To say that filmmaker Lars von Trier is unconventional is an understatement. This is a filmmaker that aims to keep his audience on their toes and isn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers to get a rise out of people. That has led to many people loving him, as well as quite a few folks who despise him and his work. Regardless of your feelings about his film work or his interview prowess, we can all agree that von Trier has always marched to the beat of his own drum.

Continue reading Lars Von Trier Says He Has “A Few Decent Films” Left In Him As He Makes A Social Media Plea For A Girlfriend at The Playlist.

For the first time in twenty-five years, Lars Von Trier returns to Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet and his cult TV series “The Kingdom.” And while “The Kingdom Exodus” may be Von Trier’s final edition of the show, MUBI will give its streaming premiere a prestige rollout.  

READ MORE: ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ Review: Lars Von Trier Is Down With The Sickness In Revived Hospital Comedy Series [Venice]

Starting on November 13, MUBI will release remastered director’s cuts of the previous two seasons of “The Kingdom.” All five episodes of “The Kingdom I” hit the streamer this Sunday, while “The Kingdom II” debuts next Sunday, November 20.

Continue reading New ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ Trailer: The Third & Final Installment Of Lars Von Trier’s Cult Show Hits Mubi On November 27 at The Playlist.

Lars von Trier made a triumphant return to filmmaking at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month with “The Kingdom Exodus” as he battles Parkinson’s disease. Now, MUBI has a date set for the third season of von Trier’s series for its exclusive release on the streamer: November 27, with restored versions of the previous two seasons of the show premiering in the weeks beforehand.

Continue reading ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ Trailer: Lars Von Trier’s Third Season Of His TV Series Hits MUBI On November 27 at The Playlist.

Lurching unnaturally back to life nearly twenty years after Lars von Trier first plumbed the depths of madness contained within Copenhagen’s Rigethospitalet, “The Kingdom: Exodus” has returned, now swarming with ghosts. The five new episodes serve as a continuation of the auteur’s ‘90s-era surreal gallows comedy while looking inward, making conversation with its own past as well as the sinister penumbra of history itself. Aside from the malevolent spirits converging on the hospital due to its location atop the former site of hellacious “bleaching ponds,” characters from the original run reappear in altered forms as if through a perverse form of reincarnation.

Continue reading ‘The Kingdom: Exodus’ Review: Lars Von Trier Is Down With The Sickness In Revived Hospital Comedy Series [Venice] at The Playlist.

Lars von Trier returned to the Venice Film Festival on Thursday with the third and final season of his “The Kingdom” series, “The Kingdom Exodus.” And the show’s premiere was an overwhelming success, with the crowd reportedly cheering every time von Trier’s name was mentioned or came on screen. But von Trier also brought some sad news to the Lido this year: his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, which the director found out four months ago.

Continue reading Lars Von Trier On Parkinson’s Diagnosis: “I Just Have To Get Used To That I Shake And Not Be Shameful In Front Of People” at The Playlist.

Though he’s often branded as a provocateur, with some of his more brash, problematic comments, there’s no denying that Lars von Trier is one of the most unique voices in modern film. So, no matter what your thoughts are on his filmography, it’s sad to learn the filmmaker is now battling Parkinson’s disease. 

READ MORE: ‘The Kingdom Exodus’: MUBI Acquires Lars Von Trier’s Third And Final Season Of His TV Show Ahead Of Its Venice 2022 Premiere

According to Variety, Lars von Trier has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and will be limiting how much publicity he’s doing regarding the release of his upcoming series, “The Kingdom Exodus.” The new series is expected to arrive on MUBI later this year and is actually the third season of his series that he has been working on for decades.

Continue reading Lars Von Trier Diagnosed With Parkinson’s Disease at The Playlist.

Late last month, Lars Von Trier fans got their first peek at the third and final season of his TV series “The Kingdom Exodus.” It’s Von Trier’s first project since 2018’s divisive serial killer film “The House That Jack Built,” and the first season of “The Kingdom” since 1997. And now, after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, it will stream exclusively on the global streamer MUBI.

Continue reading ‘The Kingdom Exodus’: MUBI Acquires Lars Von Trier’s Third And Final Season Of His TV Show Ahead Of Its Venice 2022 Premiere at The Playlist.

Almost 30 years after its first release, Lars Von Trier returns to his cult series “The Kingdom” for its third and final installment. And now audiences get their first look at “The Kingdom Exodus,” out from Von Trier and TrustNordick later this year.

READ MORE: ‘The Kingdom’: Lar Von Trier Returns To His Cult ‘90s Series With Third Season

The new clip doesn’t give away much, but it shows series protagonist Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) sleepwalking into the Kingdom’s main gate.

Continue reading ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ First Look Clip: Lars Von Trier’s Cult Series Returns For Its Third & Final Installment at The Playlist.

