Bent Christensen

Directing

Bent Christensen

Born 1929-05-28 · Gunderup v/ Aalborg

Bent Christensen (28 May 1929 – 6 January 1992) was a Danish film director, actor, film producer and screenwriter. His film Harry and the Butler (1961) was named Best Film at the Bodil Awards and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His 1966 film Neighbours was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival.

Acting credits

The Five Obstructions poster
6.9

In 1967, experimental filmmaker Jorgen Leth created a striking short film, The Perfect Human, starring a man and women sitting in a box while a narrator poses questions about their relationship and humanity. Years later, Danish director Lars von Trier made a deal with Leth to remake his film five times, each under a different set of circumstances and with von Trier's strictly prescribed rules. As Leth completes each challenge, von Trier creates increasingly further elaborate stipulations.

The Five Obstructions

2003

Be Dear to Me poster
7.2

The Danish Ingen tid til Kaertegn (Be Dear to Me) is heavily reliant on the appeal of its star, 8-year-old Eva Cohn. Our heroine is the neglected child of a businessman father and actress mother. Feeling that happiness lies well outside her own backyard, Eva goes on a search for that happiness. The longer she stays away, the more her parents realize that they've unfairly ignored her. The plot is nothing new: it's what is done with it that pleases the eye and ear. Ingen tid til Kaertegn was one of the more popular entries in the 1957 Berlin Film Festival.

Be Dear to Me

1957

Z.P.G. poster
6.1

In the not too distant future, an overpopulated Earth government makes it illegal to have children for a generation. One couple, unsatisfied with their substitute robot baby, breaks the rules.

Z.P.G.

1972

Kongeligt besøg poster
8.0

In the year 1646, Denmark is at peace. Only recently have the last occupying troops left Jutland, leaving behind the sad traces of iron heels. The administration has partially collapsed, the kingdom is short of money, and what money there is is unevenly distributed. This is the unusual and sad background to this unpretentious account.

Kongeligt besøg

1954

No artwork available
6.5

No synopsis available yet.

Thomas er fredløs

Med kærlig hilsen poster
5.5

A spicy comedy in episode form. We follow a young couple's problems with eroticism at different times and in different environments. The episodes: On Vesterbrogade. In Tivoli. At a castle in 1740. Around a balloon in 1820. On the train in 1890. At the bathhouse in 1900. At a hotel in 1910. In an apartment in 1925. At a tavern in 1932.

Med kærlig hilsen

1971

The Ghost Train poster
7.1

A motley crew must spend the night at a small, remote railway station. Strange occurrences and old stories about a ghost train that is supposed to pass through the station do not exactly contribute to a cozy atmosphere. However, the haunting turns out to be a ruse covering up smuggling activities, and one of the travelers turns out to be a detective on the trail of the smugglers. Based on the 1923 play The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley.

The Ghost Train

1976

6-Day Race poster
8.0

Semi documentary on a famous cycle race in Copenhagen. The story is about the competition between the riders as well as about their private and marital struggles.

6-Day Race

1958

Vi som går køkkenvejen poster
10.0

The beautiful and spoiled manufacturer's daughter Helga defiantly bets with her friends whether she can survive a whole year as a working housekeeper without financial help.

Vi som går køkkenvejen

1953

I morgen, min elskede poster
6.0

About five young people and their complicated love affairs. Isabel, the diplomat's daughter, is training to be an actress, Marca is a ballet dancer, Michael is a theater director, and David has just completed his military service. However, it is Gerd, in particular, whose fate will have an impact on the group. She has fled from East Germany but returns when she feels isolated. Michael and David follow her, but an attempt to bring her back to the West costs her her life.

I morgen, min elskede

1971

South of Tana River poster
8.0

A plane lands one day at Nairobi Airport in Kenya, and among the passengers is a young Danish girl, Eva Axelson, who immediately takes a carriage to the famous Hotel Norfolk. Her arrival causes no stir, but an advertisement she placed in the East African Standard three or four days earlier does—an advertisement in which she asks for information about her father, Carl Gustav Axelson, who was last seen in Kenya, and asks him or anyone who knows him to contact her at the Norfolk Hotel.

