Dancer in the Dark poster

Dancer in the Dark

In a world of shadows, she found the light of life.

7.8(2,094)20002h 20m14

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her young son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life becomes increasingly difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

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Status
Released
Budget
$12.5M
Box office
$40.1M
Language
English
  • factory worker
  • individual
  • immigrant
  • blindness and impaired vision
  • dancing
  • eye operation
  • small town
  • naivety
  • hereditary disease
  • robbery
  • court
  • musical

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Music

Björk

Produced in

Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden

Where to watch

All options

Availability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.

Gallery

Still from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the DarkStill from Dancer in the Dark

Videos

Release dates

  • United StatesUS

    • PremiereNew York Film Festival22 Sept 2000
    • PremiereLos Angeles, California26 Sept 2000
    • TheatricalR6 Oct 2000
    • PhysicalRDVD20 Mar 2001
  • United KingdomGB

    • PremiereEdinburgh International Film Festival13 Aug 2000
    • Theatrical1515 Sept 2000
    • PhysicalCurzon 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray Release9 Jun 2025
  • United Arab EmiratesAE

    • PhysicalDVD Premiere6 Apr 2020
  • AustraliaAU

    • TheatricalMA 15+28 Dec 2000
    • Physical28 May 2001
  • CanadaCA

    • Theatrical14A6 Oct 2000
  • ArgentinaAR

    • Premiere17 Feb 2001
    • Theatrical8 Mar 2001
  • AustriaAT

    • Theatrical26 Oct 2000
  • BelgiumBE

    • Theatrical11 Oct 2000
  • BrazilBR

    • PremiereRio de Janeiro International Film Festival12 Oct 2000
    • Theatrical1220 Oct 2000
  • CzechiaCZ

    • PremiereKarlovy Vary International Film Festival10 Jul 2000
    • Theatrical12+9 Nov 2000
    • Theatrical24 Nov 2022
  • DenmarkDK

    • Theatrical151 Sept 2000
  • EgyptEG

    • PremiereEuropean Film Festival15 Sept 2004

Frequently asked questions

Dancer in the Dark was released on 1 September 2000.

Audience reviews

3
  • F

    FrontrunnerParis

    12/31/2020

    10/10

    Dazzling Björk in this indictment against the death sentence, in tight close-ups. This film is a UFO, musical without being.

  • B

    badelf

    10/31/2025

    6/10

    I have tremendous respect for Lars von Trier's work, and I deeply admire his courage in attempting to fuse drama with musical theater. "Dancer in the Dark" is nothing if not audacious. Unfortunately, ambition alone doesn't make a successful film, and this one fails both as a drama and as a musical. As drama, the film stumbles on two fundamental levels. First, the handheld, shaky camera movement is completely unnec…

  • C

    CinemaSerf

    12/4/2025

    7/10

    You get a clue as to the slightly surreal nature of the drama right from a start that sees Björk and Catherine Deneuve doing their own amateur dramatics rehearsals of “The Sound of Music”! It turns out that the former, “Selma”, is a Czech immigrant to the USA who is suffering from a progressive blindness that she has passed on to her young son. She knows that he still has time to have corrective surgery, but she has …

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