One of the most famous and talented families working in the industry today is that of the Swedish-born Skarsgårds — including Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård, his brother and horror movie star Bill Skarsgård, and their father, Stellan Skarsgård. In addition to his long and storied career, the acclaimed patriarch of this Hollywood dynasty has also become the first in his family to become a part of the Star Wars universe as a member of the Andor cast on Disney+. 

In honor of this stellar achievement, we have compiled a showcase of our choices for the best Stellan Skarsgård movies and TV shows, with where you can find them on streaming below — and his aforementioned new Star Wars TV show is where we shall start.

Andor (2022-Present)

A young loner (Diego Luna) discovers that he can put his rebellious characteristics to good use by joining a secret, slowly developing war against the oppressive governmental system ruling over a galaxy far, far away.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård TV shows: The actor plays Luthen Rael, who recruits Luna’s title character into the Resistance, on Andor — a thrilling, critically acclaimed series prequel to the events of the film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, from 2016.

Stream Andor on Disney+.

His Pirates Of The Caribbean Movies (2006-2007)

After Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has helped break the curse upon his old ship, he enlists the help of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) to break a curse upon himself and, later, engage in battle for the future of piracy itself.

Why they are some of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: For one of his earliest collaborations with Disney, he joined the cast of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies — which many might agree are some of the best pirate movies ever made — as Will Turner’s cursed father, “Bootstrap” Bill Turner, in the second installment (subtitled Dead Man’s Chest) and would also reprise the role in the third film, At World’s End.

Stream the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on Disney+.

Rent/buy Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest digitally on Amazon.
Buy Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rent/buy Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End digitally on Amazon.
Buy Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End on Blu-ray on Amazon.

His Marvel Movies (2011-2022)

The lives of an esteemed theoretical physicist (Skarsgård) and his colleagues (Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings) are changed forever when they become acquainted with a young man (Chris Hemsworth) who claims to be a celestial being banished from his otherworldly home to Earth and may be the planet’s only hope against an impending attack if he can reclaim his powers.

Why they are some of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: Years later, he would join another franchise owned by Disney by appearing in one of the earliest installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, Thor, as Dr. Erik Selvig — whom he would reprise again in 2012’s The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World the following year, Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, and Thor: Love and Thunder for a brief cameo in 2022.

Stream the Marvel Movies on Disney+.

Rent/buy the Thor movies digitally on Amazon.
Rent/buy The Avengers digitally on Amazon.
Rent/buy Avengers: Age of Ultron digitally on Amazon.

Rent/buy Thor: Love and Thunder digitally on Amazon.
Buy Thor: Love and Thunder on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Cinderella (2015)

Following a chance meeting with a charming prince (Richard Madden), a kindhearted young woman (Lily James) unjustly treated by her stepmother (Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett) and stepsisters, is given the opportunity to find true love and escape her unfair life by attending a royal ball, with help from her fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter).

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: The talent also stepped into the world of one of Disney’s most iconic and beloved animated classics by starring as the Grand Duke in director Kenneth Branagh’s genuinely enchanting live-action reimagining of Cinderella in 2015.

Rent/buy Cinderella digitally on Amazon.
Buy Cinderella on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon. 

The Mamma Mia! Movies (2008-2018)

On the eve of her wedding day, a young woman (Amanda Seyfried) invites three men (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård) who could be her real father and, years later, learns more about the earlier years of her late mother (Meryl Streep) as she prepares for the reopening of the hotel she once ran. 

Why they are some of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: Another time Skarsgård appeared in one of Lily James’ movies was when he reprised his role as Bill Anderson (and played his twin brother, Kurt) in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again — the sequel to the 2008 cinematic adaptation of the hit stage musical featuring songs by legendary disco group, Abba.

Stream Mamma Mia! on Starz.
Rent/buy Mamma Mia! digitally on Amazon.

Rent/buy Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again digitally on Amazon.
Buy the Mamma Mia! movies on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

The Hunt For Red October (1990)

During the height of the Cold War, a CIA analyst (Alec Baldwin) tries to prove that a Soviet Union submarine captain (Academy Award winner Sean Connery) is planning to defect.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: One of his first major English-language film roles was Russian Captain Viktor Tupolev in director John McTiernan’s adaptation of Tom Clancy’s novel, The Hunt for Red October — the first of the Jack Ryan movies and the only to star Baldwin as the iconic action hero character.

Stream The Hunt For Red October on Netflix.
Rent/buy The Hunt For Red October digitally on Amazon.
Buy The Hunt For Red October on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Eager to exploit the extraordinary mathematical talents of a young, aimless custodian (Matt Damon), an M.I.T. professor (Skarsgård) forces him to seek inspiration from a disillusioned therapist (Robin Williams, in an Oscar-winning performance).

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: Inciting the plot of director Gus Van Sant’s inspirational coming-of-age story, Good Will Hunting — which earned Damon and Ben Affleck Oscars for Best Original Screenplay — is Skarsgard’s character, Prof. Lambeau, and his discovery of the reluctant title character’s genius.

Stream Good Will Hunting on HBO Max.
Rent/buy Good Will Hunting digitally on Amazon.
Buy Good Will Hunting on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

Amistad (1997)

Following a violent revolt on a Spanish slave ship, a group of American abolitionist lawyers work to prove that the African men aboard were captured illegally and, therefore, deserve to be set free.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: Also in 1997, director Steven Spielberg cast him in Amistad — another powerful, Oscar-nominated drama — as New York-based abolitionist Lewis Tappan.

Stream Amistad on Paramount+.
Rent/buy Amistad digitally on Amazon.
Buy Amistad on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

Chernobyl (2019)

At a nuclear power plant in the northern Ukraine, employees face deadly circumstances to prevent the spread of disaster in the midst of a colossal explosion in 1986.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård TV shows: More than two decades after Amistad, Stellan Skarsgård appeared in another acclaimed historical drama — this time an HBO original miniseries from creator Craig Malin — called Chernobyl, in which he plays Boris Scherbina, who served as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union at the time of the devastating historical event dramatized here.

Stream Chernobyl on HBO Max.
Buy Chernobyl digitally on Amazon.
Buy Chernobyl on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

Ronin (1998)

A former spy turned freelancer (Robert De Niro) puts together a team of outcast specialists like himself to find and retrieve a suitcase desired by rival Irish and Russian gangs.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: Playing one of DeNiro’s outcast cohorts — namely German computer specialist and former KGB associate Gregor — was Stellan Skarsgård in Ronin, which is a classic, international crime drama in the style of a heist thriller from director John Frankenheimer and screenwriter David Mamet.

Stream Ronin on Tubi.
Stream Ronin on Freevee through Amazon.

Rent/buy Ronin digitally on Amazon.
Buy Ronin on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

A journalist (Daniel Craig) enlists the help of an anti-social, but highly skilled, hacker (Oscar nominee Rooney Mara) to investigate the decades-long disappearance of a wealthy industrialist’s niece. 

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: In one of the few English-language films on his resume that is also set in his home nation of Sweden, Skarsgård plays Martin — the brother of the missing Harriet Vanger — in director David Fincher’s version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is based on the gripping, bestselling novel by Stieg Larsson.

Stream The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on Hulu.
Rent/buy The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo digitally on Amazon.
Buy The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon. 

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I And Vol. II (2013)

After discovering a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) badly beaten in an alley, a man (Skarsgård) takes her to his home, where she recounts all of the events that led her to diagnose herself as a sex addict.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: For his sixth (technically sixth and seventh) collaboration with writer and director Lars von Trier, Skarsgård appeared in the prolific and polarizing filmmaker’s raunchy, two-part drama, Nymphomaniac, as a man who enjoys reexamining the main characters’ sexual escapades as fishing metaphors.  

Stream Nymphomaniac: Vol. I and Vol. I on Hulu.
Stream Nymphomaniac: Vol. I and Vol. on Amazon Prime.
Buy Nymphomaniac: Vol. I and Vol. II on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon. 

Dune (2021)

In the distant future, a prince (Timothée Chalamet) haunted by horrifying premonitions and his family find themselves embroiled in a violent struggle for ownership over the most valuable resource in their galaxy.

Why it is one of the best Stellan Skarsgård movies: Currently, the actor is shooting his reprisal of the role of the ruthlessly oppressive Vladimir Harkonnen in the second half of Dune — director Denis Villeneuve’s visually stunning, star-studded, and multi-Oscar-winning adaptation of author Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi epic.

Stream Dune on HBO Max.
Buy Dune digitally on Amazon.
Buy Dune on Blu-ray on Amazon. 

If you are a fan of the Skarsgård brothers and are curious to see where their talents stem from, all you really need is to see the Stellan Skarsgård movies and TV shows above.

