Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema

Disc 12, Through a Glass Darkly

Part of a multi-title set

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Synopsis

In honor of Ingmar Bergman’s one-hundredth birthday, the Criterion Collection is proud to present the most comprehensive collection of his films ever released on home video. One of the most revelatory voices to emerge from the postwar explosion of international art-house cinema, Bergman was a master storyteller who startled the world with his stark intensity and naked pursuit of the most profound metaphysical and spiritual questions. The struggles of faith and morality, the nature of dreams, and the agonies and ecstasies of human relationships—Bergman explored these subjects in films ranging from comedies whose lightness and complexity belie their brooding hearts to groundbreaking formal experiments and excruciatingly intimate explorations of family life.

Arranged as a film festival with opening and closing nights bookending double features and centerpieces, this selection spans six decades and thirty-nine films—including such celebrated classics as The Seventh Seal, Persona, and Fanny and Alexander alongside previously unavailable works like Dreams, The Rite, and Brink of Life. Accompanied by a 248-page book with essays on each program, as well as by more than thirty hours of supplemental features, Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema traces themes and images across Bergman’s career, blazing trails through the master’s unequaled body of work for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Picture 8/10

Continuing on through Criterion’s box set Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, disc 12 presents the first film in Bergman’s Trilogy, Through a Glass Darkly. The film is presented on this dual-layer disc in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The 1080p/24hz high-definition presentation is taken from a 2K restoration, scanned from a 35mm interpositive.

Criterion released the Trilogy on Blu-ray recently, upgrading their DVD set. The presentations found in that Blu-ray set used the same masters found here so the presentations, unsurprisingly, looks the same. From the review for that set’s disc:

[In comparison to the old DVD] definition is far better, as one would hope, the image looking razor sharp from beginning to end, allowing for an astounding level of detail in long shots, even in the darker shots in the boat near the end of the film. This improvement in detail over the DVD is notable in the close-up shots when von Sydow’s sweater is in view, the woven pattern appearing much sharper and clearer, where you can even make out the individual threads, which all comes off far more limited and fuzzier on the DVD thanks to its compression.

Black levels and contrast also look better, blacks looking inky without destroying shadow detail. The gray levels transition smoothly as well, giving the picture a more photographic look (aided by the fine film grain that is rendered gorgeously). Restoration work has also cleaned up most of the damage that remained on the DVD, including a slight flicker that could pop up in places, along with a number of marks and scratches. There are still a few bits of dirt that pop up here and there, which ends up sticking out because the film is spotless the rest of the time. There is also the appearance of stray hair on occasion. Those “issues” are easy to overlook, though, and the image comes out looking stunning.

Audio 6/10

Like the original DVD release and the box set Blu-ray release, the film yet again comes with two audio tracks: the original Swedish in lossless PCM 1.0 mono, and the English dub, presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 mono. The Swedish track sounds the better of the two, cleaner with less noticeable distortion, and range is actually decent. The English track sounds to be the same one found on the original DVD, coming off flat and weak, with some noticeable noise and edginess. I prefer the Swedish track in the end but as far as English dubs go it’s not bad.

Extras 6/10

I was expecting this disc to be the same as what was found in the Trilogy box set but much to my surprise it’s missing a couple of features found in that edition. Things still start out with 2003 introduction recorded with Bergman by filmmaker Marie Nyeröd while making Bergman Island. Introductions were recorded around this time for television airings of his films and Criterion has been including them on their reissues and new editions for Bergman’s films since. This simple 2-minute one differs from the others (which usually feature the two in a screening room) and primarily features Nyeröd talking about Faro Island and it being featured in Through a Glass Darkly, before it then jumps quickly to the screening room.

Making its way over from the DVD yet again is a 2003 interview with film scholar Peter Cowie, who is a regular on most of Criterion’s Bergman releases. During this 11-minute segment Cowie explains why this film and the two films that follow in this set (Winter Light and The Silence) are considered to be all part of a trilogy, linked by their religious themes (though he admits Through a Glass Darkly doesn’t get even remotely religious until closer to the end). He also talks about how Bergman’s style changed with this film, which led to a drop in the box office. It’s not terribly in-depth (a commentary from Cowie would have been very welcome) but as an introduction to the trilogy you could do a lot worse.

Cowie is the followed with an excerpt from a 2012 interview with actor Harriet Andersson, filmed at the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä, Finland, where she first jokes about how she was married to a farmer at the time (which she figures is hard for some to imagine) before talking about coming on board to do Through a Glass Darkly. It’s a fun conversation and she has a couple of good stories, including an amusing one about how her stomach wouldn’t stop gurgling during one scene. It runs 8-minutes with some behind-the-scene footage and clips from the film.

