Europa: The Criterion Collection DVD

Studio: Criterion

Nov 01, 2008 Year End 2008 - Best of 2008 By Nick Hyman

With the understandable excitement about Criterion going Blu-ray with new releases Bottle Rocket and Chunking Express, it might be easy to over look the release of Lars von Trier’s masterpiece Europa (or Zentropa as it’s commonly referred to in the United States). This being pre-Dogme 95 Von Trier, the film looks spectacular in its newly restored vivid black-and-white and color transfer. The Kafkaesque postwar European train journey finally getting a beautiful DVD release is reason enough to celebrate, but Criterion goes all out on this 2-disc set. Commentary from Von Trier, several documentaries on the making of the film, interviews with the crew, and much more are a great reason to revisit the director during his creative rise. Here’s hoping we get his Breaking the Waves on Criterion soon as well. (www.criterion.com)