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When you hear the name Uma Thurman, what is the first movie title that comes to your mind? It could be Quentin Tarantino’s instant classic crime drama Pulp Fiction from 1994, or the actress’ second time working with the acclaimed director on the two-part revenge epic Kill Bill, or even one of the more infamous Batman movies: 1997’s Batman & Robin, in which she plays Poison Ivy. Well, I cannot help but say that, if those are the only three titles from the Academy Award nominee’s resume you recognize, we have many other recommendations of Uma Thurman movies and TV shows from more recent years you should check out, starting with a powerhouse collaboration between two of Hollywood’s most talented leading ladies.

Prime (2005)

A divorced, career-driven photography producer in her late 30s (Uma Thurman) falls into a passionate affair with an artist who is 10 years younger than she is (Bryan Greenberg in his first credited feature film role). However, her therapist (three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep) ruins this long awaited moment of bliss when she reveals that the man she has recounted vividly intimate details about is her son. If not for the charming performances by Thurman and Streep, Prime is a romantic comedy from Ben Younger (also the writer and director of Boiler Room and Bleed for This) that will amuse you with its inventive concept, engaging wit, and surprising amount of heart.

The Producers (2005)

Uma Thurman continued to flex her comedy muscles in 2005 with this uproarious satire set in the world of musical theater directed by five-time Tony Award-winning stage choreographer Susan Stroman. In The Producers, based on the hit musical based on a hit movie by Mel Brooks, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise roles they once played on stage as a disgraced Broadway producer and his accountant who cook up a scheme to profit off of the worst play that they can find in the late 1950s. Thurman enters the picture as a desirable, but quite dim, Swedish woman who is cast as the leading lady in the centerpiece show, Springtime for Hitler - written by an escaped Nazi (Will Ferrell).

Smash (2012-2013)

Years later, Uma Thurman would return to the world of musical theater on television with this short-lived, but much-acclaimed, series which lasted 32 episodes on NBC. Also featuring American Idol star Katharine McPhee and future Academy Award nominee Leslie Odom Jr. before scoring Hamilton, Smash follows the drama that occurs onstage and backstage among the performers and crew of a Broadway show inspired by the life of Marilyn Monroe. Thurman was nominated for an Emmy for her recurring stint in Season 1 as a movie star pushing for a role in the production, only to be forced out by nearly deadly means.

The Life Before Her Eyes (2008)

Speaking of deadly circumstances, Uma Thurman’s character in this adaptation of the novel by Laura Kasischke is a wife and mother haunted by a devastating school shooting that resulted in the death of her best friend (Eva Amurri Martino) 15 years earlier. Her flashbacks to when she was a teen (as played by Evan Rachel Wood of the Westworld cast fame) begin to cause complications for her in her present day life, worsening the survivor’s guilt she has lived with since the day of the tragedy. There is more to The Life Before Her Eyes, however, that I will not give away, but makes this somber, thought-provoking drama a ride worth taking.

Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

One of the more popular book adaptations starring Uma Thurman is this 2010 young adult fantasy adventure that could be described as “Harry Potter for fans of Greek Mythology.” The first of a franchise that did not continue past its two installments (but reportedly has a Disney+ TV series reboot in the works), Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief stars Logan Lerman as the titular teenager, who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon when he is accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt. His friends Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) join him on a quest to clear his name - during which they encounter many mythical legends, such as Thurman as the furious, snake-haired Medusa.

Nymphomaniac Vol. I And Vol. II (2013)

Uma Thurman gives a brief, yet powerful performance that is less furious, but an inventive mix of helplessly broken and staunchly vengeful, in another drama from a prolific indie filmmaker that is split into two parts. Writer and director Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac is framed as a conversation between a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and a man (Stellan Skarsgård), to whom she retells the most significant events of her life as a self-diagnosed sex addict after he finds her beaten in an alley. One of these stories involves a sexual encounter interrupted by Thurman as the hysterical wife of the man she has been sleeping with, who decides to bring her children to witness the cause of the their parents’ split.

The House That Jack Built (2018)

Uma Thurman has yet another brief, but undoubtedly memorable, role in her second collaboration with Lars von Trier, which deals with entirely different subject matter than that of Nymphomaniac, but would prove to be even more controversial in 2018. Not to be confused with the cherished nursery rhyme, The House That Jack Built stars Matt Dillon in the title role - a highly intelligent but deeply disturbed man who commits a series of increasingly brutal murders over the course of 12 years which he proudly reminisces on as an art form. Thurman plays his very first victim - a woman who repays him for helping her when her car breaks down on the side the road with persistent rudeness that ultimately unleashes his dark side.

The Slap (2015)

The concept of one seemingly minor incident causing a devastating ripple effect is actually the central focus of this eight-part limited series that aired on NBC. Uma Thurman joins an all-star cast - including Melissa George (reprising her role from the original Australian miniseries that The Slap is based upon), Zachary Quinto from the Star Trek movies, and Emmy-winner Brian Cox - as members of a Greek family and their friends torn apart by one man’s choice to physically punish another person’s misbehaving child at a party. What happens next is a gripping morality tale that challenges its viewers to question who they believe is on the right side of the argument.

Burnt (2015)

That same year, Uma Thurman once again was part of a stellar cast, led by Bradley Cooper, in this redemption story set in the world of culinary arts. The actress puts on a relatively convincing British accent in Burnt as a notoriously cruel food critic who, despite her rocky history with washed-up American chef Adam Jones (Cooper), is convinced to help him achieve his comeback at a top restaurant in London run by an uptight manager (Daniel Bruhl from the Falcon and the Winter Soldier cast). It is yet another brief, but memorable performance in an overall entertaining and flavorful dramedy.

Down A Dark Hall (2018)

Uma Thurman puts on a French accent and an unsettling disposition to play Madame Duret - headmistress of the Blackwood Boarding School in this supernatural horror thriller. Based on the novel by Lois Duncan (also the author of the book that inspired I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997), Down a Dark Hall stars AnnaSophia Robb as a young woman whose behaviors lead her and a handful of other teenagers to be forcibly enrolled at the facility that promises to correct their troubled ways. However, the girls soon become plagued by unexplainable, horrifying events which Thurman’s character seems to be connected to somehow.

Chambers (2019)

Uma Thurman’s character in this series also seems to be somehow connected to unexplainable, horrifying events plaguing a teenage girl. She plays a wife and mother whose young daughter’s heart was used in a transplant that saved heart attack victim Sasha Yazzie (Sivan Alyra Rose), who soon begins to suffer from strange hallucinations and sudden changes in her personality after the procedure. Also starring Tony Goldwyn from the Scandal cast, Chambers is one of twisted horror TV shows made exclusively for Netflix.

Currently, Uma Thurman is filming the upcoming Apple TV+ drama series Suspicion, along with Kunal Nayyar of The Big Bang Theory cast and, as well as Hollywood Stargirl - a sequel to the Disney+ original film Stargirl - opposite Grace VanderWaal and Judy Greer of Marvel movies fame - and Tau Ceti Four, a sci-fi thriller with Vikings cast veteran Travis Fimmell and Die Hard director John McTiernan at the helm, is now in pre-production. Is there a return to her role as Beatrix “The Bride” Kiddo in a Kill Bill Vol. 3 in her future? Unless Quentin Tarantino wants to make that long-anticipated third installment his tenth and supposedly final film, it is not too likely. But, never say never.

By now, early reception to Joker is out and if you’ve been paying attention to chatter at all, you probably already know that Todd Phillips’ new DC movie is designed to ruin your day. Like many lauded and emotional movies before it, it will take you on a wild journey with emotional highs and lows, but, yeah, mostly lows.

Or as my esteemed colleague Dirk Libbey put it, “It’s the best movie I never want to see again.” It’s not alone in being a great movie that’s a hard watch, however. There are plenty of movies out there that are critically acclaimed or well-liked by audiences that you wouldn’t pop on during a first date or when you are looking for a fun, relaxing night at home.

For the purposes of this list, we really only looked at movies that are worth seeing and have inherent value, yet will absolutely eff your day up. In fact, I'll go ahead and start with the one that I kept thinking about while watching Joker, because it really did put me in the same sad and despairing headspace. Yes, I’m talking about Requiem for a Dream.

Requiem For A Dream

Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 stunner Requiem for a Dream was one of the first R-rated movies I saw, and I have never eagerly revisited it, although I have shown it to a few friends, given its an important movie to see. It’s a stunning, startling movie and a gritty portrayal of drug use pushing into horrifying addiction. Another of Aronofsky’s feature films mother! could have made this list, but Requiem is the one that haunts my dreams and probably the one worth checking out if you really want to ruin your day.

Midsommar

Like Joker, Midsommar is another 2019 box office contributor. This one's about a group of friends who go on vacation only to end up in a violent reality during a -- you guessed it --midsommar festival. It's arguably the most aesthetically beautiful movie this year. However, it's also a brutal watch, a movie filled with despair and other uncomfortable feelings, and through which some messed up stuff happens. It may prove tough even if avid theatrical thrill seekers. Don’t even try discussing this movie with co-workers until you’ve had at least 24 hours to digest what just happened to you.

