Green Butchers

The Green Butchers (Danish: De grønne slagtere) (2003) is a Danish dark comedy film starring Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, & Line Kruse, written & directed by Anders Thomas Jensen. The film featuring two butchers, Svend "Sweat" & Bjarne, who start their own shop to get away from their arrogant boss. Cannibalism is soon introduced to the plot & further complications arise due to the reappearance of Bjarne's mentally challenged twin brother Eigil. Here are the pros & cons of this film as I see it, I hope this helps you.Pros:1. The premise of the story is not to bad2. The characters are somewhat interestingCons:1. The directing & story line are just not executed well, it seem choppy, & makes the story just to far fetched2. Reminded me to much of Sweeney Todd3. Although not a factor for me, if you do not understand Danish & do not like subtitles then this film may not be for you

Two disgruntled butchers branch out to start their own business. One of the two has a twin brother, on life support. He wants him dead so he can get his inheritance. Never pans out. Meanwhile, the second disgruntled butcher now owner of their own shop decides to take an opportunity to cut up a man he left in a freezer and sell his body parts as meat. People love it. This sparks a new appetite for one of the guys to keep doing this, which then morphs into the other guy okay with this madness. From there, there's a potential wife of one who says, Adios nutcake and splits, which sends said partner in all this to go even crazier. Meanwhile, the second partner is so stoned half the time he has no ability to discern what is murder and what is an accident anymore, it all becomes about the ends justifies the means. SIck. Pathetic and you wish both of them were arrested and put in prison. Still, it's an interesting movie. Mostly about weak men who can't stand up to do the right thing in their moments of vulnerability. Not what most women watching would want to see. Most women want men of moral character and strength, leaders. Not sheeple who just, by their own circumstances, give up, give in and do the worst they can do because they don't have anymore man in them.

Fine movie delivered in great shape - thanks!

Anders Thomas Jensen's "The Green Butchers" is a charming, magical little tale of two "losers" (Nicholaj Lie Kaas in a double role, and Mads Mikkelsen) who dream of starting their own butchers shop. When bad luck (an accident in the meat locker) comes their way, the sweet but fragile Svend panics regarding the body. From there Svend & Company Butchers takes the Sweeney Todd road to success. Is it the special meat or Svends 'special marinade' that is winning over customers?Actually this film is not as graphic as one might expect such a film to be - it's quite delightful, and as heart warming as any Cannibalistic Butcher's Shop themed movie can be. Its all about friendship, self acceptance and love - all the important things that modern tales of cannibalistism, romance, sucess and murder strive for!Highly recomended!

Not quite sure what I expected, but this movie turned out pretty good. Mads and Nikolaj play well off each other, and Mads, having seen him in much more serious roles, I think has a great comidic style. I now plan to check out his other comedies. This is a gem and kept me watching, and admittedly occasionally laughing out loud, to the end. Glad I watched it. Farcical with a bit of Buñuel.

Terrific, quirky funny movie. Wonderful acting and interesting and unusual story. I am a huge Mads Mikkelsen fan, and especially liked his performances in The Hunt, Adam's Apples, The Salvation,and After the Wedding. Nikolaj Lie Kaas is another Danish favorite especially watching him in the lead role in Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes, Child 44, and also in Adam's Apples.

This is a very funny dark comedy. I kept laughing at things that I really shouldn't have been laughing at in the movie, but it was tooooooo darn funny!!! This was a superb original story, the acting and directing were excellent. I even bought several extra copies to give to my friends as gifts. I don't want to say anything about the story because it will ruin it for you when you watch it. It's great to see everything in the story unfold in its own time, and laugh your way through the film. Have fun!

Fine acting and a clever script. Perhaps only viewers with a sick sense of humour enjoy this type movie.Realities are deftly dealt in unreal ways. A cup/bowl of 'crude & gruesome' in a light-hearten whey?Recommended viewing moor than once around one's castle. Leaves a moist moral taste in the viewer's mental mouth?A seriously funny movie? Enjoy.

