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Before the back-to-basics approach of the Dogma 95 manifesto, director Lars Von Trier was enamored by the tricks of filmmaking. His first feature, The Element of Crime, is an amber-soaked visual feast. With its distinctive color scheme, previous transfers of the film have been a muddy mess, making for a less than satisfying home-viewing experience. With this release from The Criterion Collection, the images have been restored splendidly. The film is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is 16 x 9 enhanced. The soundtrack is in its original mono, so some of the dialogue competes with the rain-soaked sets, but much of that problem can be abated by enabling the English subtitles. The disc also features color bars, a theatrical trailer, and a documentary on the filmmaker. Entitled "Transformer: A Portrait of Lars Von Trier, it is a candid examination of his career consisting of numerous on-camera interviews with Von Trier and those who have worked on his films, as well as on-set footage of his breakthrough film Breaking the Waves. Though short on supplemental features, the print quality makes this disc another flawless presentation from Criterion.
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The Element of Crime (1984)
104 min
Fisher, an ex-detective, decides to take one final case when a mysterious serial killer claims the lives of several young girls. Fisher, unable to find the culprit, turns to Osbourne, a writer who was once respected for his contributions to the field of criminology. Fisher begins to use Osbourne's technique, which involves empathizing with serial killers; however, as the detective becomes increasingly engrossed in this method, things take a disturbing turn.