Million Dollar Baby

Generally, Clint Eastwood-directed movies aren’t the types I find super hard to get through. Although I wouldn’t feel the need to watch The 15:17 to Paris again, that has more to do with performance than it has to do with being a difficult watch. Most of Clint Eastwood’s hard-hitting movies, like last year’s The Mule, have tough moments, but Million Dollar Baby takes the cake in the day-ruiner category. While riveting and even at points uplifting, it's also a gigantic downer. Certainly a must-see, totally watch if you haven’t, but don’t expect to feel good while the credits roll.

The Basketball Diaries

Further proving that watching people devolve into drug addiction is never fun, Leonardo DiCaprio’s turn in 1995’s The Basketball Diaries is a rough watch. Not only because it's another movie on this list about a drug descent, but also because some scenes between Jim and his mother should stick with viewers. With a young performance from Leo, this is one worth seeing to get a feel for what the actor was already capable of early in his career. It's not Leonardo DiCaprio's only memorable downer flick as a young man. For more where this comes from, check out What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Taxi Driver

I can’t think of a Martin Scorsese movie that I would describe as “lighthearted” or “breezy,” but there are some Scorsese movies that are more to take in then others. Case in point, Taxi Driver, a movie about, well, a taxi driver in New York City that’s frequently called out as one of the greatest movies of all time, but like another Scorsese great Raging Bull, is a hard watch.

This isn't your average Uber ride. Haunted by the Vietnam War, a taxi driver played by Robert DeNiro descends into madness, making for a long movie and a bleak movie. There are Martin Scorsese movies that feel longer (we’re back to Raging Bull) and there are Scorsese movies with tougher endings (Shutter Island anyone?), but Taxi Driver is the great movie that will keep you down for the rest of the day.

Nymphomaniac

Another name that was always going to make this list, Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac is sometimes split into two graphic volumes telling the story of Joe, a nymphomaniac who consistently makes decisions related to sex that have direct consequences on her personal and professional life. The movie is graphic and, while compelling, it’s a lot to take in. You may as well know that Nymphomaniac is not the only Lars von Trier title considered for this list, as Antichrist and Dancer in the Dark both popped on and off it; none of them are for the faint of heart.

Shame

If we’re sticking to the sex theme, Shame is another good movie that’s totally depraved. Prostitution, pornography, a close-up of Michael Fassbender’s dick and even hints of incest are hallmarks of Steve McQueen’s predecessor to 12 Years A Slave. It would be a really weird date movie choice, but it has great performances from Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.

A Clockwork Orange

Based on the book by Anthony Burgess, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is a perfect example of a great movie you don’t need to see again and again. Not only is the vocabulary just a lot, the film itself is both fascinating from a philosophical perspective, but also extremely violent. Most movies that look at psychopaths would not be described as “great fun,” but A Clockwork Orange’s take on one is darker and more excessive, with an ending that will stick with you. Or, as CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg admitted to me, it “shakes you as you walk away from it.”

There are a whole slew of other movies that could have made this list. I also considered flicks like Seven (a movie I watch once a year or thereabouts, so what does this say about me?) to Harmony Korine movies like Kids or 8MM to movies with stark endings like The Mist. Shoutouts also go to White Oleander, House of Sand and Fog, and Monster, among others. In short, there are plenty of other options that could have been flip-flopped on this list, but this is a great starting point if you're hoping for a weekend full of downers and uncomfortable moments.

Honestly, I started this list with five as a goal in mind, and here we are eight movies later. Some of these movies are notable, solid entries and some are goddamn masterpieces, but ultimately, if you watch any of these movies a bunch of times, you’re a glutton for punishment.

In that case, go see Joker. You’re gonna love it.

2014 could very well go down in history as the year of the supercut, simply because there have been so many of them in the past 12 months. A lot of them have even been more exemplary works of editing than some of the films we sat through this year. One such example is this awesome supercut of some of the best moments in cinematography that cinema had to offer in 2014, and it's included for your viewing pleasure below.

Kudos go out to Vimeo user Jacob T. Swinney for his extremely beautiful look at the moments of 2014 that caught our eyes for just a little longer than normal. The flow of the selection of clips is beautifully complimented by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's track "Sugar Storm," coming from the Gone Girl soundtrack. In fact, if you look close enough, you'll see the scene this song was originally used for in the mix, as well as some gorgeous shots from The Grand Budapest Hotel, Snowpiercer, and Boyhood - just to name a few.

As well represented as the year of 2014 is in this video, only disappointing thing about this montage is that it solely focuses on live-action films. While animation wasn't at its best levels of representation this year, there were some pretty neat shots from The LEGO Movie, How To Train Your Dragon 2, and even Big Hero 6 that could have been represented in this clip fest. It's not a deal breaker, but it's a little upsetting that the major strides in animated cinematography were not represented at all in this otherwise pretty comprehensive reel.

In a year that saw everything from moments of crime to fake movie ads receiving a supercut of their own, Swinney's segment is probably the best one we've seen since Final Cut 2014 landed on our desks. Both are pure examples of editing flourish that link together so many dissimilar films together with the common thread of art, and they both hit the notes of the music just right with the moments that are chosen for exhibition. It's exciting when a supercut like this hits, because in this day and age all it takes is the right person to see this video and Jacob T. Swinney could become one of those editing greats that he is mimicking with his work.

So in the year of supercuts, what's the one supercut that could cap off the year so perfectly? Why, naturally, it'd be a supercut of the best moments from the best trailers that 2015 can offer. While we're mere hours away from the start of 2015, it's not too late to hope that some amateur editor with an eye for action is working away at their computer, putting together the perfect video to ring in a new year of cinema. Here's hoping we find such a supercut to share with all of you out there, and here's hoping 2015 is a year that's good to us all at the movies!

I’m not really very squeamish when it comes to NSFW content. Give me boobs. Give me people’s heads getting blown off. Give me a stream of f-bombs. Give me adult themes. Most of it isn’t going to affect my mood of surprise me in anyway. I tell you all of that to underscore the following statement: the director’s cut teaser for Nymphomaniac is WAY OVER THE LINE. It is not NSFW-ish. It’s not even what you would think of as NSFW. It is NSFW x 5. Even if your boss is cool, if he finds this in your search history, you’re probably going to get a memo about it. And if he’s not cool, I apologize in advance.

Last Chance NSFW WARNING! Still on board? Then click on this image to bring on the dicks…

Not surprisingly, the above trailer has gotten more than its share of people to scream about pornography this morning, but considering anyone who would be offended isn’t this movie’s target audience, I highly doubt director Lars Von Trier cares. Besides, Nymphomaniac is most definitely not pornography. It’s a fairly interesting, fairly pretentious movie about isolation, loneliness and sex that features a lot of pretty graphic sex. That’s outside the bounds of what Hollywood typically gives us, but then again, it’s outside the bounds of what pornography typically gives us too. It occupies a weird space where the two concentric circles overlap.

According to Collider, the original, theatrically released versions of Nymphomaniac were ultimately edited some, with the director’s approval. That’s how they were originally released on Blu-Ray too, but moving forward, he would like to get his original vision out into the world. So, that’ll happen in this director’s cut, though it’s unclear whether or not the films will be sandwiched together or remain apart.

Whether you think Nymphomaniac worked or not, it’s important that there are directors out there who are pushing the boundaries and trying new things. The worst thing the movie business can be is stagnant, and if the side effect of that is the occasional movie that pushes its content a little too enthusiastically into uncomfortable directions, that’s fine. A couple of penis and vagina shots every now and again aren’t going to kill any of us, regardless of what the more cautious and conservative among us might say.

We’ll keep you updated on the Nymphomaniac director’s cut when more official information becomes available. Until then, feel free to watch your standard copy and think about all the different ways it could be made more graphic.

With so many titles to choose from, Netflix Instant's library can be overwhelming. So we bring you this biweekly column as a tool to cut through the clutter by highlighting some now streaming titles that pair well with the latest theatrical releases.

Looking to Divergent, Nymphomaniac and Noah for inspiration, we've pulled together a selection of female-fronted YA dramas, steamy tales of love and sex, and inventive interpretations of bible stories.

Divergent

Based on the novel by Veronica Roth, this action-adventure is set in a world where society is divided into factions based on their virtues. But when teen Tris doesn't naturally fit these traditional molds, she becomes a threat to society itself. Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, and Jai Courtney star. Neil Burger directs. Read our review here.

Tris comes from a long tradition of strong-willed teen girls who are forced to grow up fast when the world is falling to pieces around them. YA fiction is full of them. We've got a selection of three coming of age dramas that are female fronted, based on books, and sure to thrill. Be it an archer with a steely exterior, a spoiled brat with a soft spot, or a mentally unstable girl with a wild streak, these heroines are as captivating as they are moody.