Following the success of his feature length debut, writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen, serves up a macabre dish filled with peculiar flavour and questionable ingredients. Any comparisons made with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Delicatessen are slightly wide of the mark as both flicks are in total contrast stylistically but Jensen's sly, dry humour is definitely on par with that of the talented French auteur.The satire revolves around two misfit butchers, `Sweaty' Svend (Mads Mikkelson), and the pot smoking Bjarne (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), who've become disgruntled with being employees and so take the risky decision to buy an empty property and set up their own business and become rivals with their ex-employer, Holger, who sells deer sausages and believes: 'It's mythological to kill an animal and then mock it by sticking it into its own intestine'.When an electrician turns up late one evening to fix problems in the freezer `Sweaty' Svend haplessly locks the door on his way out and discovers the frozen corpse in the morning. In a state of panic both butchers decide to chop up the body and soak the meat in the marinade Svend uses for his speciality dish, `Chicky Wicky'. Due to the success of his creation and not wanting to disappoint the eager customers or his savage inferiority complex, Svend is now apparently unable to show anyone the inside of his freezer without adding them to the chilled display cabinet the following morning.The unforced lunacy of the characters filled with deadpan absurdity culled from the comic ingredients of cannibalism and retardation is very tasty, but Jensen's real success is how cleanly he serves up his delicious story: developing strong likeable characters, infusing dialogue with thematic meaning and binding everything together with a tight, breathable plot. So, if you want to gorge yourself on gastronomic excess order yourself this Danish treat, it's gauranteed to wet the appetite. If the humour is to your taste, then you might want to try the flavour in Jensen's other brutally dark comedy, Adam's Apples which, in my opinion, was even more filling.

I bought this item together with a bunch of other "Sweeney Todd" related releases, when I realised that I'd have to have every release imaginable.Being a Dane myself, it surprised me that I had never realised this movie as a potential classic. However, generally I am much more for Hollywood and English-language productions, than obscure small country released art films (which this movie almost falls into).The movie itself, though interesting is not the best "butchers sell human meat" story I have yet to watch, but it never the less has some very unexpected, yet very Danish and very black humour, that I have yet to find in a non-Danish release.The video seems adequate, though nothing special. It is however presented in it's original theatrical aspect ratio regardless of the box stating "16x9 Anamorphic", which it of course still is enhanced for.The audio is available in both 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Dolby Surround in Danish.I bought one of two British releases, only later realising that I might just have bought the bare-bones version. This however was not the case. This version contains all the extras available in the other British release as well as the Danish. There is, for a Danish production, a rather interesting behind-the-scenes feature, and once done with the talking actors part, it starts covering all the body parts used and shown in this feature.A funny feature not available in the Danish release are the British trailers.All features are subtitled in English, with the ability to turn them off (yay for Danes).The case is interestingly red (as compared to the title and the Danish release) and leading ones thoughts into a classic horror movie which this isn't. Sure, it's scary and the macabre, but it is as much a tale about two off-the-map people who lose track of what is right and wrong.This release's case names the film "Green Butchers". Being a Dane, and knowing the original title, I found that a little strange. The Danish title would be closer to "The Green Butchers" which the back of the case also proudly names it once or twice. The on-disc menu also refers to the movie by it's original title and green design.I can highly recommend this release, if you are in the market for something gruesome and macabre, yet interestingly human.Also check out  Adam's Apples ( Adams æbler ) ( Adams Äpfel ) , another movie by many of the same people, with a similar, albeit less cannibalistic world view. It's more religious and more ridiculous than "The Green Butchers" as well.Meat is MurderHighly recommended! Adam's Apples ( Adams æbler ) ( Adams Äpfel )

Firstly this is not a horror film but a very very dark and odd black comedy . The first time I watched this I was bemused ; so was not how I was used to seeing both Mads Mikkelsen or Nickolaj Lie Kas , it seems so cartoony barbaric and silly I turned it off . However one cold and dreary wintery afternoon I decided to watch it again and this time loved loved loved it . More and more oddball characters , plot twists and laugh out loud . Such a change from danish dogma/ police/ bleak family trauma . A real odd treat and how great to see Mikkelsen in such a roll . In end I think it is a film about daring to be yourself and finding a friend . Ignore the cover and just enjoy the dark humour . An adult pantomime .

I bought this a while ago and only managed to watch it tonight. Wow, what can I say? It's unlike anything I've ever seen! I was laughing during and after watching it, and I don't know exactly why! Who would have come up with such an unlikely plot and make it a great black comedy? Only the Danes and Northern Europeans! This is a compliment!I won't be giving away anything here, except recommending film lovers to give this a try. I was expecting to see a horror movie (which is not my usual genre anyway) but got a surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and my fascination and love for Scandinavian and Nordic films and books will continue, as long as they serve quality entertainment like this.

I will watch anything with Mads in it but have to say I was quite disappointed with this effort simply because the front cover implied greater horrors, guts and gore which really didn't happen. Sure, there were a few scenes with a bit of blood and bodies but nothing as promised. I wasn't quite sure if this was meant to be a black comedy or pure horror. There were a few instances of humour but I found it mainly a sad reflection of two very dysfunctional people who even after the story ends on film would go on to a unhappy end.