South of Tana River

1963

Mig og min familie poster
6.0

What would you do if you found 20,000 Danish kroner? Just like that? In a woman's purse? And what if no one was looking for it? In other words, if you had the chance to pocket 20,000 Danish kroner, tax-free? Wouldn't you be tempted? The main character in this film is tempted. He is a taxi driver and has a happy family life, but he is struggling financially.

Mig og min familie

1957

People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart poster
5.1

A dancer and a Danish student meet on a train; she is going on tour to Rio, and he decides to follow her. Based on the novel by Jens August Schade.

People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart

1967

Sin Alley poster
4.9

A fresh faced country boy comes to Copenhagen looking for a job and falls in with a group of hoodlums who use him as bait to lure older gay men they can rob and blackmail.

Sin Alley

1957

Manden der ville være skyldig poster
4.5

In a future surveillance and treatment society where imaginative literature is censored, author Adam Gregor lives an unhappy life. During an argument with his wife, who is prone to conformity, he pushes her over the staircase landing and now believes he has killed her. However, society does not operate with the concept of guilt, and Adam cannot be convicted of murder, but is released after psychiatric treatment. He tries to get in touch with his young son, but encounters a friendly but determined power structure. At the same time, he is monitored by the authorities, who hope he will contact his oppositionist publisher.

Manden der ville være skyldig

1990

Der kom en dag poster
6.7

This film is based on a true story, depicted in the novel of the same name, "Der kom en dag" (The Day Came), written by Flemming B. Muus. Quote: On April 9, 1940, we surrendered, under protest, to an army that broke all treaties, attacked our borders, occupied our country, and seized all executive power. But soon, the will to resist was born. Groups of people came together in a common desire to help win the war and liberate our country.

Der kom en dag

1955

Jan går til filmen poster
8.0

Fourteen-year-old Jan and his companion Erling appear as extras in a film being filmed at Nordisk Film's studios in Valby. A mysterious burglary at the studio's fine mechanics workshop gives the two healthy boys the opportunity to act as detectives.

Jan går til filmen

1954

Hjerter er trumf poster
6.7

Drama about a man in his thirties who experiences an identity crisis after receiving a heart transplant. He seeks out the donor's widow without explaining the situation and begins a relationship with her.

Hjerter er trumf

1976

Behind the camera

Millionær for en aften poster
8.0

Shipping broker Landheim tries to save a failing theater, but falls in love. Is the broker a journalist, and the actress a prima donna? Who knows?

Millionær for en aften

1960

Hovedjægerne poster
7.3

A group of young people want to change society, so they cut off the head of a statue of Christian IV. The head is hidden in the archives of Director Lund, where Anna has just been hired. Anna teaches Director Lund to be young and liberated. Lund goes along with it but is ultimately betrayed by the group.

Hovedjægerne

1971

Hovedjægerne poster
7.3

A group of young people want to change society, so they cut off the head of a statue of Christian IV. The head is hidden in the archives of Director Lund, where Anna has just been hired. Anna teaches Director Lund to be young and liberated. Lund goes along with it but is ultimately betrayed by the group.

Hovedjægerne

1971

Hovedjægerne poster
7.3

A group of young people want to change society, so they cut off the head of a statue of Christian IV. The head is hidden in the archives of Director Lund, where Anna has just been hired. Anna teaches Director Lund to be young and liberated. Lund goes along with it but is ultimately betrayed by the group.

Hovedjægerne

1971

The Red Mantle poster
5.9

Seeking revenge against the rival clan responsible for the killing of his father, Hagbard calms down long enough to establish a truce. During a peaceful interlude, he falls in love with Signe, the daughter of the king of the rival clan. However, Hildegisl, who desires Signe's hand in marriage, disovers the young lover's plans to wed and sets out to bring about the end of Hagbard.

