30 must see danish movies.
by davidegede_744 | created - 07 Feb 2011 | updated - 09 Feb 2011 | Publicyou really gotta concentrate on making these lists, the obvious dangers of forgetting the one movie that should've been in slot no. 5. The list contains movies that I have seen, not all have been included, and I have reversed the no. so now it's a countdown!! Enjoy.
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1. Pusher (1996)
Not Rated | 110 min | Crime, Thriller
A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Kim Bodnia, Zlatko Buric, Laura Drasbæk, Slavko Labovic
Votes: 44,578 | Gross: $0.00M
no.30: this is the best work of director Nicholas Winding Refn, not a huge fan of his,, but this one is quite good!!
2. R (2010)
Unrated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
The R of the title stands for the young protagonist, Rune, fearlessly played by Pilou Asbæk. Imprisoned for violent assault, he's a cocky, good-looking young man placed in the hardcore ward... See full summary »
Directors: Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer | Stars: Pilou Asbæk, Dulfi Al-Jabouri, Roland Møller, Jacob Gredsted
Votes: 5,308
no.29: Behave yourself! or you might end up with these guys!!
3. Et rigtigt menneske (2001)
95 min | Drama
A 7-year-old girl's (Line Kruse) imaginary friend (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) comes to life, but adults misunderstand his kindness toward children.
Director: Åke Sandgren | Stars: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Peter Mygind, Susan Olsen, Troels II Munk
Votes: 1,007
no.28: For a dogme it's a pretty nifty production,,
4. The Trouble with Terkel (2004)
Not Rated | 77 min | Animation, Comedy, Musical
Terkel is an average teenager whose life takes a turn for the worse when a girl who had a crush on him kills herself and an unknown maniac starts stalking him.
Directors: Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen, Thorbjørn Christoffersen, Stefan Fjeldmark | Stars: Anders Matthesen, Kim Mattheson, Bill Bailey, Ben Bishop
Votes: 11,846 | Gross: $0.01M
no.27: hahaha, no country would ev er even consider making such a movie for kids'!! that is utter impossibility, humor is a good thing!!
5. The King Is Alive (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama
When a bus breaks down in the desert, the passengers decide to stage "King Lear."
Director: Kristian Levring | Stars: Miles Anderson, Romane Bohringer, David Bradley, David Calder
Votes: 2,005 | Gross: $0.10M
no.26: this is a great drama, not entierly danish and yet it is, much of the production team is danish!!
6. Vil du se min smukke navle? (1978)
103 min | Drama
Amidst a bunch of kids from a 9th grade class from Denmark which goes on a school trip to Sweden having a lot of experiences , the story surrounds Claus and Lene, which meet the first real feelings of love.
Director: Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Stars: Helle Borup, Jesper Christensen, Benny Dahl, Lise Lotte Henriksen
Votes: 418
no.25: coming of teenage love thing, everyone in denmark thru the years this movie has existed has seen this movie!! Everyone!!
7. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
R | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
An Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare
Votes: 116,865 | Gross: $4.18M
no.24: the spectacle and the tragedy. Not for everyone!!
8. Dogville (2003)
R | 178 min | Crime, Drama
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Harriet Andersson
Votes: 158,757 | Gross: $1.53M
no.23: Von Trier in a box!!
9. Breaking the Waves (1996)
R | 159 min | Drama
Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr
Votes: 71,606 | Gross: $4.04M
no.22: the drama is gigantic!!
10. Dear Wendy (2005)
Not Rated | 105 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A young boy in a nameless, timeless American town establishes a gang of youthful misfits united in their love of guns and their code of honor.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Jamie Bell, Alison Pill, Chris Owen, Bill Pullman
Votes: 10,476 | Gross: $0.02M
no.21: The cast is forign, but the rest is danish!!
11. Angels in Fast Motion (2005)
Not Rated | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The intense, realistic and unflinching tale of Maria, Allan and Steso, who are struggling for survival in urban life, about drugs.
Director: Ole Christian Madsen | Stars: Signe Egholm Olsen, Claus Riis Østergaard, Thure Lindhardt, Farshad Kholghi
Votes: 2,858
no.20: The danish equivalent to movies like "Requiem for a Dream" and "Trainspotting".
12. Bænken (2000)
93 min | Drama
Kaj is an alcoholic living on the money the Danish state is providing him. Him and his friends spend their time drinking beer at a public bench. One day Kaj's life turns upside down when a young lady and her child moves in next to him.
Director: Per Fly | Stars: Jesper Christensen, Marius Sonne Janischefska, Stine Holm Joensen, Nicolaj Kopernikus
Votes: 4,431
no.19: very strong movie!!
13. Fukssvansen (2001)
90 min | Comedy
2 slow brothers rent a house next to their landlord in the Danish countryside. A young woman stays for Christmas. A creditor living there makes some spiked candy, resulting in chaotic Xmas days for all.
Director: Niels Arden Oplev | Stars: Martin Buch, Anders W. Berthelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Tommy Kenter
Votes: 1,269
no.18: Absurd and quite funny!!
14. Italian for Beginners (2000)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives.
Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Anders W. Berthelsen, Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, Anette Støvelbæk, Peter Gantzler
Votes: 13,858 | Gross: $4.45M
no.17: Romantic stuff, but it's great romantic stuff!!
15. The Island on Bird Street (1997)
PG-13 | 107 min | Biography, Drama, War
During World War II a Jewish boy is left on his own for months in a ruined house in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he must learn all the tricks of survival under constantly life-threatening conditions.
