On the first season First of all, the original lacks the length of the remake, where the case of the murder of a girl stretched for two seasons. However, if the remake had a long exposition, and then the dynamic development of the plot, the Danes all the same. Unhurried, intelligent detective, without action.
In the original, the noir atmosphere is not so much inflated - there are no endless rains here. But subdued colors, half-darkness in the rooms, mainly cloudy weather or darkness in the “street” scenes – this is present, although not as intrusive as in Americans.
There are many blacks, the plot is tragic, but it is all served everyday, without Shakespearean passions, although in the end they did not resist the pathosy scene. In general, the Danish “Murder” in comparison with the American is distinguished by some simplicity, artlessness.
The plot, by the way, is very different, the solution of the crime is completely different. The characters also differ: the main character, however, only in appearance, but her partner in the original Ian Mayer and partner from the remake Stephen Holden are completely different characters, with different biography and different character.
As for the answer, by the way, here it is more realistic than the Americans, but at the same time much more black. I do not want to believe until the last series, although it is already clear in the penultimate who the killer is. At the end, the creators of the series could not resist and cut the pathos tragic grand finale in the spirit of “Seven” Fincher. I’m not sure they should have, but they know better.
It is not clear why Hartman’s storyline is so inflated in the Danes: in the original, unlike the remake, the crime was not politically motivated. It's interesting to watch him and his team, but from a certain point on, all of these campaign passions only drag on the narrative. Probably, viewers like Lars Mikkelsen and he was shown more for the sake of ratings?
The remake preserved the idea of the original - that crime violates the fragile balance of normal life, and the investigation, like a snowball, draws in more and more new people, breaking fate, causing an epidemic of distrust and suspicion. Crime is the cause of the escalation of evil. Angry suspects and frightened witnesses slander each other, relatives and colleagues turn away from likely killers, professional and political careers collapse, skeletons fall out of closets, families and collectives fall apart. But in the original it is shown not as intrusively as in the remake (there were already two episodes of lynching!).
Actors are no worse than Americans. In addition to the already mentioned Mikkelsen, I can note the main roles of Sophie Grobel and Søren Malling. Bjarne Henriksen and Anne Eleanor Jørgensen played Tais and Pernilla Brick-Larrsen, the victim’s parents, and Nicolaus Copernicus, Tice’s friend, Vagna. Interestingly, among the characters of the Danish original significantly fewer young people than in the American remake, where the main characters were younger, and in the headquarters of the mayoral candidate was mainly young.
Bottom line: the overall Scandinavian original makes a more pleasant impression. It is not delayed, it has less pathos (but in general emotions are less, and for a thriller this is not a plus), and the development of the plot in it is more realistic. Danish "Murder" is mostly a detective, and the American has acquired a greater focus in the thriller and drama. The original has its own oddities, like a bloated “political” storyline. And, of course, to the “Bridge”, with which it is often compared, this series is far away – there are no such bright and unusual characters as there. But anyway, the fame of this series is well deserved – however, not least, I think, here played the role of novelty: in 2007, the Scandinavian neonoir was still a novelty, and the artless “Murder” managed to get almost a cult status.
Original