The Hunger Games (2012) Jennifer Lawrence fronts this blockbuster as Katniss Everdeen, the teen heroine of Suzanne Collins' celebrated book trilogy. In the first of four films, Katniss is cast into a cruel kill-or-be-kill battle that will pit her against other kids, including the kind-hearted baker boy Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Stanley Tucci star; Gary Ross directs.

How I Live Now (2013) Inspired by the novel by Meg Rosoff, this drama also focuses on a guarded girl whose caught in the middle of a nation in peril. Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) is an American girl racked with insecurity, entitlement and neuroses when she's sent to visit her cousins in England. Warm summer days and easy fun smooth her rough edges, but everything changes when a war overtakes the land, leaving the kids to their own devices to survive. Tom Holland and George MacKay co-star; Kevin Macdonald directs.

Girl, Interrupted (2000) This daring gem not only spoke to generations of women, but also launched Angelina Jolie, winning her an Academy Award for her supporting role. Winona Ryder fronts this biopic based on Susanna Kaysen's candid memoir, which recounts her time 18-month stay in a mental hospital in the 1960s. Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, and Elisabeth Moss co-star; James Mangold directs.

Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1

Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as Joe, a life-long nymphomaniac who recounts her erotic experiences to the Good Samaritan who plucked her off the street after a brutal beating. Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin and Shia LaBeouf co-star; Lars von Trier directs. Read our review here.

Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1 is available on VOD, but if you can't get enough of sexually explicit drama, we've got a marathon that's sure to heat up your weekend. As American movies live under the tyranny of the MPAA, it might not surprise you to learn that each of these titles--from a lesbian love story to a threesome roadtrip and another nympho tale--are all from foreign countries.

Diary of a Nymphomaniac (2008) Like von Trier's two-part hardcore erotic drama, this Spanish film follows the life story of a woman who is fueled by her desire to experience sex in all its forms. Belén Fabra stars as Valére, the titular nymphomaniac. Hungry to experience all the joys of life--per her grandmother's advice--Valére seeks out lovers and sexual experimentation in search of love, pleasure and happiness. This drama is stuffed to the brim with steamy scenes. It's punctuated by darkness, but also delivers an uplifting story of self-discovery. Leonardo Sbaraglia and Geraldine Chaplin co-star; Christian Molina directs.

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) The NC-17 rated French film that got tongues wagging around the world can now be viewed from the comfort of your couch…or bed. Now you can see what all the fuss over that long and graphic lesbian love scene is all about. Adèle Exarchopoulos stars as young Adele, a school girl whose dalliances with boys lack passion, leading her to look for love elsewhere--like with that striking blue-haired girl she can't get out of her head. Léa Seydoux co-stars; Abdel Kechiche directs.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001) This Mexican drama from celebrated (and now Oscar-winning) director Alfonso Cuarón focuses on the bond between two rich teen boys, and how it fuels a road trip with an older woman that is studded with sexual adventures. Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna star; Alfonso Cuarón directs.

Noah

Russell Crowe stars as the biblical hero, Noah, a family man chosen by God to build an arc and save the world from mass extinction as a punishment in the form of floods prepares to rain down on the evil human populace. Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, and Emma Watson co-star; Darren Aronofsky directs. Read our review here.

The bible has been a source of inspiration for countless artists over the years. It's stories may be centuries old, but can still find fresh interpretations in the hands of a sharp director. For three very different takes on classic bible tales, check out this trio of films about faith.

The Prince of Egypt (1998) This animated effort details the story of Moses, recounting his beginnings as a babe in the reeds of the Nile to his raising as a pharaoh's son, to his rebellion and activism to set free the slaves of Egypt. Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, and Martin Short lend their voices. Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner direct.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Martin Scorsese raised eyebrows and ire with his controversial portrait of Jesus Christ in this Academy Award-nominated drama. Willem Dafoe stars as Jesus, presented here as both human and divine. Harvey Keitel and Barbara Hershey co-star; Martin Scorsese directs.

Commandments (1997) This black comedy gives a quirky take on the story of Job. Aidan Quinn stars as a man whose lost everything, his wife, his home, his job, and then his sanity. And he blames God. Crying out for a response from the Almighty, he acts out by systematically breaking one of the ten commandments after another, tormenting his faithless brother Harry along the way. Aidan Quinn, Courteney Cox and Anthony LaPaglia star; Daniel Taplitz directs.

Because no one has paid attention to Shia LaBeouf in roughly the past 48 hours, the troubled star took it upon himself to grab more headlines by stealing thunder at the Nymphomaniac press conference at the Berlin International Film Festival. And in an impressive bout of LaBeouf-ery, the actor surprised the media with what he said AND with what he didn’t say.

LaBeouf was in Berlin to help promote Lars Von Trier’s controversial film (which probably doesn’t need any additional attention, but hey, the cast was willing to hang in Berlin… at least, temporarily). THR reports that LaBeouf was asked one question by a media member, something along the lines of what it was like acting in a movie that required so many sex scenes. The actor responded:

With that, LaBeouf got up from the press conference and exited. He’d been there for roughly 10 minutes, according to the trade. THR also noes that LaBeouf’s co-stars – including Christian Slater, Uma Thurman and Stellan Skarsgard -- "looked stunned for a moment" after LaBeouf’s non-answer, and Slater tried to liven the mood by making a joke, saying, "Obviously, the script is packed with a lot of sardines... one sardine after another."

THR notes that the quote LaBeouf dropped on the media can be attributed to French soccer star Eric Cantona, who used the line at the end of a Ken Loach film Looking for Eric. So, more conceptual performance art from the former star of Holes? The trade reports on LaBeouf’s bizarre behavior since landing in Germany to support Nymphomaniac at the film fest. They say that he is thinner than usual, and that he appears to be missing a tooth… something he might have done to prepare for a role in David Ayer’s WWII movie Fury.

THR also says that LaBeouf was in an altercation with patrons at the Ritz-Carlton on Saturday evening after three young men tried to take the actor’s picture. Friends of LaBeouf allegedly intervened before things got out of control.

Normally, LaBeouf’s antics would prove amusing. As an actor, he has routinely come off as arrogant and self-important, and this behavior suggests, to me, that his public persona is crumbling. LaBeouf probably needed to be brought down a few pegs. But the recent loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman reminds me that, left unchecked, personal problems can be fatal. Maybe it’s time for those in Shia’s inner circle to step up and get him some serious help, if – in fact – he needs it, and this isn’t some public stunt to get publicity he regularly claims he doesn’t want. At t he very least, we have another LaBeouf story that distracts from the film he’s being asked to promote. Of course, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but don’t you imagine Von Trier wanted several articles written about his actual film, and not the hot-headed actor he decided to cast in said movie several months ago?

This video is pretty much safe for work, just a single shot of a bare ass to be concerned about.

Controversial filmmaker Lars von Trier had so much to say on the topic of sex addiction in the modern world that his upcoming Nymphomaniac had to be cut in two. This month, part one of this hard-core erotic drama stunned audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, where it played as a secret screening. And now we're getting a taste of Nymphomaniac: Volume II thanks to the above international trailer.

Because the film's distributors might actually want to screen a trailer in theaters, they had to figure out how to make a tamer trailer out of a movie stuffed to the brim with "too hot for TV" moments. And here's what they came up with, a spot that is at once enigmatic and dripping in star power. And so we have Shia LaBeouf as Jerome, talking about the problem with buying a tiger. Charlotte Gainsbourg in bondage as the titular nympho, Joe. Christian Slater taking little Joe (Ananya Berg) to see his "soul tree," whatever that is. Jamie Bell is getting ready for a beat down, while Stellan Skarsgård inquires about dreams, and Willem Dafoe leers. It's intriguing I guess, but after its no holds barred red-band trailer, it seems pretty flaccid.

Now this is absolutely NSFW:

More sly is the latest poster for Nymphomaniac: Volume II, which insists we forget about love, while making a heart out of a kinky sex toy.

Written and directed by von Trier, Nymphomaniac: Volume I & II centers on the life story of the aforementioned Joe (Gainsbourg), a woman who has actively sought out just about any sex act one can imagine. She lays her life and secrets bare to a stranger (Skarsgård) after he comes to her rescue once she was left for dead in the streets. Safe in his home, she unfolds her story, which ranges from Daddy's soul tree to promiscuous sex on the train to threesomes, BDSM, and some activities I wouldn't even know what to call. Its sprawling cast also features Connie Nielsen, Uma Thurman, Mia Goth, Michael Pas, Udo Kier, Hugo Speer, Stacy Martin, and Sophie Kennedy Clark. (Get to know them all a bit better with the films' steamy character posters.)

