Medea

Rating:
Summary: Not his best, by a longshot.
Review: First I would like to say that I have a deep knowledge of Von Trier- he was brought to my attention before any of his films saw US release by friends in europe and well before Dogme existed. This is probably the worst work I have seen from Von Trier. The film is incredibly short, and still manages to seem long and grating at points. Stylistically, themetically, and in regards to acting, this film is very strong, however it is overly minimalistic to the point of being off-putting.

If you absolutely have to complete your Von Trier collection then consider purchasing this DVD, otherwise I'd recommend seeking out the complete Europa trilogy and the under appreciated Kingdom miniseries. Worth a viewing, not a purchase.

Rating:
Summary: WATERY MEDEA
Review: First of all I'd like to say that you don't have to be a von Trier expert to judge this film but someone with knowledge upon the most difficult theatrical species: the Ancient Greek Tragedy. Most contemporary efforts of modern directors to direct Tragedy end in totally ridicilous and laughable results as Tragedy is a species that demands not only enormous interpretations by the actors and directors but also a deep philosophical insight. The reviewer who disregards the "plot" as he calls Medea's Myth as not so strong he should know that this "plot" is one of the few revelations and revolutions in the History of Literature and a philosophical mind game which no-one has solved up to today (I didn't expect from undereducated Americans nothing more that what I read in this page, they should be reviewing Tom Hunks' latest stupidity instead of dealing with masterpieces like this one)

It is totally ingenious the fact that von Trier conceives the Dark Witch Medea inside endless Waters... what a remarkable sympbolism... the Icons are truly masterpieces of symbolisms and the entire scenery placed in a swamp characterizes the dark and treacherous souls of the Heros involved. The scene where Medea throws the poisons she makes into the waters of the swamps creates an Icon of the most intense theatrical and conjectural importance. Pure Art of the highest level... that is the way we imagine Medea...

I was totally flabergasted with the scene of the murder of the Children by Medea. While in the entire film the sky is clouded and it is raining constantly as if the sea, the swamps and the air are one -Endless Tears of God ancient greeks called the Rain-in the scene of the Horrible Crime the season is Spring, the flowers are blossomed and the birds are singing... in that idyllic environment Medea performs her Atrocious Act... it truly brought shivers down my spine as it is one of the greatest symbolisms I have come in across in modern cinema and has its origin in the thoughts of great artists like Stravinsky who conceived Spring as the Season for Death...

Medea is undoubtedly the most difficult role in the entire female repertoire. The actress who decides to play Medea should be aware that acting is not show-bussiness but one of the Highest Forms of Art (which is totally degenerated in our days). Kirtsen... delivers her role with amazing qualities, her expressions are few and meaningful -not at all like modern actors who change expressions every 2 seconds showing the blur they have in their minds regarding the characters emotions - She shows in her acting what we call Ancient Greek Meter: the ability to act with very few but deeply meaningful gestures.
Her last scene's Tearless Cry is one of the most amazing face expressions I have seen and indeed one that deeply characterizes the emotions of Medea... the psychological block and death that leads her to the Horrible Crime...

Overall I was deeply astonished by watching this most marvleous delivery of what is probably the most difficult Classical Drama ever created...
What it would be like if von Trier didn't want to modernize and thus had used the original Euripides Poetry... Classical Literature is a miracle by itself, it does not need improvements!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not his best, by a longshot.
Review: This beautiful piece of art is one of Lars Von Trier's best works, and is certaintly the best of his pre-dogma period. It is based on a previously unfilmed script by the master Carl Th. Dreyer (Lars claimed to be in constant telepathic communication with him during its filming), and tells the story of Medea's revenge on Jason (of the Argonauts) after he leaves her to become the heir of a throne. The plot is sparse; the real star of this film is Von Trier's direction and great command of mood. Many of the techniques employed in "Zentropa" and "Element of Crime" are used, as well as an extremely drab and degraded film image, and all serve to create a harsh other-world filled with despair.

About the DVD: sound is good, and while the image is made intentionally ugly by Von Trier, it is hard to say if the picture was made any worse in this transfer. Regardless, this release marks the first time U.S. audiences get to see this masterpiece, and lovers of Von Trier, Dreyer, art, and avant-garde cinema can't afford to miss it!!

Rating:
Summary: Essential Von Trier
Review: This beautiful piece of art is one of Lars Von Trier's best works, and is certaintly the best of his pre-dogma period. It is based on a previously unfilmed script by the master Carl Th. Dreyer (Lars claimed to be in constant telepathic communication with him during its filming), and tells the story of Medea's revenge on Jason (of the Argonauts) after he leaves her to become the heir of a throne. The plot is sparse; the real star of this film is Von Trier's direction and great command of mood. Many of the techniques employed in "Zentropa" and "Element of Crime" are used, as well as an extremely drab and degraded film image, and all serve to create a harsh other-world filled with despair.

About the DVD: sound is good, and while the image is made intentionally ugly by Von Trier, it is hard to say if the picture was made any worse in this transfer. Regardless, this release marks the first time U.S. audiences get to see this masterpiece, and lovers of Von Trier, Dreyer, art, and avant-garde cinema can't afford to miss it!!

Rating:
Summary: More Greek Myths
Review: Trier, who is at times an accomplished director, has an eye for great art. This film, which deals with the Greek mythology of Medea, who killed her children in order to appease the gods, is an artistic telling of the event, from deep colored shots of the ocean to lens filtered wind brushing against the actors shade, this is all visual, but the film is quite utterly boring and thus, we are not interested in the development of sequences which Trier arranges from us. Udo Kier is common in this adaptation and by the end, we are glad that the screen is no longer filled with such blatant incoehesion.