If you thought revivals of ’80s and ’90s properties only applied to big-budget Hollywood productions, think again. Almost like he was taking a cue from “Twin Peaks: The Return,” Lars von Trier will be returning to an earlier period in his career and make a third and final season to his hospital drama “The Kingdom.”

READ MORE: Lars von Trier’s Anti-Semitic Joke Caused ‘Melancholia’ To Lose The Palme D’Or In 2011 To ‘The Tree of Life’

Since he shocked Cannes audiences with his serial killer drama “The House That Jack Built” in 2018, the director had not announced a new project, until now.

Continue reading ‘The Kingdom’: Lars Von Trier Returns To His Cult ’90s Series With Third Season at The Playlist.

When Terrence Malick won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2011 with “The Tree of Life,” it was one of the few times award juries actually recognized one of the best movies of the year. The runner-up? One of 2011’s best movies, Lars von Trier‘s visceral exploration of depression in “Melancholia.” Turns out that von Trier’s film was actually the jury’s favorite, until the Danish director gave a press conference with an anti-Semitic joke that made him lose the award.

Continue reading Olivier Assayas Says Lars Von Trier’s Anti-Semitic Joke Caused ‘Melancholia’ To Lose The Palme D’Or In 2011 To ‘The Tree of Life’ at The Playlist.

Sure, the Democratic Presidential Primary candidates have been featured in quite a few televised debates, hundreds of speeches, and numerous TV interviews. They’ve talked about healthcare reform, immigration, civil rights, and the economy, among various other topics. Now, the field has seemingly dwindled down to just Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. And no, we’re not here to tell you who to vote for, but if you’re wondering which candidate watches better films, maybe Sanders might win your vote.

Continue reading Bernie Sanders Reportedly Enjoys Watching Martin Scorsese & Lars Von Trier Films On The Campaign Trail at The Playlist.

Even at 73-years-old, filmmaker John Waters still has the same interests and sensibilities that made him one of the most controversial directors of all time. The man who gave audiences “Pink Flamingos,” “Cry Baby,” and “Hairspray” is known for pushing the limits of taste and delivering some of the most provocative imagery you’ll find in a film that isn’t labeled as “adult entertainment.” So, you better believe that Waters’ favorite filmmakers today are the ones out there doing things that no one else does.

Continue reading John Waters Says Lars Von Trier Has “One Of The Best Senses Of Humor” & Names Gaspar Noé’s ‘Climax’ His Favorite Film Of The Last Year at The Playlist.

As a film fan, you probably wouldn’t immediately lump filmmakers Ari Aster and Lars von Trier together. While we don’t have the huge filmography to judge Aster on yet (his second film, “Midsommar,” will be released in a couple of weeks), von Trier is a director that has polarized cinephiles and seemingly created his own genre in the process. Needless to say, there aren’t many apt comparisons to be made between von Trier and other filmmakers working today.

Continue reading Ari Aster Is A Big Fan Of Lars Von Trier & Says He “Inadvertently Tried To Make My ‘Dogville” With ‘Midsommar’ at The Playlist.

Once you begin watching a Gaspar Noé film, it’s completely obvious that the filmmaker is not interested in making four-quadrant, appeal-to-the-masses fare. His work is often challenging, and pulls no punches when it comes to depictions of violence and sexuality. And he keeps that streak going with his latest work, “Climax,” which earned great reviews coming out of Cannes (much to the filmmaker’s surprise) and is now beginning its US theatrical run.

Continue reading Gaspar Noé Talks Violence, Porn, & Why He “Likes Laughing About Cruel Things” at The Playlist.

Lars von Trier has put his cinematic scamming on hold and turned to fleecing the art world instead. After the failure of last year’s “The House That Jack Built,” the controversial director has mined one of his most praised films, 2011’s “Melancholia,” for use in a different medium. Here, he’s not using digital video or film like one would expect (if you can expect anything from him at this point); instead he’s working in diamonds, two of them fused into a giant beast of a stone, along with virtual reality.

Continue reading WTF? Lars Von Trier Turned His ‘Melancholia’ Movie Into A Diamond Project at The Playlist.

2018 superlatives are almost done, though again, you’ll have to excuse some of us who are late and get our assignments done in the New Year. Indiewire, as you may have seen in the list of Edgar Wright and Guillermo del Toro’s Best Films of 2018 Top 10 lists, has amassed an impressive list of 52 filmmakers putting together their picks of the best movies of 2018, which we covered yesterday.

Continue reading 2018 Top 10 Filmmaker Hot Takes: Love For ‘Venom,’ ‘Solo’ & ‘The House That Jack Built’ at The Playlist.

Welcome back to The Playlist Podcast, the show in which we review films, discuss relevant pop culture items, or really anything that we think is worth considering. While this week’s discussion may not be a fun topic, there is a lot of unpacking and great debate.

