听 "Dancer in the Dark" may have split critical and audience opinion, but there can be no argument over the quality of this excellent DVD release of the film.
Director Lars von Trier represents Selma's reality by desaturating the picture, which lends the flesh tones slight sepia colour. It's a beautiful effect, and is flawlessly captured on disc. When Selma bounds into her imaginary world of musicals, the screen fills with intense colours that look radiant and clear on a superb transfer to DVD.
The sound mirrors the imagery by reverting to a flat stereo during the drudgery, and then blasting into life when a musical routine starts. For those moments, a glorious 5.1 mix takes control of the speakers to inventive effect.
The disc offers a few extra features including some behind-the-scenes footage and a special chapter section for accessing the song and dance routines. Lars von Trier provides a ten-minute interview in which he discusses the musicals aspect of the film, and to an extent, how he feels it works. There's little doubt though that the transfer of his film to DVD is a superb effort.
Chapters: 32
Region: 2
Ratio: 2.35:1 (Anarmorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extra Features: Scene selection, interview with director Lars von Trier, behind-the-scenes featurette, Cannes 2000 clip, 'Selma's songs' chapter access, trailer, animated menus, English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
