actors, or characters, are, shock and deeply move us. Some scenes are entirely made up of uproarious laughter or breakdowns of screaming, in spite of the unapologetic stoicism and quiet permeating the film.

        This hypnotic abstraction is truly very atmospheric and creepy. It is a transcendental, almost physiologically affecting virus that infests you for days upon being subjected to it. It is something that has to be seen and can hardly be explained. And that makes it a true work of art.
        helpful•17
        2
        • jzappa
        • Sep 9, 2009

        Details

        Edit
        • Release date
          • September 11, 1987 (Denmark)
        • Country of origin
          • Denmark
        • Languages
          • Danish
          • English
        • Also known as
          • Эпидемия
        • Filming locations
          • Copenhagen, Denmark
        • Production companies
          • Elementfilm A/S
          • Det Danske Filminstitut
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Box office

        Edit
        • Gross worldwide
          • $938
        See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

        Technical specs

        Edit
        • Runtime
          1 hour 46 minutes
        • Color
          • Color
          • Black and White
        • Sound mix
          • Mono
        • Aspect ratio
          • 1.66 : 1

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