WOW! The release of the year! Bergman and Criterion! (1 Viewer)

[bujaki]

Well I just google it and it turned out he is from sweden.. I knew that some third world country is in question

Which makes me wonder, what is a second-world country if Sweden is a third-world country?

 

[Patrick McCart]

I've only seen a few Bergman films so far - The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Persona, and Fanny and Alexander (theatrical). All four I'd consider great films and among my favorites. This box set, even off Criterion's website is a bargain. $240 is actually cheaper than buying all the separate releases available or announced on Blu-ray - and you get twice as many films and a book on top of that. That's even with a 50% off sale.

 

[Craig Beam]

I'm still in shock. This may be the greatest (and most affordable) Blu-ray release ever. I'm not even mad that I already own several of the titles on Blu-ray. Even at full retail (which none of us are gonna pay), the sheer number of previously-unreleased titles (in HD, no less!) makes this the bargain of the century. The thought that maybe it'll be half-price during the next Barnes & Noble sale is crazy.

I can't believe I'm about to complain, but this would be a complete Bergman filmography with the addition of only FIVE films:

It Rains On Our Love (1946)
Music in Darkness (1948)
Prison (1949)
This Can't Happen Here (1950)
Face to Face (1976)

I'm sure there are rights issues preventing Criterion from including them, but.... damn.

 

[JPCinema]

Most of the titles have been streaming on Filmstruck/Criterion. The transfers are perfect. Bergman's films never looked so good. Can't wait to own them in November.
Saw the 2K restored "The Touch" in London recently. This is the Swedish/English version that was not shown in the US.

 

[Mike Frezon]

This is a release of the year only if you are spanish like he was

Well I just google it and it turned out he is from sweden.. I knew that some third world country is in question

Remarks like these are not welcome on the HTF. Continue them at your own risk (with the likelihood of disciplinary action if you choose to do so).

 

[titch]

I'm still in shock. This may be the greatest (and most affordable) Blu-ray release ever. I'm not even mad that I already own several of the titles on Blu-ray. Even at full retail (which none of us are gonna pay), the sheer number of previously-unreleased titles (in HD, no less!) makes this the bargain of the century. The thought that maybe it'll be half-price during the next Barnes & Noble sale is crazy.

I can't believe I'm about to complain, but this would be a complete Bergman filmography with the addition of only FIVE films:

It Rains On Our Love (1946)
Music in Darkness (1948)
Prison (1949)
This Can't Happen Here (1950)
Face to Face (1976)

I'm sure there are rights issues preventing Criterion from including them, but.... damn.

Actually, I would say that this is the greatest release Criterion has ever done, since they released the laserdisc of Citizen Kane in 1984. Criterion has done major blu ray box sets before (their majestic Olympic box set came out only last year) but nothing comes close to the scope or quality of this one. I am absolutely delighted - I was sort of hoping for a HD upgrade of their DVD Through A Glass Darkly, Winter Light and The Silence trilogy, but this is a Bergman bonanza!

According to the Ingmar Bergman Archives (Taschen, 2008), his complete filmography stands at 46 films, so there are seven missing. His entire opus is listed thus:

1. Torment (Hets) 1944
2. Crisis (Kris) 1946
3. It Rains On Our Love (Det regnar på vår kärlek) 1946
4. A Ship To India (Skepp till India land) 1947
5. Music In Darkness (Musik i mörker) 1948
6. Port Of Call (Hamnstad) 1948
7. Prison (Fängelse) 1949
8. Thirst (Törst) 1949
9. To Joy (Till glädje) 1950
10. This Can't Happen Here (Sånt hander inte här) 1950
11. Summer Interlude (Sommarlek) 1951
12. Waiting Women (Kvinners väntan) 1952
13. Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika) 1953
14. Sawdust and Tinsel (Gycklarnas aftan) 1953
15. A Lesson in Love (En lektion i kärlek) 1954
16. Dreams (Kvinnodrama) 1955
17. Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommernattens leende) 1955
18. The Seventh Seal (Det sound innseglet) 1957
19. Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället) 1957
20. Brink Of life (Nära livet) 1958
21. The Face (Ansiktet) 1958
22. The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällen) 1960
23. The Devil's Eye (Djävulens öga) 1960
24. Through A Glass Darkly (Såsom i en spell) 1961
25. Winter Light (Nattvardsgästerna) 1963
26. The Silence (Tystnaden) 1963
27. All These Women (För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor) 1964
28. Persona (Persona) 1966
29. Hour Of The Wolf (Vargtimmen) 1967
30. Shame (Skammen) 1968
31. The Ritual (Riten) 1969
32. A Passion (En passion) 1969
33. The Touch (Beröringen) 1971
34. Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och rop) 1972
35. Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap) 1973
36. The Magic Flute (Trollflöjten) 1975
37. Face to Face (Ansikte mot ansikte) 1976
38. The Serpent's Egg (Ormens ägg) 1977
39. Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten) 1978
40. From the Life of the Marionettes (Ur Marionetternas liv) 1980
41. Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) 1982
42. After The Rehearsal (Efter repetitionen) 1984
43. The Blessed Ones (De två saliga) 1986
44. In The Presence of a Clown (Larmar och gorgeous sig till) 1997
45. The Image Makers (Bildmakarna) 2000
46. Saraband (Saraband) 2003

It is so fantastic to be able to have almost the entire oeuvre. Like you, I wish they had managed to secure every single one. I have seen almost all Bergman's films, thanks to this year's retrospective at our art-house cinema. However, the major missing one for me, is the Bergman film that Woody Allen's character was taking Diane Keaton's character to see in Annie Hall (but of course in the film they didn't, because they missed the opening titles, so they went to see the four hour Sorrow And The Pity, instead).