The Red Mantle

1967

Busybody poster
7.4

In a large office building, a mysterious murder is committed, after which the body disappears. Lily Hansen, the building's helpful and talkative cleaning lady, is driving the detective investigating the case crazy with her interference. Of course, the mystery can only be solved with her help.

Busybody

1969

Busybody poster
7.4

In a large office building, a mysterious murder is committed, after which the body disappears. Lily Hansen, the building's helpful and talkative cleaning lady, is driving the detective investigating the case crazy with her interference. Of course, the mystery can only be solved with her help.

Busybody

1969

Harry and the Butler poster
6.9

A gentle comedy offering the promise of easy social consensus. Harry (Helmuth) is a simple old-time shop porter offered a chance at self-realisation when he's bequeathed a sum by an unknown relative (via several levels of fiscal blood suckers). He decides to engage a butler to take good care of him for a time. This is a man of distinguished upper class service, but a generous nature which happily integrates with Harry's small but colourful world of drinking buddies and crackpot neighbourhood kids.

Harry and the Butler

1961

Don Olsen kommer til byen poster
6.8

Bank director L.W. Jacobsen resides in a small provincial town. He is not particularly interested in his wife, Elsebeth, but rather in teacher and city council member Miss Mortensen. Thorsen, the town's manufacturer, is a member of the same city council group as Jacobsen. Then Don Olsen comes to town. Olsen is not interested in the upper class, but rather in people. By chance, Thorsen and Olsen meet and soon become drinking buddies. Thorsen drags the milkman's horse home to his apartment in the middle of the night. The scandal is a reality. Thorsen wants to flee, but with Olsen's help, he instead woos the townspeople and Miss Mortensen under the motto "Make good times better."

Don Olsen kommer til byen

1964

Assassination poster
6.3

Following a nuclear power debate in Parliament, a shot rings out. Was the Minister of Energy the gunman's target? And who was the would-be assassin? Police and Secret Service come under pressure to solve the case quickly. In this clearly political thriller, implications of power abuse and trampling of citizens' right are rife, but one calm police inspector brings everything down to earth.

Assassination

1980

Min bedstefar er en stok poster
9.5

The main character is a little boy, whose sick grandfather lives in the attic. Every time the grandfather wants something, he hits his stick in the floor, which makes the boy believe his grandfather is a stick. The film deals with misunderstandings between adults and children, since children can perceive things differently than adults.

Min bedstefar er en stok

1968

Neighbors poster
6.3

Taking place on a small villa road: The two neighbors Gormsen and Sandelund have been at a dispute for years and this evolves into an all out war. Sandelund is a wholesale dealer in meet, a capitalist and has one of this modem houses with a flat roof. Gormsen is a dentist, and a communist, he has a new wife that are younger then his son, and lives in one of these old-fashioned half-timbered houses. A third factor is the merchant Krause. To begin with he is a small time grocer and progresses into the end, a big time businessman. He is a deeply religious man, a good Christian, and member of the parochial church council. There children, (teenagers) find their conflict silly and stupid.

Neighbors

1966

Neighbors poster
6.3

Taking place on a small villa road: The two neighbors Gormsen and Sandelund have been at a dispute for years and this evolves into an all out war. Sandelund is a wholesale dealer in meet, a capitalist and has one of this modem houses with a flat roof. Gormsen is a dentist, and a communist, he has a new wife that are younger then his son, and lives in one of these old-fashioned half-timbered houses. A third factor is the merchant Krause. To begin with he is a small time grocer and progresses into the end, a big time businessman. He is a deeply religious man, a good Christian, and member of the parochial church council. There children, (teenagers) find their conflict silly and stupid.

Neighbors

1966

The Only Way poster
6.3

In April 1940, the armies of Nazi Germany invaded Denmark. The Danish government promised peaceful cooperation on the condition that Denmark's Jews remained free. The Nazis agreed. In October 1943, the agreement was broken... This is the true and magnificent saga of Denmark's valorous actions to save Danish Jews from Nazi extermination at peril of death!

