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Topic	~ The Gauntlet Crew Ranks Movie Musicals, Part 2: The Golden Age ~
Vengeful_KBM 02/03/20 2:51:45 PM #229:	5. Dancer in the Dark KBM: 1 JONA: 2 Scarlet: 2 Johnbobb: 3 Karo: 4 Genny: 33 Inviso: 34 KBM - *Why I Chose It:* To piss off Inviso. No, no, sorry, in all seriousness, Lars von Trier's grim 2000 musical-melodrama Dancer in the Dark, like most of the director's output, drew extremely polarized responses, both upon release and twenty years later. Response ranged from some critics calling it the best film of 2000, to others such as Peter Bradshaw naming it one of the worst artworks and perhaps one of the worst things in the history of the world. Its style was inspired by von Trier's own Dogme 95 filmmaking rules, which were designed to create a hyper-realistic filmmaking atmosphere by removing the trappings of special effects and post-production modification. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, along with the Best Actress award for Bjrk, and was nominated for the Best Original Song Academy Award for the song I've Seen It All. In recent years, it has also gained notoriety for the extremely fraught relationship between its writer/director and star, with Bjrk and von Trier admitting they truly hated each other on set, and Bjrk accusing von Trier of both emotional abuse and sexual harrassment. *My Thoughts:* Surprise surprise, Kaelee's favorite movie on a list is the grimmest, bleakest, most depressing thing imaginable. Setting aside the troubling behind-the-scenes stories (which, admittedly, gets harder to do with time), this is one of those masterful films that you can watch once and never need to watch again, because you will truly never forget it. I have a major love-hate relationship with von Trier for instance, I hate Antichrist almost as much as I love Dancer in the Dark but his abilities as a filmmaker are put to perfect use here, anchored by Bjrk giving what I consider one of the greatest screen performances of the 21st century. Is it ridiculously hard to watch? Hell yeah. But it's also just straight-up one of my favorite films, a true example of art through adversity, (both adversity for those making it, and for the audience when viewing it). It sweeps you away on one of the most shatteringly depressing journeys you can possibly take as an audience member, while ultimately serving as an even more sobering referendum against capital punishment than the likes of The Green Mile (another depressing masterpiece). Though it does feel a little weird to me to be ranking this in first place on a list of MUSICALS when the musical aspect really does take a backseat, when the musical numbers do hit, they have all the more impact thanks to the muted, documentary-like style of the rest of the film, and Bjrk's soundtrack is truly great just on its own merits. So... yeah, though it's certainly not one I'm gonna watch with any sort of frequency, I have a massive amount of respect and love for this film, and though it's clearly not gonna be for everyone, I honestly consider it one of the best I've ever seen. Favorite Song: New World JONA - The movie does a great job of making Selmas life feel dull and hopeless. The camerawork helps with that too. Its easy to see why she would be into musicals. Its very entertaining seeing how Selma views the world when she is thinking about musicals. I love how the soundtrack still has the dark vibe of the real world but mixed with traditional musical songs. Its stylish but has the substance to back it up and can be quite powerful. Favorite Song: Ive Seen It All Scarlet - You can either call it melodramatic, or you can embrace that the musical genre as a whole is completely melodramatic and, by that respect, undeserving of being taken seriously. And to some extent, it is. But Dancer in the Dark is one intensely real, oftentimes intimate, performance by Bjork. And Bjorks unique mind makes the film something new, if nothing else. Best Song: Ive Seen It All Johnbobb - This is the third Lars Von Trier movie I've seen and every single time they're just absolutely devastating. Obviously Dancer in the Dark is no different, but despite being horrifyingly depressing to the point I don't even want to think about the story, I've also listened through the soundtrack over and over because Bjork just absolutely kills it. For whatever reason, her vocal stylings just work so well with the hopefulfullness in the horribly bleak world the film portrays. It's by FAR the darkest film on this list, in a good way. Favorite song: I've Seen It All Karo - The touching story of an immigrant who is working hard to save up for corrective eye surgery for her cameraman, so he can finally shoot the damn movie steady and in focus. Selma is this innocent and lovable person who only wants to daydream and care for her son, which of course means she gets fucked in the ass by self-serving narcissists and bigots at every turn, until the 'evil bloodthirsty commie' is put to death to appease society. Man, and I thought that I had a low opinion of the human race but writer of this movie is something else. This might be the most powerful and unpleasant story put to film since Grave of the Fireflies, and hard to watch as it is, the movie can be called nothing less than a masterwork of art. There is a strange dream like quality to it and musical numbers that are as odd as they are entertaining. It all works up until you get to the cinematography where the camera gets shoved into everyones neck while a vibrator gets shoved into the camera. Fuck. This is a movie of extreme emotional involvement, it is impossible not to be affected by it unless you are some heartless bastard. Though it stumbles in the visual execution it is worth checking out once... and probably never again. Score: 80/100 Best Song: 'I've Seen It All' Genny - Dancer in the Dark is the epitome of "Thanks, I hate it." It's a beautifully crafted film, and an experience I don't regret, but I never wish to have again. I hate how vulnerable it made me feel, despite not liking the many elements that comprise it. The songs were the antithesis of enjoyable, the characters I assume I was supposed to root for made indefensibly bad decisions, and the ending was needlessly cruel. I want my tears back because I feel like they were undeserved. At least with something like Grave of the Fireflies you know it's coming and just have to piece together when. Inviso - Im sorry, but this movie just made me feel downright uncomfortable. Bjorks Icelandic accent may have been good enough to get her cast in a musical about a foreigner living a shitty, white trash life, but her affect makes her come across a <cite>Vengeful_KBM posted [p:933878202] in ~ The Gaun... [t:78327237]...