Lars von Trier is one of the most controversial directors currently working. Depending on your point of view, he's either a provocateur with bad taste or a genius who defies all conventions. He specializes in challenging narratives that shatter taboos, like the sexual horror Antichrist and the darkly erotic Nymphomaniac. While these films are often shocking, there's no denying their beautiful cinematography and amazing performances.
Von Trier was the co-founder of Dogme 95, a film movement that emphasizes story and characterization over special effects or flashy premises. This style reflects Von Trier's formative influences, which include legendary directors like Ingmar Bergman and Carl Theodor Dreyer. He has spoken at length about the movies that inspired him, which tend be to explosive and polarizing films much like his own. These are some of his most intriguing recommendations, which ought to appeal to fans of Von Trier's own filmography.
10 'India Song' (1975)
Directed by Marguerite Duras
India Song is a French drama directed by novelist and filmmaker Marguerite Duras, who also wrote the script for Alain Resnais's masterful Hiroshima mon amour. This one centers on Anne-Marie Stretter (Delphine Seyrig), the wife of a French diplomat stationed in Calcutta in the 1930s. Bored and adrift, she has several affairs, all of which her husband knows about. We learn about her life through a series of vignettes, highlighting her unfulfilled desires and pervasive sense of isolation.
It's less of a traditional narrative and more of a meditation, unfolding in nonlinear fashion. India Song is stylish too, with beautiful settings and gorgeous cinematography. It's the kind of arthouse movie that will divide audiences: some viewers will adore it, others will find the whole thing too slow and self-involved. Von Trier falls into the former category, calling it a "great film" and describing the titular song whistled by the main character as "beautiful".
Close9 'The Perfect Human' (1968)
Directed by Jørgen Leth
This experimental short film depicts a middle-class Danish couple as they go about their daily routines. The whole thing is portrayed like a nature documentary, with a narrator providing commentary that one might expect to hear at a zoo. The voice-over declares these people to be the 'perfect humans' as if they were the archetypal example of the species. It's tongue-in-cheek, but there's some sharp existentialist commentary beneath the absurdity.
Von Trier and Jørgen Leth co-directed a documentary about the film called The Five Obstructions in which Von Trier challenged Leth to recreate The Perfect Human, but with several limitations. In the doc, Von Trier declares The Perfect Human to be his favorite film. This doesn't stop him from subjecting its director to all manner of difficult tasks, however, like shooting the remake in no more than 12 frames or redoing it as a cartoon.
Close8 'The Night Porter' (1974)
Directed by Liliana Cavani
This controversial psychological drama revolves around Lucia (Charlotte Rampling), a woman who was once imprisoned in a concentration camp during World War II. Years later, she crosses paths with Max (Dirk Bogarde), a former SS officer now working as a night porter in a Vienna hotel. During the war, Lucia and Max had a sadomasochistic relationship, where Max both tormented her and protected her from some of the camp's worst horrors. Now, Max is instantly threatened by Lucia, as she could testify against him and possibly land him in prison.
The Night Porter divided audiences. Some praised the lead performances and the bold engagement with sensitive subject matter, while others found it to be exploitative. It's easy to see why it resonated with Von Trier, as his work often functions in the same way. He has cited the film as a major influence. "I love The Night Porter. I gave [director] Liliana Cavani a lot of lilies once when I met her in Paris," he has said.
The Night Porter
R Release Date April 3, 1974 Director Liliana Cavani Cast Charlotte Rampling , Philippe Leroy , Gabriele Ferzetti Runtime 1187 'In Search of the Castaways' (1962)
Directed by Robert Stevenson
In Search of the Castaways is an adventure movie based on the classic novel by Jules Verne. It follows the expedition led by Professor Paganel (Maurice Chevalier) and Lord Glenarvan (Wilfrid Hyde-White) to find the shipwrecked Captain Grant. The captain's children, Mary (Hayley Mills) and Robert (Keith Hamshere) join the quest, encountering various challenges and making unexpected allies along the way.
The movie was a hit on release but is not that well-remembered these days. It's a pity, as it features some terrific melodrama and family-friendly fun. It's somewhat surprising that Von Trier likes it since it seems far too sunny for him. Nevertheless, he has named it as a favorite, saying, "There are a few films that have stuck in my mind [...] I've only seen In Search of the Castaways once, but those images from it are etched on my memory."
6 'Billy Liar' (1963)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Billy Liar is a landmark film of the British New Wave. It focuses on Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay), a young man living in a dull Yorkshire town. Trapped in a mundane job as a clerk, Billy daydreams incessantly and concocts elaborate fantasies to escape his humdrum life. At the same time, he attempts to juggle his romantic entanglements with three different women, only one of whom actually understands him.
