Lars von Trier’s psychological horror tale Antichristwas one of the most-talked about films of 2009. Extremely graphic in detail and psychologically unsettling, the film garnered an enormous amount of controversy upon its initial release, splitting critics and audiences in half like few films of recent memory. Charlotte etc. - a long and very informative conversation with Charlotte Gainsbourg. The actress discusses her role, Lars von Trier's film and the controversy surrounding it. In French, with optional English subtitles. (44 min, 1080i). The film ends with a monumental closing scene every bit as enigmatic as the rest of the picture in the style of previous artistic vignettes. This epilogue bookends the film with Handel's Lascia ch'io pianga, its haunting lament a fitting accompaniment to the sombre conclusion. Lars von Trier’s 2009 film, Antichrist, makes its debut on home video in the U.S. through Criterion, presenting the film in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this dual-layer Blu-ray disc. The transfer is presented in 1080p/24hz. The film was originally shown at 25fps and other Blu-ray releases from other regions presented the film in 1080i/50hz. The Criterion edition is the only version I know of to present the film at 24fps. I didn’t notice any issues with this conversion.

Raising Hell: Featurette with Director/Co-Writer Alberto De Martino and Composer Ennio Morricone (480p; 10:20) From the accompanying booklet: "The film was shot in 4K resolution with the RED One Digital Camera; in addition, the Phantom HD Camera was used for the high-speed sequences. The entire production was completed in a fully digital workflow. Post-production and color timing were done using Assimilate's SCRATCH and Nucoda's Film Master systems. The final color-corrected DPX files were output to Rec. 709 high-definition color space for Blu-ray release." Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.There are some intriguing tidbits of the film that might have been floating around in that second half, especially when the story’s original focus is on family secrets and generational trauma. All of the men in the family seem to have known about the witch in their past, and they’ve intentionally kept this from Ippolita. Dr. Sinibaldi unceremoniously exits before the finale, seeming to have nothing to do after awakening Ippolita’s link to her past. Ascanio, though a bishop, fails to exorcise the demon from Ippolita (because he is her uncle?), and the task must be taken up by two people who are not members of the family. The Making of 'Antichrist' Again, this is broken down into little segments (these segments have unprecedented access, having been overseen by von Trier's production company). "Behind the Test Film" (HD, 6:32) is a fascinating short film where von Trier tried out various visual elements of the film to see if it would work. This is a must-watch; totally captivating. And on to the next! "Visual style" (HD, 15:31) takes a look at the stylistic flourishes the film employs, which is about as far away from von Trier's regimented Dogme 95 aesthetic, which compelled filmmakers to use handheld cameras, available light, etc. 'Antichrist' is all about the melding of fantasy and reality, and this section of the documentary brings up all the artifice: the various cameras, the visual effects, animals, etc. "Sound Design" (HD, 12:59) shows how the sound designers/composers walked the fine line between sound design and score, using all natural elements to create the various sounds in the movie. "Eden – Production Design" (HD, 5:12) isn't the most interesting bit in this section of the disc, but it does offer a hilarious detail – that the cabin they had built had to be left alone because some sort of rare, indigenous bird had chosen to nest near it. Hearing one of the world's great directors get irate about a bird is pretty hysterical. "Make Up Effects & Props" (HD, 8:13) is a piece about the various make up challenges and props that the practical effects guys had to cook up. I admit it, I turned it off about the time the discussion turned to "the prosthetic clitoris." I can only handle so much. Next, there's "Three Beggars" (HD, 8:05), about the film's animal actors, which was kind of fun. And lastly, "Evil of Women" (HD, 7:42) fascinatingly breaks down the kind of research that went into Charlotte Gainsbourg's character's thesis. Great stuff.

De Martino and writers Gianfranco Clerici and Vincenzo Mannino certainly took copious amounts of notes from The Exorcist for their blasphemous offering, but The Antichrist has a number of divergences that make it stand out. Of particular note is the film’s alarming opening sequence, which finds Ippolita and her father (Mel Ferrer) attending a ceremony at a creepy Catholic statue where multiple afflicted and possessed people prostrate themselves, ultimately resulting in a man plummeting to his death from a cliffside. The Antichrist makes use of a number of these disturbing sequences that invert normal Catholic practices, taking inspiration from The Exorcist but in new and intriguing ways. Visual Style is the longest segment, running over 15-minutes. In this von Trier and crew explain the many visual styles in the film and how they were achieved, with heavy concentration on the slow-motion sequences found throughout, all of which were shot at 1000fps. A lot of these were done in studio primarily because the intense lighting was too much for generators. The test film is mentioned again, but then we get to see CGI breakdowns for a number of shots in the film, including the actual “falling acorn” scene, along with the fox sequence. One of the more fascinating segments on the disc.Commentary - this is the same audio commentary with Professor Murray Smith from University of Kent in the United Kingdom and director Lars von Trier that appears on the French Blu-ray release of Antichrist. Generally speaking, this is a very informative, well conducted, and perhaps also a bit controversial conversation that deconstructs the story of Antichrist, its unorthodox message, etc. The commentary was recorded in Copenhagen in 2009. In English, not subtitled. Cannes 2009 This is another section of special features, broken down into smaller bits, that all center around the film's thunderous unveiling at last summer's Cannes Film Festival in France. "Chaos Reigns at the Cannes Film Festival" (HD, 7:22) was something that I thought was going to be both more outrageous and also more insightful than the piece that we've ended up with here. Instead, you see the director and the cast being shuttled around to different interviews and junkets. The highlight of the brief documentary is when the irate British journalist asks von Trier to defend his decision to make the movie, to which von Trier rebuffs him and then proclaims himself to be the greatest living filmmaker in the world (he isn't). Also included is "Charlotte Gainsbourg at Cannes" (HD, 6:18) and "Willem Dafoe at Cannes" (HD, 8:05), two standard interviews about the reaction to 'Antichrist' at Cannes and their experiences at the festival.

Interview with Williem Dafoe - Willem Dafoe talks about his work with Lars von Trier, the challenges the script for Antichrist presented to him, his interaction with Charlotte Gainsbourg, some of the explicit scenes from the film, etc. In English, with optional English subtitles. (9 min). Antichrist is divided into four chapters – Grief, Pain (Chaos Reigns), Despair (Gynocide), and The Three Beggars - each focusing on the complex process of coming to terms and eventually overcoming the loss of a loved one. The film also has a short prologue and epilogue; the former chronicles the tragedy, the latter summarizes the consequences of it.Blazing Magnum (1976) is an Italian crime action film, that is often compared to Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. It stars Stuart Whitman, John Saxon, Martin Landau and Tisa Farrow. Next there are interviews with the two characters. Charlotte Gainsbourg (6.18) is articulate in a mousy kind of a way, discussing how Trier made her feel comfortable with physically demanding and explicit scenes. Willem Dafoe (8.04) is a true gentleman, humbly expressing his delight in how he got the role and peppers the interview in admiration for Trier as a director and a writer, yet sympathetic to his mental trials of the time. The Make-Up Effects and Probs of Antichrist - a look at the special effects. In English, with optional Italian subtitles. (9 min). Since the sound design of 'Antichrist' is more impressionistic than anything, you can't really judge the mix on the regular list of sound mix pros and cons, although dialogue does always sound crisp, clear, and well prioritized, and when music does take over (like in the provocative opening sequence), it sounds truly great; overall, a wonderful mix.