</cite> <quote>5. Dancer in the Dark KBM: 1 JONA: 2 Scarlet: 2 Johnbobb: 3 Karo: 4 Genny: 33 Inviso: 34 KBM - Why I Chose It: To piss off Inviso. No, no, sorry, in all seriousness, Lars von Trier's grim 2000 musical-melodrama Dancer in the Dark, like most of the director's output, drew extremely polarized responses, both upon release and twenty years later. Response ranged from some critics calling it the best film of 2000, to others such as Peter Bradshaw naming it one of the worst artworks and perhaps one of the worst things in the history of the world. Its style was inspired by von Trier's own Dogme 95 filmmaking rules, which were designed to create a hyper-realistic filmmaking atmosphere by removing the trappings of special effects and post-production modification. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, along with the Best Actress award for Bjrk, and was nominated for the Best Original Song Academy Award for the song I've Seen It All. In recent years, it has also gained notoriety for the extremely fraught relationship between its writer/director and star, with Bjrk and von Trier admitting they truly hated each other on set, and Bjrk accusing von Trier of both emotional abuse and sexual harrassment. My Thoughts: Surprise surprise, Kaelee's favorite movie on a list is the grimmest, bleakest, most depressing thing imaginable. Setting aside the troubling behind-the-scenes stories (which, admittedly, gets harder to do with time), this is one of those masterful films that you can watch once and never need to watch again, because you will truly never forget it. I have a major love-hate relationship with von Trier for instance, I hate Antichrist almost as much as I love Dancer in the Dark but his abilities as a filmmaker are put to perfect use here, anchored by Bjrk giving what I consider one of the greatest screen performances of the 21st century. Is it ridiculously hard to watch? Hell yeah. But it's also just straight-up one of my favorite films, a true example of art through adversity, (both adversity for those making it, and for the audience when viewing it). It sweeps you away on one of the most shatteringly depressing journeys you can possibly take as an audience member, while ultimately serving as an even more sobering referendum against capital punishment than the likes of The Green Mile (another depressing masterpiece). Though it does feel a little weird to me to be ranking this in first place on a list of MUSICALS when the musical aspect really does take a backseat, when the musical numbers do hit, they have all the more impact thanks to the muted, documentary-like style of the rest of the film, and Bjrk's soundtrack is truly great just on its own merits. So... yeah, though it's certainly not one I'm gonna watch with any sort of frequency, I have a massive amount of respect and love for this film, and though it's clearly not gonna be for everyone, I honestly consider it one of the best I've ever seen. Favorite Song: New World JONA - The movie does a great job of making Selmas life feel dull and hopeless. The camerawork helps with that too. Its easy to see why she would be into musicals. Its very entertaining seeing how Selma views the world when she is thinking about musicals. I love how the soundtrack still has the dark vibe of the real world but mixed with traditional musical songs. Its stylish but has the substance to back it up and can be quite powerful. Favorite Song: Ive Seen It All Scarlet - You can either call it melodramatic, or you can embrace that the musical genre as a whole is completely melodramatic and, by that respect, undeserving of being taken seriously. And to some extent, it is. But Dancer in the Dark is one intensely real, oftentimes intimate, performance by Bjork. And Bjorks unique mind makes the film something new, if nothing else. Best Song: Ive Seen It All Johnbobb - This is the third Lars Von Trier movie I've seen and every single time they're just absolutely devastating. Obviously Dancer in the Dark is no different, but despite being horrifyingly depressing to the point I don't even want to think about the story, I've also listened through the soundtrack over and over because Bjork just absolutely kills it. For whatever reason, her vocal stylings just work so well with the hopefulfullness in the horribly bleak world the film portrays. It's by FAR the darkest film on this list, in a good way. Favorite song: I've Seen It All Karo - The touching story of an immigrant who is working hard to save up for corrective eye surgery for her cameraman, so he can finally shoot the damn movie steady and in focus. Selma is this innocent and lovable person who only wants to daydream and care for her son, which of course means she gets fucked in the ass by self-serving narcissists and bigots at every turn, until the 'evil bloodthirsty commie' is put to death to appease society. Man, and I thought that I had a low opinion of the human race but writer of this movie is something else. This might be the most powerful and unpleasant story put to film since Grave of the Fireflies, and hard to watch as it is, the movie can be called nothing less than a masterwork of art. There is a strange dream like quality to it and musical numbers that are as odd as they are entertaining. It all works up until you get to the cinematography where the camera gets shoved into everyones neck while a vibrator gets shoved into the camera. Fuck. This is a movie of extreme emotional involvement, it is impossible not to be affected by it unless you are some heartless bastard. Though it stumbles in the visual execution it is worth checking out once... and probably never again. Score: 80/100 Best Song: 'I've Seen It All' Genny - Dancer in the Dark is the epitome of "Thanks, I hate it." It's a beautifully crafted film, and an experience I don't regret, but I never wish to have again. I hate how vulnerable it made me feel, despite not liking the many elements that comprise it. The songs were the antithesis of enjoyable, the characters I assume I was supposed to root for made indefensibly bad decisions, and the ending was needlessly cruel. I want my tears back because I feel like they were undeserved. At least with something like Grave of the Fireflies you know it's coming and just have to piece together when. Inviso - Im sorry, but this movie just made me feel downright uncomfortable. Bjorks Icelandic accent may have been good enough to get her cast in a musical about a foreigner living a shitty, white trash life, but her affect makes her come across a</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
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