Lars Von Trier

Danish director Lars Von Trier has revealed he is undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol addiction and is now sober. Speaking to the newspaper Politiken, von Trier says he now attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings daily, but worries about the effect his new fund sobriety may have on his filmmaking career.

Lars von Trier says he is now clean of alcohol and drugs

The 58 year old director revealed to the newspaper that almost all his films had been written under the influence, explaining that he felt drinking a bottle of vodka daily helped him enter a “parallel world” necessary for creation. However he now fears that coming off both alcohol and drugs might mean he could only produce “shitty films”.

Continue reading: Lars Von Trier Is Now Sober But Fears His Filmmaking Career Could Be Over

Lars Von Trier’s latest film Nymphomaniac has been getting everyone hot under the collar since before any actual filming even began. Written and directed by the controversial von Trier, who is renowned for his avant-garde approach to filmmaking, the film stars Stellan Skarsgard, Stacy Martin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Shia LeBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe...how’s that for a star-studded cast?

Shia LaBeouf plays one of Joe's lovers in Nymphomaniac

There may be loads of mainstream actors on board, but the concept behind Nymphomaniac is anything but commercial. Charting the sexual history of Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, the plot sees her recount her erotic experiences to Seligman, a bachelor who took her in after finding her having been beaten up in an alley. Divided into two separate films, or “volumes”, and eight chapters, the first volume of Nymphomaniac tells the story of Joe when she was young (played by Stacy Martin) while volume two is concerned with the older Joe.

Continue reading: The Mythological Production Of Lars Von Trier's 'Nymphomaniac'

Lar Von Trier’s controversial film (that’s almost become a mandatory sentence hasn’t it?) ‘Nymphomaniac Vol 1’ hits America tonight (March 21) on a limited basis. But considering the movie has been available on-demand since March 7 in the U.S. through distributor Magnolia Pictures, will anyone go and see it at the cinema?

Lars Von Trier could have done with this kind of thing at Cannes

We’re talking about those moments you watch a sex scene with your parents. It’s awkward enough at home let alone in the cinema, and while – of course – no kids will be attending the multiplex to check out the steamy number, watching explicit sex scenes in public isn’t the most comfortable way to spend a Friday evening. Especially when the option to watch it at home is very much available.

Continue reading: 'Nymphomaniac' Hits U.S Screens Tonight - But Will Everyone Watch It At Home?

The controversial, and highly racy, upcoming Lars Von Trier film 'Nymphomaniac: Volume 1' has been the center of a great deal of media attention for the past couple of years, and in a matter of weeks eager cinemagoers will be able to find out why there was such an uproar.

Director Lars Von Trier in a promotional shot

The movie, which is split into two parts, follows the story of a women named 'Joe' who is saved, after being badly beaten in an alley-way, by a man named 'Seligman', and after taking her to his apartment and tending to 'Joe's' wounds, she then recalls her past life of excessive desires.

Continue reading: Lars Von Trier's 'Nymphomaniacs: Volume 1' Intensely Depicts One Women's Excessive Sexual Desires [Pictures & Trailer]

If Jamie Bell’s account is anything to go by, working with Lars Von Trier is a truly unforgettable experience. The young British actor has recounted the Danish director’s strange directing techniques with The Guardian in an interview, and they involve meeting him, totally naked (Von Trier, not Bell) and smacking Charlotte Gainsbourg with pleasantries skipped.

Jamie Bell, pictured far right, plays 'K' in Nymphomaniac.

"I'd just got to Copenhagen to begin shooting. Thomas was showing me around: 'We built this set here, this is where the production design room is.' Then we had to walk past this outdoor pool and there was Lars with a towel in his hand,” explained bell. “He dropped the towel, he shook my hand – he was stark bollock-naked – and he said, 'Do you want to come for a swim?' And I said, 'I'm all right man, I just got here, I've still got my suitcase, so I'll wait.'"

Continue reading: Jamie Bell Met A Naked Lars Von Trier, Smacked Gainsbourg Without A Hello. Nymphomaniac Anyone?

This weekend sees the limited release of Lars Von Trier’s latest mindbender: Nymphomaniac. Fans of the enigmatic Danish director will relish the chance to see both volumes back to back with this one-day (Saturday Feb 22) release, but if you need convincing to see 4.5 hours of Lars then read on.

Gainsbourg gets up to some raunchy stuff in Nymphomaniac

The film, like many of Von Trier’s, sees Charlotte Gainsbourg take the lead role. She’s a troubled nymphomaniac who provides the film’s plot by recounting her life after Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) finds her beaten in an alley.

It’s split in to two parts – Volume I and II – and both parts are playing tomorrow in London as a double feature. The reviews, however, seem to focus on individual volumes, with the first achieving 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the second, 83%.

“A provocative, engrossing, often hilarious, frequently tough picture. Not for all sensibilities but it's among von Trier's more playful, purely entertaining films, with insight and humour in even the horrors,” wrote Empire’s Kim Newman in his review.

“By the end of four hours the concept "picaresque" has been serially used and abused, much like the film's heroine. There's a vision here, even so, that shapes the film's prolix, promiscuous ends,” said Nigel Andrews in The Financial Times.

“For the most part Nymphomaniac is compelling and achieves exactly what von Trier set out to do: a multi-faceted exploration of sexuality, in all its bizarre, twisted glory,” writes James Mottram for The List.

And here, at Contact Music, Rich Cline awarded Nymphomaniac (both volumes as one film) 4/5, writing: “For the most part Nymphomaniac is compelling and achieves exactly what von Trier set out to do: a multi-faceted exploration of sexuality, in all its bizarre, twisted glory.”

If one thing’s for sure, it’s that Lars Von Trier will take you out of your comfort zone with Nymphomaniac, and it’s something you should experience in its enterity. So what are you waiting for, pick up the phone and start dialing! Oh wait, that’s a different film.

We've been writing about Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac for a couple of years now, reporting on the explicit sex scenes, the madness, the whole circus. Through it all we've been bracing ourselves for a movie that we know is basically a massive practical joke on us, though now it's here, it seems Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 could be one of the cinematic highlights of 2014.

It stars Charlotte Gainsbourg as Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who is discovered badly beaten in an alley by an older bachelor (Stellan Skarsgard) who takes her home. As he sees to her wounds, Joe recounts the erotic story of her adolescence and young-adulthood, told in flashbacks.

Continue reading: With 96%, Lars Von Trier's 'Nymphomaniac' Could Be 2014's Best Movie