¢ ITALIAN COLLECTION #21 ¢ HIGH-DEFINITION BLU-RAY PRESENTATION ¢ 2.0 English Dual Mono ¢ 2.0 Italian Dual Mono with English Subtitles ¢ Audio Commentary with Italian Cinema Experts Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani ¢ When Butterflies Turned to Glass - Interview with Director Aldo Lado ¢ Glass Doll Theories - A Video Essay by Pier Maria Bocchi ¢ Lado's Trilogy of Terror - A Video Essay by Mike Foster ¢ Interview with Expert Stephen Thrower ¢ The Need to Sing - Interview with Singer Edda Dell'Orso ¢ Cutting Glass Dolls - Interview with Editor Mario Morra ¢ Czech Mate - Feature Length Retrospective Documentary with Aldo Lado and Jean Sorel ¢ Einmal Italien und Zurück [Once to Italy and Back] - Interview with Co-Producer Dieter Geissler ¢ English Trailer ¢ Italian Trailer ¢ Presented in a rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys, and containing perfect bound book, and double-sided poster
Based on a true story this shockingly controversial film is an unflinching portrayal of the criminal depravity of Nazi Germany and the ruthless use of sex to destroy opponents. Now presented fully uncut for the first time in UK in high definition showcasing the stunning production design of Ken Adams (designer of most James Bond sets and twice Oscar winner for Barry Lyndon and The Madness Of King George).
The corpse of reporter Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel) is found in a Prague plaza and brought to the local morgue. But Moore is actually alive, trapped inside his dead body and desperately recalling how the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Bach) led to a terrifying conspiracy of depravity. Can a reporter with no visible signs of life solve this perverse puzzle before he meets his ultimate deadline?
Made in 1957, Wild Strawberries finds the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman at the height of his powers. It's a road movie, in effect: an aged medical professor (Victor Sjöström)--lonely, disillusioned and haunted by dreams of death--travels across country to receive an honorary degree. But as with all good road movies, the outer journey parallels an inner one. Incidents along the road conjure up memories, and Professor Borg finds himself forced to confront the failures and lost opportunities of his life. Gentle and elegiac, Bergman's film is a masterpiece of compassion and reconciliation, and also a tribute to his predecessor Sjöström, the greatest Swedish director of the silent era. The 78-year-old film maker gives an austere, moving performance, and Bergman treats his lined features like a landscape of yearning and regret. Sjöström is ably supported by other members of Bergman's regular repertory company of the period, particularly Bibi Andersson, heartbreakingly appealing, as the lost love of Borg's youth. --Philip Kemp
The third in Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of "chamber works" featuring characters in isolated, existentially dramatic settings, The Silence, made in 1963, is set in Timoka, a fictional Eastern European town with its own made-up language. Stylistically more sensual and maximal than its austere predecessors Through a Glass Darkly and Winter Light, it was both a success and a scandal in its day, featuring as it does scenes of masturbation, sex and even lesbian eroticism. Jorgen Lindstrom plays Jonas, a small boy travelling with his mother Anna (Gunnel Lindblom) and aunt Ester (Ingrid Thulin). His aunt is dying of consumption, but his mother is a great deal more alive and smouldering with sexual energy. As the tension between the bedridden aunt and the frustrated mother mounts, Jonas roams the hotel corridors and chances almost surreally upon the hotels only other occupants--an elderly floor waiter and a troupe of performing dwarves. Meanwhile, his mother is picked up by a waiter in a cafe, is seduced by him in a church then engages in a traumatically miserable bout of hotel sex. Sultry, full of incident and dreamlike cinematic spectacle (the performing dwarves, a rumbling tank, an overheated railway carriage) there's a sense of aimlessness and oblivion about The Silence, in which the godlessness of the universe, though never discussed, is implied throughout the movie. There is, however, a note of humanist hope struck in the conclusion, more convincing than the platitudinous finale of Through a Glass Darkly. On the DVD: Bergman's notes explain how he had long nurtured the notion of setting a movie in an imaginary city where "the rules of society cease to exist", and how the young boy's curious wanderings were inspired by his first exposure to Stockholm as a child. Critic Philip Strick's notes reveal that Greta Garbo had at one point been mooted to make a return to the screen in this film and that in certain countries, censors insisted on separate screenings of The Silence for males and females. --David Stubbs
