Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39741 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: Danish, Swedish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 278 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Kingdom has been described as "ER meets Twin Peaks", and seldom can the standard and the surreal have met in more perfect accord. The hospital that conceals dark secrets is the premise for this riveting "soap"--seen on Danish TV in 1994--in which science and civilisation are eroded by superstition and instinct. Lars von Trier is not a director who aims to please, and the claustrophobic visuals he draws from handheld cameras and natural lighting anticipate the stripped-down film work of his Dogme 95 movement. Yet there's nothing cerebral about the goings-on here, thanks to the rich variety of characters who people the labyrinthine corridors and functional wards. The Minister's visit and the Haiti jaunt are slapstick humour worthy of the best Python sketches, and Trier is never afraid to mix the prosaic with the profound. There are wonderfully observed performances from Ernst Hugo Jaregard as chequered Swedish surgeon Stig Helmer, and Kirsten Rolffes as common-sense psychic Sigrid Drusse. These are only the first five episodes: having seen them, you'll be awaiting the remainder with impatience. This is persuasive, provocative filmmaking.

On the DVD: The Kingdom on disc has audio and visual reproduction that is authentically Trier, with English subtitles and 10 access points per episode. Each part is viewable separately or in sequence, though make sure you don't lose some of the director's amusingly offbeat postscripts. The first disc also features Tranceformer, a frank insight into the mind and movies of Lars von Trier with extracts from his features between 1984 and 95. --Richard Whitehouse

Customer Reviews

Wonderful
Very little I can say about this without appearing to be a one-man Lars von Trier marketing team.
I saw this purely by accident quite a while ago, and was completely bowled over by the experience. It has just about everything that you could want - hauntings, unexpected pregnancy, several unscrupulous doctors (one of them being prepared to go to extreme lengths to get his hands on a dying patient's liver), racial intolerance, and above all else, the feeling that there is something else going on that you just can't quite put your finger on. To top it all off, the only person who seems to understand what is really happening, is the guy who washes the dishes in the canteen.

I think that it's fair to say that this is not for everyone. However, if you enjoy the style of David Lynch, or indeed the other creations of Lars von Trier, then you'll get more out of this than most.

Watch this and you'll be thinking about it for weeks afterwards.

Brilliant, but where's the sequel?
Humour, horror, satire; a masterpiece. I absolutely love the way von Trier contrasts the relationship between the swede Dr. Helmer and his Danish colleagues. I think you poor English-speakers miss out on a lot of the subtle humour ;-) I rate it five stars, despite a few minor drawbacks:

- The English subtitle is not optional. As a scandinavian, I understand Danish and Swedish quite well, and would prefer not being disturbed by the subtitles.

- In the original TV series, von Trier appeared during the final credits of each episode. In this edition, episodes 1-2 and 3-4-5 are presented together, so three of von Triers speeches are missing.

- The sequel is not available on DVD yet. Once you've watched this one, you'll desperately want to watch The Kingdom II (1997).

- And lastly, as two of the main actors passed away after The Kingdom II, nobody knows if the story will ever be concluded, in The Kingdom III.

Better than Twin Peaks and X Files together
Do believe the hype...this is von Trier at his best. You will be completely and utterly hooked after watching this, so the main reason I wanted to write this review is to inform all those desperate people out there that the sequel is available on DVD...just have a look on USA or Hong Kong auction websites and you will almost certainly find it. Happy hunting, and hopefully one day the director will complete this trilogy. I for one can't wait.