The disc then closes with the film’s American trailer. The set’s included 247-page book also features the same essay by Catherine Wheatley, covering the trilogy.

They’re a good set of features but the disc is oddly missing material that was found on the box set’s disc: two audio interviews, including one with Sven Nykvist and the other with Gunnar Bjornstrand. The Nykvist interview can be found on the last disc of this set, but I don’t see (or at the very least, come across) the Bjornstrand interview listed anywhere else. It was a good interview with the actor, so it’s a bit of a shame if it’s not to be found here.

Closing

Missing a couple of features that can be found on the individual box set’s disc (though one of them can at least be found elsewhere in this set) it’s a fine disc for the film, delivering a sharp looking presentation.

Part of a multi-title set

BUY AT: Amazon.com Amazon.ca

 
 
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Featuring: Anita Björk, Inga Landre, Elliott Gould, Nine-Christine Jönsson, Josef Kostlinger, Ingrid Bergman, Ulla Jacobsson , Robert Atzorn, Bïörje Ahlstedt, Holger Löwenadler, Eva Henning, Liv Ullmann, Eva Dahlbeck, Maj-Britt Nilsson, Irma Urrila, Pernilla Allwin, Anna Lindhal, David Carradine, Christine Buchegger, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Lena Nyman, Hakan Hagegard, Gert Frobe, Stig Olin, Martin Benrath, Yvonne Lombard, Börje Ahlstedt, Ake Grönberg, Margaretha Krook, Mimi Nelson, Marianne Löfgren, Birgit Tengroth, Alf Kjellin, Stig Järrel, Harriet Andersson, Birger Malmsten, Bibi Andersson, Birgitta Valberg , Nils Poppe, Bengt Ekerot, Victor Sjöström, Hasse Ekman, Max von Sydow, Jarl Kulle , Jörgen Lindström, Berta Hall, Dagny Lind, Lars Passgård, Birgitta Pettersson, John Ekman, Ulf Palme, Nadja Palmstjerna-Weiss, Julia Dufvenius, Rita Russek, Halvar Björk, Georg Rydeberg, Sheila Reid, Håkan Jahnberg, Ewa Fröling, Margit Carlqvist, Annalisa Ericson, Elisabeth Eriksson, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Björnstrand, Margit Carlquist, Gunnel Fred, Fritz Strassner, Lars Ekborg, Naemi Briese, Brigitta Valberg, Karin Kavli, Ingmar Bergman, Bertil Guve, Allan Bohlin, Mimmi Nelson, Lola Müthel, Jullan Kindahl, Arne Bang-Hansen, Anders Ek, Heinz Bennent, Erland Josephson, Gertrud Fridh, Jan Malmsjö, Walter Schmidinger, Karl-Arne Holmsten, Hjördis Petterson, Wenche Foss, Folke Sundquist, Erik Hell, Inga Gill, Ernst Eklund, Olof Winnerstrand, Hans Alfredson, Marianne Aminoff, Sture Lagerwall, Hans Quest, Annika Tretow, Allan Edwall, Bengt Eklund, Gudrun Brost, Naima Wifstrand, Sigge Fürst, Mona Malm, Ingvar Kjellson, Maud Hansson, Lasse Krantz, Mimi Pollak, Britta Billsten, Signe Wirff, Barbro Hiort af Ornäs, Björn Bjelvenstam, Gaby Stenberg, Birgitte Reimer, Edith Heerdegen, Anita Wall, Georg Funkquist, Inga Landgré, Henning Moritzen, Georg Løkkeberg, Ruth Olafs, James Whitmore, Aino Taube, Frank Sundström, Jan Molander, John Elfström, Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz, Ulf Johanson, Renée Björling, Kerstin Tidelius, Tovio Pawlo, Gunnel Broström, Glynn Turman, Karl-Heinz Pelser, Torsten Winge, Linn Ullmann, Georg Arlin, Håkan Westergren, Gunnar Sjöberg, Bertil Anderberg, Lena Olin, Dagmar Ebbesen, Sif Ruud, Axel Düberg, Vilgot Sjöman, Gaby Dohm, Åke Fridell, Erik Strandmark, Per Mattson, Heino Hallhuber, Gunnar Olsson, Gösta Prüzelius
Year: 1946-2003
Time: 4467 total min.
 
