Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical innovation.
Bodil Ipsen was a Danish actress and film director, and is considered one of the great stars of Danish cinematic history. Her acting career, which began in theater and silent films, was marked by leading roles in large folk comedies and melodramas. However, it was as a director that she was most influential: directing the first Danish film noir and making several dark psychological thrillers during the 1940s and 1950s. Ipsen's name along with that of Bodil Kjer is given to Denmark's most celebrated film prize, the Bodil Award.
Bodil Kjer was a Danish actress whose talent and charisma earned her status as a Primadonna and the title of first lady of Danish theater. Kjer's leading roles reflect the span of Denmark's modern cinema: such as the artistic maturity of the war-torn 1940s in Jenny and the Soldier, the light-hearted romance of the 1950s and 1960s in Mød mig på Cassiopeia, the action drama of the 1970s in Strømer, and the modern epic tale in Babette's Feast (1987). Denmark's highest film prize, the Bodil Awards, were named in honor of Kjer and Bodil Ipsen. Kjer twice received her namesake award for Best Actress and once for Best Supporting Actress (1977). In 1997, she accepted an honorary Bodil for lifetime achievement.
Anne Louise Hassing is a Danish actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Pain of Love (1992) and The Idiots (1998).
The Viking Watch of the Danish Seaman is a 1948 Danish war drama directed by Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr. The film, known alternatively as Perilous Expedition or its literal title translation Steady stands the Danish sailor, written by Grete Frische based upon the wartime diary of Kaj Frische, tells the true story of Danish sailors who sailed with the Allied forces during the German occupation of Denmark in World War II. It stars Poul Reichhardt and Lisbeth Movin. The film received the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film in 1949.
Lau Lauritzen Jr., was a Danish actor, screenwriter, and film director. As a director, he was a 4-time recipient of the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. Lauritzen co-founded the Danish film studio ASA Film and served as the studio's artistic director (1937–1945) and administrative director (1945–1964).
The Melody of Murder,, is a 1944 Danish film noir directed by Bodil Ipsen and starring Gull-Maj Norin and Poul Reichhardt.
Gull-Maj Norin was a Danish actress of stage and film who performed in Denmark and Sweden during the 1930s and 1940s. She is best known for her leading role as the suspected serial murderer in the 1944 film noir thriller Melody of Murder.
Beauty and the Beast is a 1983 Danish drama film written and directed by Nils Malmros. The film stars Line Arlien-Søborg as a sexually active 16-year-old and Jesper Klein as the father who struggles to accept his daughter's relationships with boys as well as his own jealousy. Malmros, who had worked with the young Arlien-Søborg on his coming-of-age drama, Tree of Knowledge, wrote the role of the daughter specifically for her.
Besættelse is a 1944 Danish film noir directed by Bodil Ipsen and starring Johannes Meyer and Berthe Qvistgaard. Based upon a novel by Hans Severinsen, the film is a dark psychological drama about an aging businessman whose erotic obsession with a cynical young woman leads to his eventual downfall.
The Red Meadows is a 1945 Danish war drama directed by Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr. based on resistance fighter Ole Valdemar Juul's 1945 novel of the same name. The film, starring Poul Reichhardt and Lisbeth Movin, is a suspense tale revolving around the memories of a Danish saboteur as he awaits his execution in a German war-time prison. Filmed in Denmark only months after the end of the German occupation during World War II, Red Meadows was a tribute to the Danish resistance fighters. The film received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and is considered a stylistic masterwork.
Emanuel Gregers was a Danish actor, screenwriter and film director. Gregers made 36 films during a career which extended over four decades from the Danish golden age of silent film until 1949. Critics often dismissed his work as dependable yet uninspired, however many of his light-hearted comedies achieved great popularity in Denmark. Gregers most notable films were romantic comedies starring his wives Bodil Ipsen and Marguerite Viby.
Jeanne Darville was a Danish film actress. She appeared in 30 films between 1939 and 1978. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and died in Denmark. She was in the film series "min søsters børn", playing the mother of her real life daughter, Pusle Helmuth.
Come Home with Me is a 1941 Danish drama film directed by Benjamin Christensen. It centers on the character Helene Hannøe, an attorney who forms close relationships with her troubled clients while trying to solve their problems. It was the last of three 'social issue' films that Christensen made for the Nordisk Film Company, along with Children of Divorce and The Child.
The 2nd Bodil Awards ceremony was held on 29 April 1949 at Palace Hotel's night club Ambassadeur in Copenhagen, Denmark, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1938. Ib Schønberg acted as host and Lily Broberg, Poul Reichhardt and Grethe Thordahl performed at the event which was attended by 300 guests.
The 4th Bodil Awards ceremony was held on 30 April 1951 in Copenhagen, Denmark, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1950. The event took place in the World Cinema where Born Yesterday had its Danish premiere as part of the celebrations.
The 5th Bodil Awards ceremony was held in 1952 in Copenhagen, Denmark, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1951. The event had moved from Palace Hotel's night club Ambassadeur to a local cinema where All the King's Men had its Danish premiere as part of the celebrations.
The 50th Bodil Awards ceremony was held in 1997 in Copenhagen, Denmark, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1996. Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves won the award for Best Danish Film and Emily Watson and Katrin Cartlidge won the awards for best leading and supporting actresses. Max von Sydow for his role in Hamsun and Zlatko Buric won the award for best supporting actor for his role in Pusher. Bodil Kjær, one of the two film people named Bodil for whom the statuette is named, the other being Bodil Ipsen, received a Bodil Honorary Award, bringing her total number of Bodil wins up to four.
R is a 2010 Danish prison drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer, and starring Pilou Asbæk. The film was produced by Nordisk Film. The film follows Rune Pedersen, who is serving a prison sentence of two years in Horsens State Prison. Here he is set to do the dirty work of distributing drugs between departments.
The Golden Smile is a 1935 Danish drama film directed by Pál Fejös and starring Bodil Ipsen, Helen von Münchofen and John Price. The film's sets were designed by the art director Heinz Fenchel.
