Now On Demand: Meet The Danes

Poor, poor, pitiful people who reside in the U.S. Readers of this site and a few others aside, relatively few genre fans here in this country are familiar with the beauty, the glory, the humor, and the raw originality of Danish films.

Largely, that's because relatively few Danish genre films gain distribution in the U.S. Now, however, our friends at Alamo Drafthouse's recently launched Alamo On Demand VOD service have announced a new series to help remedy that unfortunate situation

Self-described as "The Best of Danish Cinema," a new series will celebrate "the depth of cinematic talent coming out of Denmark," according to an official release. "The series will feature 36 films in total, rolled out in thematic 'six packs' every two months beginning today, June 25. In addition to the 36 featured films, Alamo Drafthouse is also curating one of the largest collections of Danish films on the planet, many of the films exclusive to Alamo on Demand."

Personally, I give credit to the good people I worked with at AFI Fest in Los Angeles back in 2003 and 2004 for introducing me to Danish cinema in the first place, which was quickly followed by this very site here, where I learned much about genre films, specifically. After that, Fantastic Fest featured a consistent number of good to great Danish films, thanks to dedicated programmer(s) who shall remain nameless.

In any event, here's more from the official release about the timing of things: "Beginning today and continuing for the next year, curated series of Danish films will debut on the Alamo On Demand VOD platform. New 'six packs' of movies, each built around a different theme, will debut on the last Thursday of the month every two months. Select films will be paired with exclusive special features, including filmmaker introductions, interviews, and Danish short films."

Now to the even more good part: what films are available, starting today?

"The first series, Danish Films/Women Directors, features a wide spectrum of films, several that are exclusive to Alamo On Demand: 6 directors, 6 extraordinary films - from punk road movie to dry comedy to bold thriller to gripping drama. Through Sunday night, the 'six pack' of all Danish Films/Women Directors is half off for purchase or rental, and if you use the discount code 'MeetTheDanes at checkout through Sunday, your first rental from the first Danish collection 'Danish Films/Women Directors' is free."

The titles in the first six-pack are Out of Tune, A Soap (pictured at top), Holiday, Queen of Hearts, In Your Hands, Bye Bye Blackbird.

More information on all the films and about the series itself is available at the official site. Thank you for reading, and have a good weekend, watching Danish films.