Epidemic Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Epidemic Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 25, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy from The Criterion Collection.

If one is to believe the frequently questionable information offered by Wikipedia, there are well over one hundred films that have something to do with hypnosis, including probably unsurprising entries ranging from Svengali to The Three Faces of Eve to The Manchurian Candidate, but also (somewhat hilariously, at least to me) perhaps slightly less expected offerings like Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. Kind of interestingly in that regard and vis a vis the rather broad gamut of films that feature some kind of depiction of the technique, hypnosis can be portrayed as either the tool of someone nefarious (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler ) or alternatively as a long sought after cure for some kind of mental dysfunction (Spellbound). Wikipedia's list of films about hypnosis kind of strangely only includes the first of Lars von Trier's so-called Europe Trilogy, namely The Element of Crime, but hypnosis is at least alluded to in all three films, and all three arguably offer a "middle ground" in terms of depicting hypnotism as both a cure and a potential threat. If hypnotism itself might be thought of as getting subjects into a kind of "limbo" state somewhere between wakefulness and sleeping, von Trier's trilogy is also a dreamscape (or nightmare-scape, as the case may be) where reality and illusion are often seemingly interchangeable.

There's that oft quoted adage about "sophomore slumps", and some may feel there's no better example of that "syndrome" than Epidemic, an admittedly audacious experiment in "meta"-physics by von Trier that may ultimately end up seeming not much more than a self indulgent exercise in style and a certain theatrical sensibility, perhaps sparked by at least some of the acclaim von Trier received for The Element of Crime. The fact that von Trier also received his fair share of brickbats for that debut effort may not have cautioned him from entertaining some of his more hyperbolic presentational proclivities, not the least of which, kind of like one of those annoying "bugs" that some labels have imprinted their Blu-ray release of public domain material with (releases like Triumph of the Will, The Memphis Belle: A Story of A Flying Fortress and Victory at Sea come to mind), von Trier emblazons Epidemic itself in bright red across virtually all of the imagery on tap here, save for a few opening moments and some framings where a glut of black material helps to mask it.

The fact that Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel are on hand themsleves here as struggling (?) would be filmmakers probably already indicates that this film in its own way blurs the lines between "reality" and "make believe" as did The Element of Crime. That blurring is probably only exacerbated for contemporary sensibilities since a hurriedly written screenplay that becomes a focal element is about a, well, pandemic, which may make the two creatives something of a modern day prophet (in both the positive and negative connotations of that word).

It's hard to even know where to begin with the layering that von Trier attempts to achieve with this intriguing but probably ultimately frustrating effort. Suffice it to say that the "meta" aspects are not all "extracurricular", as in the involvement of von Trier and Vørsel as director and writer, but also within the story (and/or stories) that are being told contextually within the film, which sees a certain mirroring aspect between characters of the distant past and supposedly current day figures. In a way, this aspect reminded me quite strongly of The Niklashausen Journey from Arrow UK's release of The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Collection: Volume 3. The "meta" aspects also pertain to the contagion at hand in the film within a film. Hypnosis once again is a feature, and not an especially "therapeutic" one in this instance.

Epidemic Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's insert booklet lumps the three films together in its relatively minimal descriptions of the restorations, as follows:

The Element of Crime is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.89:1 [note: our aspect ratio measuring tool is actually showing 1.90:1, a probably imperceptible difference]. This digital transfer was created in 3K resolution on an Arriscan film scanner from the 16 mm original camera negative. Epidemic is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. This digital transfer was created on an Arriscan film scanner and restored in 3K resolution from the 16 mm original camera negative. Europa is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. This digital transfer was created on an Arriscan film scanner and restored in 4K resolution from the 35 mm original camera negative. The restorations of all three films were undertaken by Zentropa and approved by director Lars von Trier.

Epidemic is often quite striking visually, though I'm sure I won't be alone in finding von Trier's almost deliberately off putting use of the quasi- bug in the upper left corner of the frame a needless conceit that doesn't add much to the proceedings and may actually distract from some of the visual dazzlement in the long run. That qualm aside, and despite a smaller format and some high contrast choices, detail levels are often surprisingly precise looking, at least when some of the odder framings and near psychedelic mise en scènes "relax" a bit. This is by far the grainiest looking feature in the trilogy, though it's interesting to note the IMDb lists some 35 mm usage, and there are certainly some isolated moments here where clarity improves pretty markedly and grain becomes much tighter looking.

Epidemic Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Epidemic features LPCM Mono sound in Danish and English. The film ping pongs between a kind of vérité quality in the "meta" scenes between von Trier and Vørsel, and a more "Hollywoodized" sound in the film within a film, which features English and a rather nice score by Peter Bach. All dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly, though some of the English is rather heavily accented. Optional English subtitles are available.

Epidemic Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary is from 2005 and features von Trier and Niels Vørsel, just in case everything else about this film isn't "meta" enough for you.


• Portrait of Lars von Trier (HD; 32:00) is a 1991 interview done for Danish television. Subtitled in English.


• Anecdotes from Epidemic (HD; 17:10) is also from 2005 and features interviews with Peter Shepelern, Niels Vørsel, Kristoffer Nyholm, and Udo Kier, among others. Subtitled in English.


• From Dreyer to von Trier (HD; 13:34) is a really interesting 2005 interview with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen, who rather unbelievably got his start with Carl Theodor Dreyer. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 00:51)

Epidemic Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In perhaps an unintentionally ironic way, this second feature from von Trier may strike some as seeming more like a "student film" than The Element of Crime. There's a lot of interesting content here, make no mistake, but it's frankly kind of unkempt and has more than a slight whiff of self indulgence. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very enjoyable.