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	...	Self
Claes Kastholm Hansen	...	Self
Ib Hansen
Anja Hemmingsen
Kirsten Hemmingsen
Cæcilia Holbek Trier	...	(as Cæcilia Holbek)
Gert Holbek
Udo Kier	...	Self
Joergen Christian Krueff	...	(as Jørgen Christian Krüff)
Jan Kornum Larsen
Gitte Lind	...	Self

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

post punk | plague | male frontal nudity | male nudity | scriptwriting | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

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

Referenced in I Lars von Triers rige (1999)

---

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

A ghost is haunting Europe

I like Von Trier's films and this one and "The Idiots" seem to me the ones in which he achieves through both the way they are shot and the plot in itself, a high quality of personal artistic expression.

Concentrating on "Epidemic", I think the contrast between the black and white parts and the "story" is intriguing and effective, visually disturbing and helping to create the symbolic meaning the viewer could take from this movie.

To me, beyond more evident interpretations about predestination, Dreyer-like bad and evil explanations, I believe Von Trier -with the help of, for instance, bleak houses, rundown sourroundings and disease- tries to tell us that the world we're living is infected by a growing disease, living its marks in EACH ONE OF US, making Europe in general a dull and heartless place to live, a world killing us very slowly and with it our soul, our sensibility and our ability to feel. Like the final song : "we all fall down".

Against the complacency and cynism of much of the cultural expression nowadays, I think Von Trier's work is an exemple. That is why I recommend "Epidemic" to IMDB users.

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish English

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Epidemia

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$938

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