Art of the Title

  • Title Sequences
  • Designers + Studios

Riget (The Kingdom) (1994)

Riget (The Kingdom)
Here is Denmark, excreted from limestone. There is Sweden, chiselled from granite. Danish scum!
—Stig Helmer
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Post
  • More

I’ve come to know the title sequence of Lars von Trier’s Riget well. I’ve read the subtitles enough times to know the narration to its core. I will on occasion watch it without subtitles to bask in the black. There is death in every visual – even the water seems dead. Then, those hands. Anyone raised on Romero would smile knowingly at that moment.

What happens next is perhaps the most jarring occurrence in title sequence design: this lushly cinematic sense of sheer dread is halted by spastically edited Dogme 95 footage that was shot on sub-standard video and scored to music fit for a late-in-the-episode SNL skit. All this as an introduction to one of the best television series in history.

Related

  • Tension in Title Sequences

    Tension in Title Sequences

    feature

  • The Walking Dead (Seasons 1 & 2)

    The Walking Dead (Seasons 1 & 2)

    title only

  • The X-Files

    The X-Files

    title only

  • American Horror Story

    American Horror Story

    title only

  • The Prisoner

    The Prisoner

    summary

  • True Blood

    True Blood

    summary

Title sequence

  • Category

    TV
  • Styles

    1990s, live action, main title
Riget (The Kingdom)
  • Creator

    Lars von Trier
  • Release Date

    November 24, 1994
  • Aspect Ratio

    1.33:1
  • Network

    DR
  • Country

    Denmark
  • Language

    Danish
  • IMDb has full details

Article

  • Writer

    Alexander Ulloa
  • Published

    July 23, 2008

Subscribe to Art of the Title

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • About
  • News
  • Titles
  • Features
  • Designers
  • Studios
  • Sponsorship

Art of the Title is made with ❤ in Toronto and is supported by readers like you.

© 2007–2025 Art of the Title, LLC. All rights reserved.
Works appearing on Art of the Title are the property of their respective owners.

  • Gold Sponsor

    NOW OPEN! LET’S TALK

  • Silver Sponsor

    NOW OPEN! LET’S TALK