Drawing on the work of FrançoisTruffaut, director John Schlesinger deploys a cinéma vérité style and real locations to great effect. The film has been praised for its blend of realism and fantastical imagery, its surprising ending, and the wonderful, layered performance from Courtenay. He carries much of the movie singlehandedly, although Julie Christie (in a breakout role) gives him a run for his money. "It's a brilliant film. [I like] its imagination. And the rebellious streak in the central character's daydreams," Von Trier said.
Close5 'The Canterbury Tales' (1972)
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
The Canterbury Tales is Pier Paolo Pasolini's adaptation of the famous medieval epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. It tells eight different stories, usually featuring eroticism, violence, and slapstick comedy. In one, a corrupt friar is sent to hell. In another, four young men set out to take revenge on Death himself. Through these vivid characters and settings, The Canterbury Tales explores themes of lust, greed, and hypocrisy, while maintaining a keen sense of the absurd.
Pasolini was an Italian director perhaps most well-known for the twisted epic Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. The Canterbury Tales may not be quite so horrifying and nihilistic, but it's still pretty intense at times. Von Trier has been described as the heir to Pasolini, so it's no surprise that he admires The Canterbury Tales. Traces of the film's influence can be seen in Nymphomaniac, for instance.
Close4 'The Lady from Shanghai' (1947)
Directed by Orson Welles
Orson Wellesboth directed and stars in this film noir. He plays Michael O'Hara, a sailor who becomes mixed up with the enigmatic Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) and her wealthy husband, Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane). Michael agrees to work on Bannister's yacht but finds himself faced with a bizarre offer. Arthur's business partner, George Grisby (Glenn Anders) says he will pay Michael $5000 if he helps him stage his own murder. Things get messy when Grisby winds up actually being murdered.
The Lady from Shanghai was not very successful on release, but its critical standing has improved in the decades since. It has been referenced by several movies and its 'hall of mirrors' sequence has become iconic. The mirror fight scene in John Wick 2, for example, wouldn't exist without The Lady from Shanghai. Von Trier considers it to be Welles's best movie, superior even to Citizen Kane.
3 'Providence' (1977)
Directed by Alain Resnais
Providence is a drama from Alain Resnais, a giant of French cinema. At the heart of the story is Clive Langham (Sir John Gielgud), a successful but terminally ill British novelist. As he grapples with his impending mortality, Langham imagines and reimagines various scenarios involving his family and acquaintances, questioning the nature of authorship and the malleability of memory. In one imagined scene, Clive's son appears as a soldier performing a mercy killing. In another, Clive confronts a werewolf in a dark forest.
The film is rich and layered, lending itself to endless interpretation. Indeed, debate continues over which scenes are dreams and which are, in fact, real. Von Trier is a devotee of Resnais, and the director's influence on his filmography is clear to see. Some shots in Melancholia, for example, bear a striking resemblance to scenes from Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad. Von Trier included Providence on his list of his all-time favorite films.
2 'Gertrud' (1964)
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
This drama was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, the godfather of Danish cinema. It focuses on Gertrud Kanning (Nina Pens Rode), a former opera singer living in Stockholm in the early 20th century. She leaves her businessman husband Gustav (Axel Strøbye) for a young pianist named Jansson (Baard Owe). She wants to run away with him, but he tells her that he can't, as he's expecting a child with another woman.
Gertrud was Dreyer's first film in nine years following his masterpiece Ordet, and most critics at the time found it disappointing. Subsequent reviewers have been kinder to it, praising its realism and psychological depth. The film is also famous for its long takes, one of which clocks in at almost ten minutes long. "Those long, long slow movements? Lit by those tiny lamps? Very nice. I talked with Dreyer’s director of photography, Henning Bendtsen, about that for quite some time. It’s a rare film. Thank God," Von Trier said of it.
Close1 'Smiles of a Summer Night' (1955)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Smiles of a Summer Night is a comedy by preeminent Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, the film revolves around a group of characters whose romantic entanglements unfold during a magical midsummer night. The central figure is Desirée Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), an actress with a complicated love life that involves an ex-lover, the pompous lawyer Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand); his young bride Anne (Ulla Jacobsson); and Desirée's current paramour, the married Count Carl-Magnus (Jarl Kulle).
The film is witty and irreverent, poking fun at love, relationships, and, in particular, adultery. Many of Bergman's films are dour and depressive, but Smiles of a Summer Night is light and funny, not to mention slapstick. It seems to draw partly on Bergman's own love life: he was married five times and had multiple affairs. Von Trier named this, too, as one of his favorite movies ever.
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