Nymphomaniac: Volume I will hit On Demand March 6th with a limited theatrical release following on March 21st. Nymphomaniac: Volume 2 will make its way to On Demand by April 3rd, with its theatrical run following on April 18th.

No film has consistently churned out more double take worthy pieces of movie news over the past two and a half years than Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. To this point, my favorites have involved hiring a second unit to film body doubles having real sex in order to get some penetration shots to splice into the final cut and settling on O-Faces as the recurring theme for the first series of character posters. But wait! Just months before the film’s release date, a dark horse has suddenly emerged out of nowhere to steal the most absurd Nymphomaniac-related subplot crown away from the other contenders.

Apparently, Shia LaBeouf emailed producers a picture of his penis. That’s right. Let’s expand on that a little bit to make sure the full story really sinks in here. Shia LaBeouf took out a camera (maybe the one on his phone, maybe not), took off his pants and snapped a picture of his dick. Then, after deciding said picture was good enough (maybe he took multiple?), he emailed the X-rated snapshot to producers so they could look at it, I guess to make sure it was big enough or didn’t have any weird marks or something. Regardless, Anthony Weiner is out there somewhere nodding his head in approval.

I’ll let LaBeouf himself give you the background, via his interview with Zentropa Productions…

Look: there are a lot of reasons to hate LaBeouf, most of which involve him being a pretentious douche with a big mouth and plagiarism impulses, but my God, the man is wiling to try things. He just jumps into the deep end and goes for it. Want him to try acid? He’s down. Want him to email over a picture of his wang? Yeah, he’s on board, even if he doesn’t quite know what the hell you might need it for. And in an age where everyone is so fucking politically correct and unwilling to go out on a limb, that character trait is actually kind of refreshing.

That being said, if anyone asks me for pictures of my penis, I’m probably going to ask some follow-up questions.

With Nymphomaniac, Danish filmmaker and top provocateur Lars von Trier has been steadily promising content too shocking for mainstream audiences. Former child stars in hard-core sex scenes? Check. Tales of sexual depravity of every imaginable and sordid sort? Oh, you bet. How about non- simulated penetrative sex onscreen? Why not. While any of the above is enough to rattle America's MPAA, it doesn't scare the Berlin Film Festival, where the film will screen out of competition.

THR reports the prestigious Berlin Film Festival will play host to the world premiere of to the director's cut version of Nymphomaniac: Volume 1. This is an intriguing new chapter in this provocative film's emerging development, as various cuts and concepts for release have been posed over the past two years.

Nymphomaniac stars recurring von Trier leading lady Charlotte Gainsbourg as Joe, the self-confessed sex addict for which the drama is named. After being beaten and left for dead in the street, Joe is taken in by a kindly stranger. With him, she shares her life story, full of twisted trysts, casual sex, and serious kinks.

When Gainsbourg first signed on to the project two years ago, the reported plan was Nymphomaniac would be cut in two versions. One would be a "hardcore" version, presumably showing whatever the dark corners of von Trier's mind it could come up with. The other would be a tamer version, on that's possibly easier for more casual von Trier admirers to digest. However, Joe's odyssey of sexual adventure ballooned into a runningtime of over four hours, and from there talk switched from two versions of one film to two volumes divided by chapters.

But after months of releasing titillating appetizer videos to tease out the film's eventual release, producers stunned us by revealing that von Trier had given up the film's final cut after his director's cut clocked in over five and a half hours long. From there, producers were looking to trim Nymphomaniac to four hours, and then split that running time in half for Volumes 1 & 2. This trimmed version is what is expected to debut in Denmark on Christmas Day. In the US, Magnolia will be releasing these volumes in two parts in theaters and On Demand next spring.

All this is to say that those who see Nymphomaniac in Berlin will be seeing the director's cut that those in the US and Denmark will miss out on. There's no mention of a world premiere for the director's cut of Volume 2. Presumably it will not screen at Cannes, as von Trier scorched the earth there when promoting Melancholia in 2011. At the time, he claimed, "I understand Hitler," among other shocking comments that got him barred and deemed persona non grata. Could another festival swoop in to scoop up Volume 2? We'll keep you informed.

Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 will be On Demand March 6th with a limited theatrical release following on March 21st. Nymphomaniac: Volume 2 will make its way to On Demand by April 3rd, with its theatrical run following on April 18th.

We've been trying to make sense of the monthly appetizers released from Lars von Trier's upcoming Nymphomaniac. But the latest one is a real head scratcher. A segment from "Chapter 7: The Mirror," this clip has the film's star Charlotte Gainsbourg cutting phone lines, taking down personal effects, covering mirrors and windows, and putting padding on just about any sharp corner in her apartment. Then she lays--fully clothed--on a stripped down bed. What is going on here? Frankly, your guess is as good as ours.

Written and directed by von Trier, Nymphomaniac centers on a self-diagnosed sex addict name Joe (Gainsbourg), who unfolds her lifetime of torrid affairs, sexual misadventures, and various debaucheries to the Good Samaritan (Stellan Skarsgard) who takes her in off the street after a gruesome beating. How did this nympho come to this pitable state? Presumably that's what this massive hardcore sex drama will unfurl on its world debut in Denmark on Christmas Day.

Stateside, Nymphomaniac will be cut into two parts, and Magnolia Pictures will release each in theaters and on VOD, so you can choose just how uncomfortable you prefer to be while watching von Trier's sure to be disturbing drama. But in the meantime, let's take a closer look at all these carnal goings on with a barrage of new stills collected by The Playlist.

The first still is of Stacy Martin, who plays Young Joe in the first few chapters. This picture appears to be from Chapter 1: The Compleat Angler, where Young Joe and her buddy B (Sophie Kennedy Clark), traverse a train looking for hook-ups.

Chapter 2 is named for Shia LaBeouf's character Jerome, who can be seen in the following two stills at the office with Young Joe, and out for a meal, where based on the character posters that include the waiter (Udo Kier), I suspect haute cuisine isn't the only thing on the menu.

Uma Thurman's Mrs. H owns Chapter 3, where she plays the wife of the married man (Hugo Speer) Young Joe has bedded.

This shot of Young Joe as a--um--exploratory school girl could be from Chapter 5: The Little Organ School, where the clips finally began getting outright NSFW.

By Chapter 6: The Eastern & Western Church (The Silent Duck), Joe has grown into Gainsbourg's part, and she's involved in a BDSM relationship with K, played by Billy Elliot's Jamie Bell. You can get a glimpse at both sides of this relationship below.

From here things are more mysterious. We have a shot of what appears to be beaten Joe, presumably sharing her story with her rescuer. Then a picture of Willem Dafoe, but all we know of his role is that he is called L. Then a picture of some unusual women's group, and to top it off a new movie poster that leaves little to the imagination.

Nymphomaniac: Part 1 will hit VOD on March 6th, and theaters on March 21st. Nymphomaniac: Part 2 comes to VOD on April 3rd, and theaters on April 18th.

Judging by the fact that you just clicked on an article about Nymphomaniac, I feel pretty comfortable in saying you probably fall into one of two camps. Either you’re comfortable enough with sex, nudity and various perversions that you’re not weirded out by this film’s existence, or you’re so uncomfortable with sex, nudity and various perversions that you secretly and obsessively seek out news on this film to get your moral judgment on. Either way, this news will affect you. Rather than angling for a conventional release, Magnolia Pictures has decided to heavily push a corresponding Video On Demand option, which will allow members of the first group to comfortably enjoy the graphic sexual content from the privacy of their own homes and allow members of the second group to hate watch Shia LaBeouf’s O-face without having to go to the theater. Win-Win.

According to Deadline, the conventional release dates for Lars Von Trier’s two-part film have been set for March 21 and April 18, and the Video On Demand dates have been set at March 6 and April 3. Given it will almost certainly grab an NC-17 rating, however, it’s unclear how many theaters the film will actually play in. Some of the larger chains want no part of sexually graphic material, and this movie will be nothing if not full of boobs and dicks. Besides, the fifteen day lead time for VOD lets you know which route the studio would prefer you take.

Over the last hundred or so years, the world has come a long way in terms of accepting sex and pushing the boundaries of what we’re collectively comfortable with. Most of us are now okay with things like losing V-cards prior to marriage and at least somewhat unconventional relationships, but even so, watching other people graphically fuck while in a dark room surrounded by strangers is a mountain many of us don’t feel like climbing. It just brings with it such a seedy element, and most of us have a secret fear that we’ll run into a family member or someone we wouldn’t particularly like to watch Nymphomaniac alongside.

At this point, it’s hard to gauge how much actual interest there will be in seeing the film that follows the title nymphomaniac’s long and complicated sexual history. There was clearly a lot of interest in watching the trailer, but knowing content exists and willingly paying to see it are two very different things. Luckily, you have a few months to decide what you’d like to do. Until then, you can watch the trailer from the comfort of your own home for free…

Reminder: This is obviously NSFW. Very NSFW.