The second of an Ingmar Bergman trilogy, 1962's Winter Light is a deliberate repudiation of the "God is love" message of its predecessor Through a Glass Darkly. Gunnar Bjornstrand stars as Tomas, a pastor in a remote parish tending to a dwindling congregation, as tense and distracted as David--the novelist Bjornstrand plays in Through a Glass Darkly. He finds himself trying to counsel a local fisherman Jonas, who is plagued by a sense of impending atomic doom but realises that the religious platitudes he consoles him with--"put your faith in the Lord"--are mere drivel. He himself is wracked by religious doubts, unable to tolerate "God's silence" and unable to prevent the fisherman from committing suicide. He finds himself taking out his inner woe on his eczema-riddled mistress, played by an unflatteringly made up Ingrid Thulin. Described by Bergman's own wife as a "dreary masterpiece", the synopsis to Winter Light seems almost comically miserable, yet this passion play is gripping in its unsparing bleakness, bathed in the stark illumination implied by the title, ironically akin to the light of a religious epiphany. Released at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, its preoccupations and all-pervasive anxieties are especially apt. On the DVD: Bergman's own notes reveal that Winter Lightis among his own favourites and he explains the evolution of the film's ideas at some length. Critic Philip Strick's background notes reveal that Gunnar Bjornstrand was exhausted and ill for much of the making of the film, which doubtless enhanced his anguished performance here. --David Stubbs
As the plague tears through medieval Europe, a knight (Max von Sydow), returning from the crusades, challenges Death to a game of chess in order to postpone his demise. An allegorical masterpiece asking big questions about faith and superstition, Ingmar Bergman's iconic The Seventh Seal remains one of cinema's most important and influential films. Presented here for the first time on 4K Ultra HD the BFI's first ever UHD release experience Bergman's timeless classic like never before. Special Features Presented on 4K UHD Blu-ray and High Definition Blu-ray Audio commentary on The Seventh Seal by film critic and editor-in-chief of Diabolique magazine, Kat Ellinger Other extras TBC
Ingmar Bergmans Cries and Whispers is a brilliant and at times shockingly traumatic piece of chamber cinema. It also represented a renaissance for Bergman, whose previous few films had flopped commercially. Set in a large house with interiors done out entirely in a disquieting red and against a soundtrack of ticking and barely audible chatter, the film features three of Bergmans female stalwarts. Harriet Andersson plays Agnes--a thirtysomething woman dying of cancer--Ingrid Thulin plays her sister Karin--non-tactile and caught in a marriage with a man she finds physically repulsive--and Liv Ulmann is the almost childishly sensual second sister Maria. Kari Sylwan, meanwhile, stars as the earth-motherly maid Anna, whose cradling of the dying Agnes against her naked bosom is one of the centrepieces of the movie. Much of what transpires here can be construed as fantasy sequence, including one extraordinary incident in which Thulin cuts her vagina with broken glass and smears the blood over herself, in order to avoid sex with her husband. Agnes unbearable cries of anguish in her death throes, however, are all too real. Many familiar Bergman themes are explored in Cries And Whispers--mortality, the existence of God (here doubted by a Pastor) and the space between people. However, they are set against a singular, blood-red, dreamlike ambience that is irresistible. This is Bergman at his finest. On the DVD: the dominant red backdrops of the movie are richly enhanced in this edition. Text-only extras include notes from Bergmans own memoirs. In a lengthy extract here, he reveals that he had considered Mix Farrow for the part of one of the sisters. Philip Stricks additional notes add further context and background--it seems that the films success in America was due to its distribution by, of all people, Roger Corman. --David Stubbs
In 1930s Germany a wealthy industrialist family struggles to maintain its status and influence in the face of the relentless rising tide of fascism. Divided by the rapidly changing social and economic climate the family members resort to blackmail sexual manipulation and murder in a desperate struggle for power and prestige.
The epic story of a man a hero and a nation. An infant escapes the edict calling for the death of all male Hebrew babies and is raised in the Egyptian Court by a princess who gives him the name Moses. After her death Moses (Burt Lancaster) returns to his poverty sticken people including his sister Miriam (Ingrid Thulin) and brother Aaron (Anthony Quayle). He flees into the desert to marry Ziporah the Chief of the Midianites. There he encounters the voice of God in the burning bush. Moses goes back to Egypt confronts the Pharoah predicts the ten plagues leads the Exodus recieves the Ten Commandments takes the Israelites from exile and finally before his death sees the Promised Land.