READ MORE: ‘The House That Jack Built’: Lars Von Trier’s Film Is A Sad, Self-Loathing Cry For Help From A Failed Artist

This week saw the “One Night Only” release of the Director’s Cut of Lars von Trier‘s latest, polarizing work, “The House That Jack Built.” IFC Films decided to go the “Road Show” route with the Director’s Cut, with an R-rated cut to follow suit for limited release and VOD in mid-December (though the decision to release this cut of the film landed them in hot water with the MPAA).

Continue reading Lars von Trier Is Self-Deprecating With ‘The House That Jack Built’ But Do We Care? [Podcast] at The Playlist.

Danish director Lars von Trier’s scabrous and controversial “The House That Jack Built” screened this week in scattered cities around the country—IFC Films touting a one-night-only screening of the director’s cut version of the film, which in and of itself could be its own controversy once fans who rushed to pay for tickets realize von Trier’s cut is all of reportedly 80 seconds longer (representatives for IFC Films would not comment).

Continue reading ‘The House That Jack Built’: Lars Von Trier’s Film Is A Sad, Self-Loathing Cry For Help From A Failed Artist at The Playlist.

Every step of the release of Lars von Trier’s “The House That Jack Built” has been met with some sort of controversy. The film debuted at this year’s Cannes to decidedly mixed reviews (to be generous), with some critics walking out of the screening. Then von Trier did what he does and conducted a series of interviews that got people talking yet again. After that, there was the release of the marketing materials for the film, which included disturbing posters and a robocall that angered journalists.

Continue reading IFC Films Violated MPAA Rules Due To Recent Special Screenings Of Lars von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’ at The Playlist.

You know whenever a new Lars von Trier film is released, there’s going to be controversy. It just comes with the territory, especially when you have a filmmaker that not only doesn’t care about any negative publicity, but seems to encourage it. We’ve said it several times before, but von Trier is a bit of a troll. No, not in the typical uneducated gross way that seems to be prevalent on social media.

Continue reading IFC Films Robocalls Journos With Creepy Message To Promote Lars Von Trier’s ‘House That Jack Built’ at The Playlist.

Without a doubt, the most controversial film to come out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival was Lars von Trier’s “The House That Jack Built.” The film, which simultaneously experienced multiple walkouts, bad reviews, and a standing ovation, is seen as one of von Trier’s most challenging films to date. And if you’re familiar with the director’s previous works, that’s saying something.

READ MORE: Lars Von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’ Is Repulsive, Toxic Trash [Cannes Review]

Now, over six months after the film’s premiere, ‘Jack’ is finally hitting theaters, albeit not the way you might expect.

Continue reading ‘The House That Jack Built’ Trailer: Lars Von Trier’s Latest Film Gets ‘Director’s Cut’ & ‘R-Rated Cut’ Special Release at The Playlist.

We’ve said it a million times before, but Lars von Trier is a troll. That isn’t to say he’s not a talented filmmaker. Your love (or hate) of his films is definitely justified. However, the director seems to react to controversy in a way where you can imagine he’s secretly laughing behind the scenes. In response to the terrible reviews and walkouts that happened during the Cannes premiere of his upcoming film “The House That Jack Built,” von Trier commented that it made him “very relaxed” and “the reception was just about right.” And in the new character posters for the same film, von Trier seems to laugh at the outrage that has been thrown his way by presenting some graphic depictions of his main characters.

Continue reading New, Graphic ‘The House That Jack Built’ Posters Are Examples Of Lars von Trier’s Trolling At Its Finest at The Playlist.

“The absence of color can be a stronger factor than the presence of color.” – Robby Müller

A master of light has passed. In a career that spanned four decades, and over 50 films, Dutch cinematographer Robby Müller barely made a bad film. And more often than not, the celebrated director of photography was involved in crafting the visuals of a stone-cold classic of modern cinema. Today, Dutch publication De Volkskrant reported that the renowned filmmaker passed away in Amsterdam.

Continue reading R.I.P., Cinematographer Robby Müller, 1940-2018 at The Playlist.

“Hereditary” director Ari Aster recently sat down with Film Comment’s Michael Koresky for a pretty wide-ranging discussion on his newest, and first, feature, which has already become on the best-reviewed films of the year. Of particular note in the conversation is Aster’s own filmic influences and what’s immediately clear is that Aster has an encyclopedic knowledge of film, telling an interesting anecdote, “My mom likes to tell me that she was in labor with ‘Fanny and Alexander‘ playing.

Continue reading ‘Hereditary’ Director Talks Influences And Says ‘Dogville’ Is The “Best Movie Of The Last Twenty Years” at The Playlist.

It’s hard to have a lot of sympathy for the man, but Danish director Lars Von Trier‘s had a rough go of things over the last few years. While Cannes organizers reportedly battle behind the scenes whether to include his latest film, the psychological horror-thriller “The House That Jack Built,” into the festival – he faced a lifetime ban in 2011 for trolling comments about Nazis—the filmmaker seems to still be in recovery.

Continue reading Lars Von Trier’s Next Project Is ‘Études;’ A 10 Short Films Project at The Playlist.