Lars Von Trier | The Kingdom Trilogy (UHD & Blu-ray)
Lars von Trier's dark and absurdist Riget trilogy (in English: The Kingdom) now gets its first release on 4K UHD under film distributor Imprint. Here, all three seasons are collected in a limited edition 7-disc box set.
The entire series is also simultaneously released as a 7-disc Blu-ray slipcase box set.
In Denmark, the series is known as Riget, and from the start, viewers were drawn into its surreal blend of horror and comedy. Von Trier himself has highlighted David Lynch's Twin Peaks as an important source of inspiration. Søren Pilmark, Ghita Nørby, Birgitte Raaberg, Peter Mygind and Udo Kier appear in all three seasons, while a large ensemble fills the corridors of Rigshospitalet. In addition, the series features guest appearances from, among others, Stellan Skarsgård, Alexander Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe and Lars von Trier himself.
Across the series' thirteen episodes, the twisted plotlines intertwine: spirits haunt the hospital corridors, employees are driven by lust, and neurotic and corrupt doctors engage in experiments and shady dealings - all commented on by the two dishwashers with Down's syndrome in the basement.
"The Kingdom" (1994) and "The Kingdom II" (1997) were originally shot on Super 16 mm film and processed with a so-called bleach bypass process, which gave the series its characteristic, grainy and almost desaturated look. The original 16 mm negatives have since been rescanned in 3K and upscaled to 4K by von Trier's production company Zentropa. Here, they are presented for the first time ever on 4K UHD, with authoring and encoding performed by Fidelity In Motion.
In 2022, von Trier returned to the universe of Rigshospitalet with "The Kingdom: Exodus," which premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival and concluded the narrative almost 30 years after the series' original debut.
Technical details and bonus material:
• 2160p ultra-high-definition SDR presentation on 4K UHD (1080p for the Blu-ray edition)
• Scene-specific audio commentaries with co-writer and co-director Lars von Trier, co-writer Niels Vørsel, and co-editor Molly Stensgaard
• NEW From the Bleaching Ponds - video essay by Michael Brooke
• Behind the scenes
• In Lars von Trier’s Kingdom - featurette
• The Shiver - bloopers
• The Shiver - music video
• Audio: Original Danish DTS-HD 5.1 Surround + LPCM 2.0 Dual Mono
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Optional English subtitles
• NEW The Häxan Kingdom: Danish Spiritualism and Occultism in Film - written essay by Chris Haskell (exclusive to the 4K UHD Limited Edition release)