Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches. He is known for his female-centric parables and his exploration of controversial subject matter. Von Trier began making his own films at the age of 11 after receiving a Super-8 camera as a gift, and his first publicly released film was an experimental short called The Orchid Gardener, in 1977. His first feature film came seven years later, The Element of Crime, in 1984. As of 2010, he has directed a further 10 feature films, 5 short films and 4 television productions. He has been married twice and is currently married to Bente Frøge. Von Trier suffers periodically from depression, as well as various fears and phobias, including an intense fear of flying. As he himself once put it, "Basically, I'm afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking".
| Known for | Directing |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 Apr 1956 |
| Place of birth | Kongens Lyngby, Denmark |
Favorite films
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I like both of those films [Liliana Cavani’s The Night Porter and Pasolini’s Salo] very much.
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One of my biggest idols is Andrei Tarkovsky. He inspired me very early in my career. I was at film school and I didn’t know of him at the time. I saw a clip on TV from his film The Mirror that is supposed to be about his childhood, a very complicated story. … It was captivating. I was thinking: “What’s going on here?”. It was the small details that got my attention, but if you love the medium of film, it was mesmerising. It was a fantastic movie, unpredictable, in all ways. I don’t know if it was the colors, if you make a tracking shot that has no purpose in itself. It wasn’t just a shot that went from beginning to end. It was not the purpose of the camera move to get closer, it was a journey through the forest. I’m sure there was some slow-motion, he uses that a lot in the film. I was totally mesmerised for days. After seeing it 20–30 times, I still don’t understand it, any more than the first time I saw it. I was shocking I have to say.
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There are a few films that have stuck in my mind … I've only seen In Search of the Castaways once, but those images from it are etched on my memory.
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I love The Night Porter. I gave Liliana Cavani a lot of lilies once when I met her in Paris.
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… for Antichrist I did look at some Japanese horror films, like The Ring, Dark Waters.
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… for Antichrist I did look at some Japanese horror films, like The Ring, Dark Waters.
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“Lars von Trier's favorite film is Leth's The Perfect Human.”
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It’s a great film.
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Known for
