Santa Monica Press
2003
In 1995, an irreverent group of Danish film directors gave birth to a new aesthetic known as Dogme 95. Launched by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg the movement preached a back-to-basics style of filmmaking at odds with mainstream trends. Adherents pledged their wry allegiance to a Vow of Chastity prohibiting the use of props, sets and tripods, special lighting and effects. Their films - raw and powerful, swathed in gritty atmosphere - have inspired a generation of filmmakers to do more with less.
Jack Stevenson, an American writer living in Denmark has authored a definitive guide to Dogme 95. In addition to cataloguing all Dogme films to date, "Dogme Uncut" sheds light on the origins of the movement by exploring in detail the personalities and institutions essential to its growth. Lars von Trier, The Danish Film School, The Danish Film Institute and Zentropa all receive their due in a book that casts a probing eye on their ambitions and pursuits.
2003
In 1995, an irreverent group of Danish film directors gave birth to a new aesthetic known as Dogme 95. Launched by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg the movement preached a back-to-basics style of filmmaking at odds with mainstream trends. Adherents pledged their wry allegiance to a Vow of Chastity prohibiting the use of props, sets and tripods, special lighting and effects. Their films - raw and powerful, swathed in gritty atmosphere - have inspired a generation of filmmakers to do more with less.
Jack Stevenson, an American writer living in Denmark has authored a definitive guide to Dogme 95. In addition to cataloguing all Dogme films to date, "Dogme Uncut" sheds light on the origins of the movement by exploring in detail the personalities and institutions essential to its growth. Lars von Trier, The Danish Film School, The Danish Film Institute and Zentropa all receive their due in a book that casts a probing eye on their ambitions and pursuits.
Stevenson's chapters on the Danish and foreign Dogme films are a delight. Even casual film buffs will find something of interest in his trivia packed stories about the making of The Celebration, Italian for Beginners and Julien Donkey-Boy. Also of interest are the book's appendices, which include plot synopses, various manifestoes and a press release heralding the closure of the Dogme Secretariat. The rest of the book, with its historical references and gossipy theories reads like a text and is best left to film students and geeks to dissect.
Those of us who've perceived Dogme 95 as a strictly low-budget revolution have missed out on the passion and yearning at its heart. "Dogme Uncut" sets us straight thanks to Stevenson's ability to translate this uniquely Danish phenomenon for American audiences. Film geeks rejoice! This book is for you!
Those of us who've perceived Dogme 95 as a strictly low-budget revolution have missed out on the passion and yearning at its heart. "Dogme Uncut" sets us straight thanks to Stevenson's ability to translate this uniquely Danish phenomenon for American audiences. Film geeks rejoice! This book is for you!