Director: Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Stars: Patrick Bergin, Jordan Kiziuk, Jack Warden, James Bolam
Votes: 1,900
no.16: such a touching tale!! not completely danish but still a movie you should check out!!
16. The Idiots (1998)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama
The group of people gather at the house in Copenhagen suburb to break all the limitations and to bring out the "inner idiot" in themselves.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Bodil Jørgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing, Troels Lyby
Votes: 33,984 | Gross: $0.01M
no.15: I really enjoy this movie!!
17. Zappa (1983)
Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In the early '60s, 3 Danish classmates join a "den"/tree house. Steen likes his pet fish Zappa because it eats the weaker fish. Bjørn attracts girls and Mulle is a talkative, strong boy. Steen gets them into burglary and later escalates.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Adam Tønsberg, Peter Reichhardt, Morten Hoff, Lone Lindorff
Votes: 2,980
no.14: the bully of our childhood!!
18. Facing the Truth (2002)
98 min | Drama
A portrait of a famous Danish brain surgeon, Richard Malmros. The son of the surgeon, Danish filmmaker Nils Malmros, tells the story of his father.
Director: Nils Malmros | Stars: Søren Sejersen, Heine Petersen, Jens Albinus, Anne Voigt Christiansen
Votes: 798
no.13: Niels Malmros doing what he does best!!
19. Epidemic (1987)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Horror
A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Allan De Waal, Ole Ernst, Michael Gelting, Colin Gilder
Votes: 6,111
no.12: this is not for everyone! but still there is a quality and a vision that should not be left unseen!!
20. Mifune (1999)
R | 98 min | Romance, Comedy, Drama
Kresten's dad dies and he returns to the farm on Lolland to take care of things, including his developmentaly-challenged brother. He employs a hooker as maid. He loses his wife and job due to lies. The maid's kid brother moves in and they're a family of 4.
Director: Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Stars: Iben Hjejle, Anders W. Berthelsen, Jesper Asholt, Emil Tarding
Votes: 8,052 | Gross: $0.59M
no.11: this movie is a joy from start to finish!!
21. The Green Butchers (2003)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Two Danish friends are tired of their employer and open their own butcher shop. An electrician accidentally dies in the freezer and he's sold as marinated chicken and business picks up. What happens when they run out of "chicken"?
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Line Kruse, Ole Thestrup
Votes: 24,690 | Gross: $0.00M
no.10: the danish version of "Delicatessen" by Jean Pierre Jeunet!!,, some how!?
22. Ordet (1955)
Not Rated | 126 min | Drama
Follows the lives of the Borgen family, as they deal with inner conflict, as well as religious conflict with each other, and the rest of the town.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, Preben Lerdorff Rye, Hanne Aagesen
Votes: 17,420
no.9: Strikingly good story,, and who knows,, who knows??
23. Adam's Apples (2005)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A neo-Nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devoted minister.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro, Paprika Steen
Votes: 54,664 | Gross: $0.00M
no.8: Another movie from the hand of Anders Thomas Jensen, the danish answer to Alfred Hitchcock!
24. Flickering Lights (2000)
Not Rated | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A gang of 4 Danish criminals are ordered by Færingen to steal a bag from a safe. When they see DKK4,000,000 in the bag, they keep it for themselves and head for Spain. They end up in a ruin of an old restaurant on Jutland and renovate it.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen | Stars: Søren Pilmark, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Votes: 24,220
no.7: very much hollywoody comedy, yet as danish as you get!!
25. Hunger (1966)
Not Rated | 112 min | Biography, Drama
In 1890, Pontus, the starving writer, wanders the streets of Christiania, in search of love and a chance to get his work published. All he meets is defeat and suffering while his sense of ... See full summary »
Director: Henning Carlsen | Stars: Per Oscarsson, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitte Federspiel, Knud Rex
Votes: 3,371
no.6: this is not quite danish, it's a nordic collaboration, but Henning Carlsen the director is danish. no rule without an exeption.
26. The Biggest Heroes (1996)
90 min | Comedy, Drama
The bank robbers Karsten and Peter are on the run in Sweden. With them is one of their teenage daughter.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Thomas Bo Larsen, Ulrich Thomsen, Mia Maria Back, Bjarne Henriksen
Votes: 1,330
no.5: A great Roadmovie, one of the best,, really!!
27. Pelle the Conqueror (1987)
PG-13 | 157 min | Drama
When his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Erik Paaske, Björn Granath
Votes: 11,872 | Gross: $2.05M
no.4: An Epic!!
28. Valhalla (1986)
89 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Through Loki's treachery, two children in the Viking age find themselves spirited away into the world of Norse Mythology.
Directors: Peter Madsen, Jeffrey J. Varab | Stars: Dick Kaysø, Preben Kristensen, Laura Bro, Marie Ingerslev
Votes: 2,539
no.3: a movie that makes disney an equal !!
29. The Celebration (1998)
R | 105 min | Drama
At Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen
Votes: 93,937 | Gross: $1.65M
no.2: Fantastic cast!!
30. Nightwatch (1994)
R | 107 min | Thriller
A law student starts working as a night watchman at The Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen. His mad friend gets him on a game of dare that escalates. As a serial-killer's victims start piling up at work, he becomes a suspect.
Director: Ole Bornedal | Stars: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sofie Gråbøl, Kim Bodnia, Lotte Andersen
Votes: 17,888
no.1: horrifyingly good. Bornedals best!!
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