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/785-annie-hall

One also has to really commend the Svensk FilmIndustri - SFI - SF Studios for managing to save and preserve all the films they had. This is unique. No other film studio in the world has shown the foresight and preservation care that they have.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well I just google it and it turned out he is from sweden.. I knew that some third world country is in question

Now back to more constructive discussion about Ingmar Bergman films being released by Criterion.

 

[moviepas]

The Swedish Film Institute is an archive like UCLA, GEH, LofC, BFI and MOMA amongst others and not studio. I was there for an afternoon in the Northern Summer of 1980 and I met many staff guys who ha done other jobs before they joined the Archive(like in the Merchant Navy) and they gave me a Coke to drink!!!! I understand a lot of silent film was accidently lost to a fire during WW2 although Sweden was not in the war(outside selling steel to both sides of the conflict). This happened in a storage area they said but I have no other proof of that situation. Maybe someone knows more, if true.

 

[titch]

The Swedish Film Institute is an archive like UCLA, GEH, LofC, BFI and MOMA amongst others and not studio. I was there for an afternoon in the Northern Summer of 1980 and I met many staff guys who ha done other jobs before they joined the Archive(like in the Merchant Navy) and they gave me a Coke to drink!!!! I understand a lot of silent film was accidently lost to a fire during WW2 although Sweden was not in the war(outside selling steel to both sides of the conflict). This happened in a storage area they said but I have no other proof of that situation. Maybe someone knows more, if true.

Apologies - I meant to write Swedish Filmindustri SFI - SF Studios - the studio. I have edited my post.

http://www.sfstudios.se

They are responsible for taking care of, and curating, all their movie history in such a stellar fashion. An example to others.

 

[Ferdinand Hudson]

Apologies - I meant to write Swedish Filmindustri SFI - SF Studios - the studio. I have edited my post.

http://www.sfstudios.se

They are responsible for taking care of, and curating, all their movie history in such a stellar fashion. An example to others.

You can remove the SFI entirely, Svensk Filmindustri (without a capital i in industri). only uses SF.

 

[Woyzeck37]

Stepping off track for just a second, if Criterion was able to include SHAME and HOUR OF THE WOLF here (which is awesome!), that means they still have some kind of arrangement with Fox/MGM. How about a comprehensive Truffaut box that includes Blu-rays of SMALL CHANGE, THE WILD CHILD and any other films released here by MGM/UA?

Agree about Truffaut, but while we're at it how about a comprehensive Blu Ray Elia Kazan collection, which would include both A Face In The Crowd (1957) and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1945)?

Or, a collection of Istvan Szabo, which would include the signature Brandauer Trilogy - Mephisto (1981), Colonel Redl (1985) and Hanussen (1988), which are all sorely unavailable on Blu Ray?

 

[Dick]

Agree about Truffaut, but while we're at it how about a comprehensive Blu Ray Elia Kazan collection, which would include both A Face In The Crowd (1957) and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1945)?

Or, a collection of Istvan Szabo, which would include the signature Brandauer Trilogy - Mephisto (1981), Colonel Redl (1985) and Hanussen (1988), which are all sorely unavailable on Blu Ray?

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN was included in one of two Kazan 4-disc sets released a few years ago called ELIA KAZAN AT FOX. They were priced to sell, and looked wonderful. The HTF thread link:

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/the-elia-kazan-collection-volume-1-2.317105/

I'd love to see MEPHISTO, etc. on Blu...in addition to about five dozen other foreign-language titles.

 

[PMF]

This is the greatest slam-dunk deal...purchase, design, offering, package, marathon, doctoral thesis, How-To-Speak-Swedish-in-39-Steps (without a Hitch), Liv and let Liv, Sven is my lucky number (but, so is eleven if you're a Sydow), 2K-4K SCANdinavianS...ever to hit our home theater libraries on Blu.
Buckaroo, Bergman; guess my winter plans are sealed.

 

[JPCinema]

Truffaut and also Malle deserve a Criterion boxset release . Luckily every Malle film had been released in France with English subtitles and is all region.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

What I'd like to know is who's going to invest a lot of time in reviewing this treasure trove of a box set when the time comes?

 

[TravisR]

What I'd like to know is who's going to invest a lot of time in reviewing this treasure trove of a box set when the time comes?

Yeah, if they want reviewers to actually watch everything in the set, they should be sending out review copies now so they can finish by the November release date.

 

[PMF]

What I'd like to know is who's going to invest a lot of time in reviewing this treasure trove of a box set when the time comes?

All of us...as we usually do with each and every post.

 

[gruagach]

I heard about this set a couple days after I bought The Virgin Spring. Oh well, I'm sure they'll compensate me with a discount.

 

[B-ROLL]

For those that are wanting to get the lowest price (yet?)
Deep Discount has this for $190.18 ($218.17 - 15% with code HOT15 until NOON CT on 08-15) (+ $5.99 Extra Weight shipping)
https://www.deepdiscount.com/ingmar-bergmans-cinema-criterion-collection/715515221917

Your payment method will be charged when you PLACE your order so

Choose wisely !

 

[David Norman]

Odd, I've never gotten anything other than a preauth/temp charge from Deep Discount on orders using a CC.