The Only Way

1970

No artwork available
6.5

No synopsis available yet.

Thomas er fredløs

No artwork available
7.0

After twelve years in the US, Kirsten returns home to her father with her American husband and their eleven-year-old son. Her father is a tough and cold businessman with whom she has never been on good terms. The couple soon separate, and Kirsten meets a former friend. Her father dies just as he is beginning to develop a good relationship with his grandson.

Days in My Father's House

1968

The Goldcabbage Family Gets the Vote poster
5.2

The final film in the Gyldenkål trilogy. Following a financial downturn, Charles Gyldenkål decides to run for municipal office. After an unconventional election campaign, he is elected to the city council and becomes the deciding vote in the mayoral election.

The Goldcabbage Family Gets the Vote

1977

The Ghost Train poster
7.1

A motley crew must spend the night at a small, remote railway station. Strange occurrences and old stories about a ghost train that is supposed to pass through the station do not exactly contribute to a cozy atmosphere. However, the haunting turns out to be a ruse covering up smuggling activities, and one of the travelers turns out to be a detective on the trail of the smugglers. Based on the 1923 play The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley.

The Ghost Train

1976

The Ghost Train poster
7.1

A motley crew must spend the night at a small, remote railway station. Strange occurrences and old stories about a ghost train that is supposed to pass through the station do not exactly contribute to a cozy atmosphere. However, the haunting turns out to be a ruse covering up smuggling activities, and one of the travelers turns out to be a detective on the trail of the smugglers. Based on the 1923 play The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley.

The Ghost Train

1976

Kærlighedens melodi poster
6.2

Nina and Frederik were the big names in international showbiz in the 1950s with their rousing calypso rhythms. That's why "Kærlighedens Melodi" (The Melody of Love) was bound to be a hit when the young, beautiful couple teamed up with the legendary, wonderful "Satchmo," Louis Armstrong, from the world of jazz. Musical interests vary widely in the affluent neighborhood of Hellerup. At the Schmidt wine merchant's, son Peter has only one interest: jazz. At the Supreme Court lawyer's house next door, Mozart is on the program. But his daughters like both jazz and Peter! Even though their fathers are suing each other, the two young people still find each other. And Louis helps when he plays "The Formula for Love."

Kærlighedens melodi

1959

South of Tana River poster
8.0

A plane lands one day at Nairobi Airport in Kenya, and among the passengers is a young Danish girl, Eva Axelson, who immediately takes a carriage to the famous Hotel Norfolk. Her arrival causes no stir, but an advertisement she placed in the East African Standard three or four days earlier does—an advertisement in which she asks for information about her father, Carl Gustav Axelson, who was last seen in Kenya, and asks him or anyone who knows him to contact her at the Norfolk Hotel.

South of Tana River

1963

Weekend poster
4.7

A group of better-off thirty-somethings meet for a weekend in Knud and Beth's home. The host couple is prone to bickering regularly. The married couples (Jan and Ilse, and Kjeld and Tove) that are visiting understand and try to stay out of the way. Bachelor Lars, however, comes into his own and is a constant source of provocative comments.

Weekend

1962

Sømænd og svigermødre poster
6.5

Peter arrives in Helsingør to marry Bitten. He is accompanied by Kanusti, who is to be his best man. However, upon arrival, his mother-in-law's dislike of Peter is immediately apparent. When Peter later finds out that Bitten wants them to live three houses away from her mother, Peter does not show up for the wedding. However, thanks to Kanusti's intervention, Bitten and Peter are reunited.

Sømænd og svigermødre

1962

Pigen i Søgelyset poster
7.0

A beauty contest, in which the young Jonna, who works as a sales assistant in a dress shop, participates almost by chance, results in her being suddenly swept into the world of film and show business, because a film producer in attendance finds her type interesting and wants to try to launch her as a new name.

Pigen i Søgelyset

1959