(This video has been removed. Sad!)

WARNING: The following clip contains nudity and is NSFW.

Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac will make a demented gift for anyone in Denmark who dares to see it on its Christmas day debut. But the polarizing filmmaker behind this hard-core sex drama has been teasing out what is to come with a new clip every month, one from each of eight chapters. The latest of these was shared by Vulture, and features a section of "Chapter 6: The Eastern and Western Church (The Silent Duck)." What that title means remains a mystery, as the clip above features the beginning of a kinky sex game between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell. He's all grown up and ready to dominate.

Written and directed by von Trier, Nymphomaniac centers on a self-admitted sex addict named Joe (Gainsbourg), who shares the raunchy exploits of her life with a Good Samaritan who plucked her beaten body off the street. Unfolding glimpses of one chapter after another, von Trier has been throwing out puzzle pieces to those of us following the film. And below we'll make sense of what we've seen so far as best we can.

The clip up top features the grown Joe with K (Bell), who she clearly shares in a sado-masochistic relationship with. Here he kindly presents her with a present, and wishes her a Happy Christmas. Perhaps less kind is the pet name he's given her: Fido. Nonetheless, Joe plays along albeit reluctantly. Picking up what appears to be a lash with her nickname scratched on it. She then prepares herself, pulling up her dress and leaning over a chair for the spanking we know is coming, thanks to the film's shocking first trailer that took NSFW to an all-new level.

But how did Joe get here? Her life as a nymphomaniac began as a girl, making a game of sexual conquest on a train. You can get a taste of this chapter, called "The Compleat Angler." Here young Joe (Stacy Martin) and her buddy B (Sophie Kennedy Clark) compete for a bag of chocolates by seeing who can land the most hook-ups in their journey.

In the second chapter, Shia LaBeouf entered the scene as the titular "Jerome." From the aforementioned trailer, we learned that the train game only included oral sex, and so Joe still saw herself as a virgin. But when she met Jerome, she met a man she'd hoped would strip her of that status. In this clip, you see their meeting, which is more peppered with awkward office banter than sexual chemistry. Of course, we don't know what happens after the elevator stopped.

By chapter three, it appears Joe has moved on from Jerome, but not exactly to greener pastures. While the first two clips reveled the moments leading up to sex, the third titled "Mrs. H" dealt with the grim repercussion of sleeping with a married man. Here young Joe must confront the wife (Uma Thurman) whose marital bed she defiled with Mr. H (Hugo Speer). "Let's go see Daddy's favorite place," she tells her young sons as she takes them into the bedroom to see "the whoring bed" all while Joe looks on mute. This clip ends on a strange note that suggests we are on a countdown to hysterics.

Surprisingly, the clip from "Chapter 4: Delirium" seems to switch perspective, moving from Joe to Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard), the Good Samaritan who listens to her tale. The clip itself has a cryptic line from Edgar Allan Poe playing over footage of a young woman walking alone in a dark night through an urban environment. What does it mean? Our best guess is a chapter about voyeurism, the kink of watching.

Then just last month came a look into "Chapter 5: The Little Organ School." And at last, von Trier stopped playing coy with these clips, and showed us some of the sex he'd long been promising. This clip is NSFW, showcasing images of young Joe fully engaged with multiple partners in various configurations.

Magnolia Pictures will be unveiling Nymphomaniac stateside. No release date has yet been announced. But if we take the clips as a clue, we could be seeing it as soon as February. In the meantime, look for January to bring a clip from "Chapter 7: The Mirror," and February to unfurl presumably the final clip from "Chapter 8: The Gun."

WARNING: The following video includes full frontal nudity and very graphic images of sex.

Fuck subtlety. After a string of teasers and tawdry posters, Lars von Trier has released a trailer so graphic that it's shocking it hasn't been pulled by Youtube already. I mean, there's a close-up of female genitalia before the two-second mark. From there, there's arson, depravity, and lots and lots of nudity and sex.

Nymphomaniac centers on the sexual odyssey of self-professed sex addict Joe. Since her girlhood, Joe has been drawn to casual sex, and from the looks of the trailer above this desire for carnal pleasure has led her down some dark paths. Von Trier's recurring collaborator Charlotte Gainsbourg shares the role of Joe with Stacy Martin, who plays her as a young woman. Stellan Skarsgard appears as Seligman, a Good Samaritan who takes Joe in after finding her brutalized in the street . Shia LaBeouf takes on the role of Jerome, who is asked above if he'll be so kind as to free young Joe of her virginity. Uma Thurman plays wife and mother Mrs. H , who is crushed when Joe beds her husband (Hugo Speer). Also on board are Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Connie Nielsen, Udo Kier, Mia Goth and Willem Dafoe. Each gets a close up in the orgasmic character posters the movie previously revealed. Several of them have been combined for the mash-up movie marketing seen below:

Von Trier's provocative new drama has been raising eyebrows and blood pressure for a while now. First announced in 2011. Nymphomaniac promised hardcore sex and a demented drama. (A promise on which the trailer appears to deliver.) Rumors of real sex being filmed surfaced in 2012, and were confirmed this past summer. Then came an array of stills, the release of eight chapter titles, and month after month a new surprisingly SFW clip for the first several chapters was unveiled. But with the appetizer for Chapter 5: The Little Organ School, von Trier abandoned the cheeky game of flirtation and gave us our first look at Nymphomaniac's lurid approach to sex. But this latest trailer takes it to a whole new level. Whether or not it's sexy is beside the point. Clearly, Nymphomaniac is intended to provoke and shock more than titillate.

While Magnolia Pictures has picked up the film's US distribution rights, they have yet to announce when the newly cut Nymphomaniac will hit theaters Stateside. But von Trier's latest will make its theatrical debut on Christmas Day in Denmark and Spain.

Lars von Trier is a filmmaker typically as uncompromising as he is polarizing. But the Danish director has shocked us in a way we'd never have guessed by giving up the final cut of his two-part erotic drama Nymphomaniac. THR notes this is the first time von Trier has ever surrendered the final cut of one of his films. And though we might rush to assume his producers are pushing for a version that is less provocative or alarming, the creative differences instead come down to running time.

Peter Aalbaek Jensen, von Trier's longtime producer, told Danish cinema magazine Filmmagasinet Ekko that the cut the iconoclast helmer turned in clocked in at a whopping 5 ½ hours. With the December world premiere of the film fast approaching, von Trier gave over his version to be cut down to a more manageable 4 hour cut that will be divided into two two-hour features. Jensen insists von Trier is fine with the move, explaining:

The four-hour version will debut on Christmas day in Copenhagen, Denmark. And while von Trier has signed off on it, he hasn't actually seen it according to Ekko. This is sure to rattle both auteur theory fans as well as fans of von Trier. But it appears no plan is being made at present for the director's cut to hit theaters. Jensen denies claims that it may screen at the Cannes Film Festival next year. But perhaps it will later unspool in full on DVD.

Previous plans for Nymphomaniac included two versions of the film, one hardcore with all the penetrative Frankensteined sex scenes intact, the other a softcore version for those who can't stomach unfiltered von Trier. This plan has since been abandoned. As of now this four-hour version--which Jensen insists does not downplay Nymphomaniac's graphic depictions of sex--is the only version that will have a theatrical release.

This poll is no longer available.

Nymphomaniac stars Charlotte Gainsbourg as the titular woman who retells her long and perverse life story to a stranger who saves her from dying in the street after a brutal beating. Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Connie Nielsen co-star. Magnolia Pictures will release the film in the U.S., but no release date has yet been decided.

WARNING: Unless you work from home, this clip is likely NSFW.

Well, it looks like provocateur Lars von Trier is done playing coy with his upcoming release Nymphomaniac. Since 2011, the polarizing filmmaker has been promising this scandalous drama would feature unapologetic hardcore sex, and yet when it came to marketing the movie the first waves of images and clips were decidedly tame. Consider the cheeky first poster:

Yes, there's a clear allusion to female genitalia, but it's subtle with a smirking sense of humor. Next came an image that teased a three-way, then a poster full of kinks but largely devoid of nudity was unveiled.

Afterwards each month offered up a new clip from the film, one from each chapter, presumably counting down to the film's US debut. And while each of these videos has alluded to sex, none have proved terribly racy. For instance, here is the last teaser, from "Chapter 4: Delirium," which at its worst dabbles in voyeurism.

Finally, things got steamy last month when a series of character posters were released unlike any we'd ever seen before. Instead of showing off the characters in steely poses, Nymphomaniac's promos stuck true to their raunchy material and presented us with "O" faces of all sorts. All this has played as precursor to the above clip for "Chapter 5: The Little Organ School," where more is being played with than instruments.