When the body of American journalist Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel, Perversion Story) is discovered in the beautiful Malá Strana area of Prague, the body is moved to the morgue for an autopsy. Only thing is, Gregory is still alive and has been paralyzed in a death-like state. As the ultimate deadline draws near, Gregory's mind races to recall why this happened to him and who is behind a spat of kidnappings of gorgeous local women, including his girlfriend Mira (Barbara Bach, The Unseen). Aldo Lado's remarkable film is an atmospheric delight that boasts an incredible score from the maestro himself, Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), and more than deserves it's reputation as one of the finest examples of the giallo genre. 88 Films are proud to present this stone cold classic of Italian cinema, in pristine HD, for the first time in the UK! SPECIAL FEATURES New 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative Restored English Soundtrack Restored Italian soundtrack with English subtitles English Trailer Italian Trailer TECHNICAL SPECS Region Code: 2 Picture Format: 2.35:1 Audio Format: Mono Language: English / Italian Certification: 18 Running Time: 97 Mins Approx
The Cassandra Crossing is an all-star disaster spectacular telling of the terrifying odyssey of 1000 doomed passengers trapped aboard a plague infested train. A terrorist infected with a deadly virus boards the Stockholm to Geneva Express and exposes all aboard to the disease. Colonel MacKenzie (Burt Lancaster) is called into handle the situation and finds Dr. Chamberlain (Richard Harris) who is on board the train. Mackenzie decides to re-route the train to the Cassandra Crossi
A sort of existential horror movie set in what often feels like a darkly imaginary 1846, The Magician is Ingmar Bergman's meditation on the restrictive nature of modern rationalism. Max Von Sydow cuts a suitably melancholy and mystical figure as Dr Vogler, the mute hypnotist who travels with a group of players to Stockholm, only to be examined and humiliated by a team of sceptical inquisitors led by Gunnar Bjornstrand's Dr Vergerus and a hog-like police chief. Dr Vogler exacts his revenge on Vergerus, however, in an extraordinary feat of illusion.With its elaborate, occasionally expressionistic sets and its feel of a scrupulously re-enacted nightmare, The Magician is reminiscent at times of Poe or even The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. However, the "below stairs" characters--including Ake Fridell's ebullient Master of Ceremonies and a host of giggling wenches--add comic energy to what is otherwise a startling and sombre reflection of the nature of art and life. It would prove a turning point in Bergman's career as he moved away from his early, "romantic" period.On the DVD: Presented in the original academy ratio, the mix of soft light and harsh shade for which credit should go to photographer Gunnar Fischer, is well-restored here. In notes from his memoirs included here, Bergman relates how his adventures and privations as part of a theatre company in Malmo provided inspiration for The Magician, while critic Ronald Bergman's notes talk of "the ability of the artist to find truth in both fact and fantasy". --David Stubbs
Between 1961 and 1963, Ingmar Bergman embarked on three films thematically concerned with man's relationship to God and the futility of spiritual belief. Together, The Faith Trilogy proved a turning point for the director, securing his collaboration with cinematographer Sven Nykvist and exhibiting his mastery for direction. Through a Glass Darkly (1961): A schizophrenic girl has visions, believing that God's presence is ever closer. However as her descent into madness deepens, ...
The Rite was Ingmar Bergman's first made-for-television project. It explores an issue that he continued to return to throughout his career: the artist's place in society and the often troubled relationship betwen men and women. Filmed with a cast of just four principal actors the story revolves around three close friends including a husband and wife who make up a theatre troupe. They have been prohibited from performing a short play called 'The Rite' and are brought before the l
Wild Strawberries (1957): The film that catapulted Ingmar Bergman to the forefront of world cinema is the director's richest most humane movie. Traveling to receive an honorary degree professor Isak Borg (masterfully played by the veteran Swedish director Victor Sjostrom) is forced to face his past come to terms with his faults and accept his approaching death. Through flashbacks and fantasies dreams and nightmares Wild Strawberries captures a startling voyage of self-dis
Opening with a starkly symbolic dream sequence, Wild Strawberries follows Professor Isak Borg as he journeys by car in the company of his daughter-in-law to collect an award from his former university. The trip occasions a series of reminiscences and reveries, as the ageing Borg revisits the scenes of his youth and reflects on an unhappy marriage. Bergman pays tribute to his forebears by casting great silent filmmaker Victor Sjöstrom as Borg, but strikes out for a new form of intellectual cinema characterised by probing into the nature of existence. Presented in High Definition Fully illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Geoff Andrew, original review and full film credits
Haunted by demons past and present artist Johan Borg fights a losing battle to retain his sanity and maintain his artistic prowess. His wife Alma desperate to help him finds herself starting to share his hallucinations. But as Johan's mind continues to unravel Alma is forced to choose bewteen her love and her life...
The Bergman Faith Trilogy (3 Discs)
The relationship between three sisters is masterfully explored by Bergman in Cries and Whispers. In rural Sweden around the turn of the century three sisters reside in a vast manor house with their housekeeper. Agnes lives out the last days of her life in pain hoping for companionship and affection. Surrounded by her sisters Agnes takes comfort in the fact that her remaining time can be spent with those close to her. However dissatisfaction in their day-to-day lives and the estrangement that they feel from one another causes the sisters to become increasingly self-absorbed. Special Features: An extraordinarily rich visual experience Cries and Whispers is that rarest of things - a true masterpiece Star and director filmographies Scene selection Philip Strick film notes Extract from Bergman’s book Images - My Life in Film The Bergman collection trailer Region 0
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