The Five Obstructions

Lars von Trier enters the world of experimental documentary filmmaking by challenging his idol Jorgen Leth to remake his 1967 masterpiece, The Perfect Human, five times, each time with a different ‘obstruction’. Leth rises to the challenge, from filming in Cuba to the red light district of Bombay to Brussels, as von Trier hurtles one obstruction after the other at him. An innovative director, von Trier is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective. This documentary will be discussed and studied by filmmakers, fans and critics for years to come.
 
 
 
La Dolce Vita

Frederico Fellini’s award-winning masterpiece starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg is restored and remastered. Considered by many to be Fellini’s masterpiece, it signals the split between his earlier neo-realist films and his later art films. This two-disc special edition includes interviews with Fellini, Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, and noted critic and film historian Richard Schickel.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Godard Duo

Jean-Luc Godard was a founding member of the French New Wave and one of the most influential directors of the 20th century. Two of his most overtly political films from the 60s, La Chinoise and Le Gai Savoir, examine the relationship between art and revolution, language and power. La Chinoise focuses on a group of students and engages with the ideas coming out of the student activist groups in pre 1968 France. Le Gai Savoir was rejected by French national television and subsequently banned by the French government for its subversive content.
 
 
The Tree of Wooden Clogs

Italian director Ermanno Olmi’s film is about a little boy who breaks the precious pair of clogs that he needs for his long trek to school. A late example of Italian neorealism, Olmi used local farmers and peasants rather than actors in this tale of social injustice. The recipient of the 1979 Palme d’Or, many consider Tree of Wooden Clogs to be Olmi’s most important film and one of the great classics of international cinema.