But what's it all about? Written and directed by von Trier, Nymphomaniac centers on a woman and self-professed nympho named Joe. After enduring a brutal beating and being left for dead in the street, she is taken in by a Good Samaritan whose reward appears to be playing eager witness to Joe's incredible and very erotic life story. Recurring von Trier leading lady Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as Joe, while newcomer Stacy Martin plays her younger self, who you can see in action in Chapters 1, 2 and 3. Also on board for this risky and risqué drama are Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Connie Nielsen, Udo Kier, Sophie Kennedy Clark, and Mia Goth.

Nymphomaniac has not yet announced a U.S. release date, but the final film will make its world premiere in von Trier's native Denmark on Christmas Day.

When Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac first started making headlines last summer, it sounded to most people like some absurd fantasy project that would never get off the ground. Shia LaBeouf was sending in sex tapes to try and win a role, and rumors were raging that all actors would be forced to engage in real sex. Over the last six months or so, however, the project has gone from a goofy pipe dream to a very real film with a legitimate cast, a strange solution to solve the sex issues and now, the most incredible, visually fascinating and brilliant movie posters you will see this year.

Like the top image, each of the fourteen posters feature one of the characters engaged in the throws of passion, and collectively, they range from sexy to gross to hysterical to weird. If pressed and I had to pick only one, I would probably go with Uma Thurman/ Mrs. H who has one of the most incredible cases of sex hair I’ve ever seen. She looks like she just spent the past hour summersaulting inside a field or having the most mind-blowing sexual experience of her life. Go ahead and take a minute and appreciate the greatness of it all above or check out the poster featuring all of the posters below…

Nymphomaniac will be released in two volumes, each of which will contain four chapters. The first grouping will be released on Christmas Day of this year in Denmark, and eventually, the film will make its way Stateside. As for how wide it will go or when that might happen, we haven’t the slightest idea. For fans of gritty, no holds barred cinema, however, hopefully the answer is soon and pretty wide because there’s a gigantic difference between 500 cinemas across the country and one measly screen in Los Angeles or New York.

If you’re interested in checking out all of the posters and let’s be honest, you should be, do yourself a favor and toggle through the next few pages. It will be more than worth your time, and if Magnolia Pictures has its way, will get you pumped about paying to see the film in the future.

This video is safe for work. Shocking, right?

Many of the reported elements of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac are scandalous. As the title itself suggests, this will be a film with some dedicatedly sexual content. Upping the ante are rumors of real sex being shown onscreen, and being penned and helmed by von Trier—who has gamely featured graphic sex and genital mutilation in his past works—we expect the producers’ promise of “hardcore” content will in now way prepare us for what Danish audiences are set to see first on Christmas Day.

What is shocking, and decidedly clever is that the marketing campaign behind the film has been playfully restrained. Sure, we’ve seen some saucy pictures that tease threesomes, fetishes of all sorts, and a Shia LaBeouf-centric sex scene. But the actual footage released thus far is like that above in that it is sexual in nature, but not explicit in its content.

Charlotte Gainsbourg fronts Nymphomaniac as the titular Joe, a woman obsessed with sex. After being savagely beaten in the street, she recounts her life of kinky conquests and desire-driven misadventures to her Good Samaritan, played by Stellan Skarsgård. Last spring, von Trier revealed the structure of his film by releasing a list of chapter titles, one through eight. Each month since then, he’s unveiled one “appetizer” from each chapter. June showed “The Compleat Angler,” in which a young Joe (Stacy Martin) plays a competitive hook-up game on a train.

July debuted “Jerome,” where Joe meets the man played by LaBeouf.

Now August has brought Chapter 3, which features Uma Thurman as “Mrs. H.” As you can surely gather from the clip above, Joe (Martin) has clearly had sex with a married family man known as Mr. H (Hugo Speer). Mrs. H doesn’t appreciate this much, so she takes her three tow-headed sons into see “Daddy’s favorite place,” also known as “the whoring bed,” thereby rubbing her Mr’s nose in it. It’s easy to see why the description of the clip on YouTube reads:

Next month should bring about the release an appetizer from “Chapter 4: Delirium.” Who knows which of Nymphomaniac’s sprawling ensemble might appear, or what tawdry activity they will be on the verge of performing?

Polarizing filmmaker Lars von Trier obviously likes to make audiences anxious. Whether he's wallowing in the dark side of human nature in Dogville, reveling in the end of the world in Melancholia, or subjecting us to genital mutilation with Antichrist, the man loves to make us squirm. And with his latest, he's taking it to the next level, teasing out our curiosity and discomfort with each new report about Nymphomaniac.

First came rumors of real sex being depicted on screen. Then the announcement arose that this two-part hardcore erotic drama will be unveiled on Christmas day. And earlier this month von Trier's bizarre plan for stitching porn actor parts to his noteworthy stars for Nymphomaniac's sex scenes. Now von Trier is revealing how his story of a nymphomaniac's exploits will come together. THR reports Nymphomaniac will be released in two parts, titled Nymphomaniac Volumes I and II. Within these jointed features, the story of the titular nympho Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) will be told in chapters, the titles of which you can read below.

Chapter 1: The Complete Angler

Chapter Two: Jerome

Chapter 3: Mrs. H

Chapter 4: Delirium

Chapter 5: The Little Organ School

Chapter 6: The Eastern & Western Church (The Silent Duck)

Chapter 7: The Mirror

Chapter 8: The Gun

The headings above give us little clue about what von Trier has in store, and I can't help but think that's precisely the point. But we'll get some clues soon. As the film's release draws closer, Zentropa Entertainment will be unveiling teasers for each chapter that will feature a still from the film as well as a short narrative description of the chapter's plot. While von Trier is continuing in a self-imposed ban of making public statements (probably not a bad idea considering what he finds funny) the teasers will be published in select newspapers worldwide. So keep your eyes peeled.

Oh boy. Since Shia LaBeouf signed on to Lars von Trier's two-part hardcore erotic drama Nymphomaniac, there has been much speculation about how the pic's proposed 'real sex' scenes would be created. LaBeouf himself declared that the shooting script carried a disclaimer warning would-be stars that they will be "doing it for real." However, stars performing actual sex acts on screen is still a major taboo. In the director's Anti-Christ the real-sex shown was performed by body doubles, which suggested a similar method might be employed here to save the reputations of the film's stars. But at Cannes producer Louise Vesth has unveiled von Trier's plan for Nymphomaniac's sex scenes, and they are far stranger than we expected.

According to THR, Vesth confirmed that Nymphomaniac will contain sex scenes between members of its star-stuffed cast, including Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf and Uma Thurman. Pressed for whether these actors will actually be having sex or simply acting like they are having sex, she confessed body doubles were used for more penetrating takes. However, it won't be just clever editing that will marry these shots together - CGI composite work will be employed to stitch together simulating stars with sexing body doubles. She explains:

Beyond this sounding sort of horrific, it means someone somewhere can now put "Uma Thurman's vagina" on her acting resume. But all kidding aside, Vesth intimated that the incredible amount of detailed post-production work involved to make this happen is one of the contributing factors to Nymphomaniac not debuting at Cannes (has the ban has been lifted?). Instead, the film will make its world premiere a red carpet gala in Copenhagen ahead of its eyebrow-raising Christmas Day release.

Nothing says Christmas quite like a four-hour long hardcore sex drama, right? Zentropa Entertainments seems to think so, announcing Lars von Trier's sure to be controversial Nymphomaniac will open in Denmark on Christmas Day. Zentropa CEO Peter Aalbæk Jensen told Deadline (with what we imagine is a healthy dose of playful sarcasm), “What’s more Christmassy than a film like this?” Of course the answer would be: most things.

Nymphomaniac is the latest collaboration between the polarizing writer-director and his recurring leading lady Charlotte Gainsbourg. Here she stars as Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who recounts her life and sexual exploits from the past fifty years to the man who rescued her from a savage beating in the street. To date we've had a glimpse of what seems to be Joe before her savior's arrival, as well as an image that appears to be the beginnings of a threesome with her at the center. Above is a glamorous yet depraved new shot of the ensemble cast…and is that von Trier in the back with duck tape over his mouth? I think so.

Identifying the fetishes at play above almost seems like a saucy party-game. But instead, let's pick out some of its players, shall we? Gainsbourg is in the lower right corner in a green dress, being waited on by a casually dressed Christian Slater. To their left is Stellan Skarsgård in a robe, and Willem Dafoe getting wiped down mid-coffee spill. To his left Uma Thurman stands in a blue dress with Von Trier and Jamie Bell looking on. Then on the floor beneath a suggestively arranged fruit plate is Shia LaBeouf who has been the most outspokenly enthusiastic member of this cast. Can you pick out anyone else? Click the image for a full-size version.

Magnolia will be unveiling Nymphomaniac Stateside, but a release date has not yet been revealed.

Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac is likely going to be a hard sell to conservative areas and theater chains in America. Sure, the movie has a star studded cast that includes Shia LaBouf, Jamie Bell, Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellen Skarsgard and Uma Thurman, but it's reportedly incredibly graphic in its depiction of sex to the point where you can probably expect a little bit of controversy. You also have to take into consideration that this is the same filmmaker who brought us films like Antichrist and Dogville, so we can't expect rainbows and puppies. But Magnolia Pictures is biting the bullet and going for it.

Deadline has gotten word from the European Film Market in Berlin that Magnolia has picked up domestic distribution rights for Nymphomaniac. The report says that the deal closed for "around $2 million" following a screening of footage from the movie this past weekend. The studio has history with Von Trier, as they also put out his last movie, Melancholia. That film managed to make $3 million at the box office in the United States during a limited 16 week run. At its peak it was shown in 145 theaters around the country.

Written and directed by Von Trier and the third title in his "Trilogy of Depression" (after Antichrist and Melancholia), Nymphomaniac tells the story of Joe (Gainsbourg) a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who is attacked and discovered in an alleyway by a stranger (Skarsgard). While she recuperates the sexual experiences that have led her to that point. Magnolia has not yet set a release date for the movie.

With films to his credit like Dogville and Antichrist, Lars von Trier is a professional provocateur. The Danish writer-director revels in making audiences squirm with onscreen violence, cruelty and sex that are too extreme for mainstream audiences. As follow-up to his critically championed end of the world drama Melancholia, von Trier is readying Nymphomaniac, a movie whose premise you could probably guess.

Recurring von Trier collaborator Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as Joe, the titular self-proclaimed nymphomaniac. After she's been attacked and found beaten in an alley by Stellan Skarsgård's character, Joe recounts her lifetime of erotic experimentation and sexual exploration. The first image released gave us a look at Gainsbourg in the aforementioned alley. The second teases something far more salacious. Check it out below, courtesy of Nymphomaniac's distributor, Artificial Eye:

The caption gives us little detail on what's going down here. But really do you need an explanation? Clearly, Joe (Gainsbourg) is gearing up for a threesome. I must confess, I'm not familiar with the actors flanking her. But Nymphomaniac boasts an impressive star-studded cast that includes Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Rampling, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, Connie Nielsen and Uma Thurman.

Currently in post production, Nymphomaniac is slated to make its theatrical debut in von Trier's native Denmark on May 30th, 2013. We suspect it will tour of the prestigious festival circuit—including Venice and Toronto—before coming to the United States. But first, this challenging film must find a US distributor with the stomach to take it on. Since von Trier is reportedly working on two versions (one hardcore, one lacking the rumored real onscreen sex scenes), this might make its release Stateside a bit more palatable to art house distributors.

For so many reasons, I just assumed the first official image from Lars von Trier’s upcoming drama Nymphomaniac would be sexier. Unless, that is, the man pictured below has passed out from all of the sex that he has been having. But I don’t think that’s the case.

The UK distributor Artificial Eye shared the pic on its Twitter feed (via The Playlist), pointing out that Charlotte Gainsbourg (Antichrist, Melancholia) reunites with her director without confirming who we are seeing in the shot. Take a look at the gloomy image below:

What do we know about Nymphomaniac so far? The picture plans to follow a female sex addict from birth to age 50, with Gainsbourg playing the character at different stages of her life. Von Trier, who has courted controversy as of late for his vile comments to the media, has surrounded his leading lady with familiar faces and unexpected stars. Regular Von Trier collaborators like Stellan Skarsgard and Willem Dafoe are expected to join the film, which the director says will be cut into different versions and may feature unsimulated sex. Also, they will be joined on screen by Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, Connie Nielsen and Uma Thurman, according to reports.

Von Trier’s movie doesn’t have a firm U.S. release date, though I’d expect the movie to try its hand at a major film festival – Venice or Toronto – to gauge audience reaction before seeking widespread distribution. And don’t look for it at Cannes, where I believe Von Trier has been told never to return … particularly with a movie titled Nymphomaniac. Stay tuned.

Lars von Trier’s allegedly specific Nymphomaniac has been busy in its pre-production casting process, though the film just lost its first high-profile ensemble member … and it’s someone who actually worked with Von Trier in the past.

Buried near the bottom of a report in The Hollywood Reporter on the various actors joining Von Trier’s latest is the news nugget that Kidman “will not be a part of this movie,” perhaps because she’s too tied up playing Grace Kelly in Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco. Truthfully, I was waiting for marquee-type talents like Kidman to bail on Von Trier because, according to all reports, he wants explicit sex captured on screen for a potential hardcore cut of Nymphomaniac. Then again, Kidman was willing to urinate on Zac Efron for Lee Daniel’s The Paperboy, so maybe it really is a scheduling conflict and not a case of Kidman getting cold feet for the film’s frank sex scenes.

Who will Von Trier have in place of Kidman? THR says that the director’s frequent collaborators Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg are on board, with the latter playing Jo, a nymphomaniac reflecting on her past sexual conquests. Among the stranger casting selections for Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac include Christian Slater, Jamie Bell and Shia LaBeouf. But it’s not a sausage factory. Uma Thurman, Connie Nielsen, Kate Ashfield and Caroline Goodall will be representing the women alongside Gainsbourg.

But not Kidman, who collaborated with Von Trier on the intriguing Dogville but apparently won’t be returning for Nymphomaniac, for the time being.

With David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, Twilight star Robert Pattinson attempts to shed his placid pretty boy image by playing a repulsive and lecherous billionaire whose insidious exploits are sure to make audiences squirm. It's a bold choice, but as his Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe showed with his revealing performance in the Broadway production of Equus, one sometimes needs to do something radical to successfully make the leap from teen dreamboat to working adult actor. Today marks the theatrical debut of Pattinson's disturbing drama, so it's fitting that this is when news is breaking about another ingendude's daring next venture.

Earlier this month, we reported that former Disney kid Shia LaBeouf was seeking a role in controversial filmmaker Lars Von Trier's erotic drama Nymphomaniac. Now MTV's got word that LaBeouf is not only signed on, but also willing to do whatever the filmmaker asks, probably meaning nudity, possibly meaning real sex. In the interview below, LaBeouf is reluctant to reveal too much, but check out the clip to hear what Nymphomaniac could have in store:

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LaBeouf has begun to distance himself from the cheesy blockbuster fare like Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with more dramatic roles in smaller films like New York, I Love You and the upcoming Lawless, which co-stars Jessica Chastain who seems worried on his behalf above. But making a Von Trier movie is a whole different deal. And though it's impossible to predict what the Danish auteur has planned for LaBeouf with this sure-to-be shocking drama, I respect LaBeouf's willingness to embrace such a daring endeavor.

For those of you thinking, there's no way actual sex will be recorded, I wouldn't count it out. Beyond Intimacy, the film referenced above, other non-porn features that show unsimulated sex include James Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs, and von Trier's Antichrist. However, for the last, while the sex was real, the participants were stand-ins for the film's stars. So, there's also the possibility that Nymphomaniac cast, which already includes Nicole Kidman and Charlotte Gainsbourg, might employ stunt doubles as it were. Regardless, this flick seems sure to show audiences a whole new side of Shia LaBeouf.

If this all seems like to much for your tastes, you might be relieved to hear Von Trier is reportedly planning two versions of the film, one hard-core and a toned down version catered to slightly more mainstream audiences. It will still be a Von Trier movie after all.

Very few actresses agree to work with Lars von Trier a second time. Either the demanding rigors of a Von Trier production break their spirit, or the director says something inflammatory about the Nazi party during a press conference in Cannes. Either way, the auteur often makes it difficult to maintain a working relationship, though one of his most celebrated collaborators might be gearing up for “Lars: Round Two.”

Nicole Kidman, who starred in Von Trier’s minimalistic masterpiece Dogville, could be appearing in a small role in The Nymphomaniac, a racy, two-part drama he’d like to have ready for Cannes 2013. (Wait, didn’t the festival ban him earlier this year?) Kidman was speaking with the movie magazine Positif (via The Playlist) and admitted she would be working for a “few days” on Von Trier’s set. Beyond that, we’re left to speculate.

Kidman had the opportunity to reteam with Von Trier on his Dogville sequel, Manderlay, but she passed … allowing Bryce Dallas Howard to step into the role. Whatever beef existed between the leading lady and her director must have faded, though, if she’s willing to challenge herself for Nymphomaniac.

The film’s actually populated with Von Trier veterans. Stellen Skarsgard, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe have signed, so Kidman would be right at home with previous soldiers from the Von Trier battlefield.

The plot follows one woman’s erotic journey from “birth to the age of 50, as told by the main character,” according to the film’s official synopsis. Von Trier has said he’ll cut two different versions of the film, which will be laden with sexually explicit material. The softcore version will feature the recognizable Hollywood talents, while a hardcore version will swap in porn actors. Oh, Lars. Will we ever be able to figure you out?