Series: The Criterion Collection
Licensors: Svensk Filmindustri  |  Folkets Hus och Parker  |  Buena Vista Home Entertainment  |  MGM Home Entertainment  |  Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 20 2018
MSRP: $299.95
 
Blu-ray
30 Discs | BD-50
1.33:1 ratio
1.37:1 ratio
1.66:1 ratio
1.78:1 ratio
1.85:1 ratio
English 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono
English 1.0 PCM Mono
Swedish 1.0 PCM Mono
German 1.0 PCM Mono
Swedish 2.0 PCM Stereo
Subtitles: English
Region A
 
 Video introduction to Smiles of a Summer Night by Ingmar Bergman   New video conversation between Bergman scholar Peter Cowie and writer Jörn Donner, executive producer of Fanny and Alexander, about Smiles of a Summer Night   Original theatrical trailer for Smiles of a Summer Night   Audio commentary for Wild Strawberries featuring film scholar Peter Cowie   Introduction to Wild Strawberries by director Ingmar Bergman   Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work, a ninety-minute documentary by filmmaker and author Jorn Donner   Behind-the-scenes footage for Wild Strawberries shot by Bergman    Introduction for Summer with Monika by director Ingmar Bergman   New interview with actress Harriet Andersson, conducted by film scholar Peter Cowie   New interview with film scholar Eric Schaefer about Kroger Babb and his distribution of Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl! as an exploitation film   Images from the Playground, a half-hour documentary by Stig Björkman featuring behind-the-scenes footage shot for Summer with Monika by Ingmar Bergman, archival audio interviews with Bergman, and new interviews with actresses Bibi Andersson and Harriet Andersson   Trailer for Summer with Monika   Introduction for A Lesson in Love by Ingmar Bergman   Video interview with Ingmar Bergman from 1986   Video interview with Scenes from a Marriage's stars Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson   Video interview with Bergman scholar Peter Cowie comparing the two versions of Scenes from a Marriage   Interviews with director Ingmar Bergman and a brief excerpt from a press conference for Shame, recorded in 1967 and ’68 for Swedish television   New interview with actor Liv Ullmann   An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman, a 1968 documentary made during Shame's production, featuring an extensive interview with Bergman   Daniel, a rarely seen documentary short by Bergman   Karin's Face, a rarely seen documentary short by Bergman   Introduction for Bergman's Trilogy by director Ingmar Bergman   Exploring Bergman's Trilogy: Video discussions with Ingmar Bergman biographer Peter Cowie   Interview from 2012 with actor Harriet Andersson   Original theatrical trailer for Through a Glass Darkly   Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie, a five-part documentary by Vilgot Sjöman made for Swedish television during the production of Winter Light   Original theatrical trailer for Winter Light   Poster gallery for the trilogy films   Original theatrical trailer for The Silence   Audio commentary for The Virgin Spring by Ingmar Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene   Video interviews from 2005 with actors Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson   Introduction for The Virgin Spring by filmmaker Ang Lee   An audio recording of a 1975 American Film Institute seminar by Ingmar Bergman   Introduction to The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman, recorded in 2003   Audio commentary for The Seventh Seal by Bergman expert Peter Cowie   Afterword for The Seventh Seal by Peter Cowie   Bergman Island (2006), an 83-minute documentary on Bergman by Marie Nyrer   Archival audio interview with Max von Sydow   A 1989 tribute to Bergman by filmmaker Woody Allen   Theatrical trailer for The Seventh Seal   Bergman 101, a selected video filmography tracing Bergman   Audio commentary for Sawdust and Tinsel by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie   Video introduction for Sawdust and Tinsel by Ingmar Bergman from 2003   Visual essay for The Magician by Peter Cowie   Brief 1967 video interview with director Ingmar Bergman about The Magician   Rare English-language audio interview with Ingmar Bergman conducted by filmmakers Olivier Assayas and Stig Björkman in 1990   Interview with director Ingmar Bergman recorded in 1974 for Swedish television   New interview with film scholar Peter Cowie about The Magic Flute   Tystnad! Tagning! Trollflöjten! (1975), a feature-length documentary produced for Swedish television about the making of The Magic Flute   Ingmar Bergman, a documentary by Stig Björkman shot on location during the making of The Touch in 1970   Away from Home, excerpts from a 2004 program on The Serpent's Egg, featuring interviews with actors David Carradine and Liv Ullmann, and film historian Marc Gervais   Visual essay on the film’s prologue by Ingmar Bergman scholar Peter Cowie   Interviews from 2013 with actor Liv Ullmann and filmmaker Paul Schrader   Excerpted archival interviews with Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, and actor Bibi Andersson   On-set footage, with audio commentary by Bergman historian Birgitta Steene   Liv & Ingmar, a 2012 feature documentary directed by Dheeraj Akolkar   Trailer for Persona   Illustrated audio interview with cinematographer Sven Nykvist, recorded in 1981   Introduction for Cries and Whispers by director Ingmar Bergman from 2001   2012 interview with actor Harriet Andersson, conducted by historian Peter Cowie   Behind-the-scenes footage from Cries and Whispers with commentary by Peter Cowie   Ingmar Bergman: Reflections on Life, Death, and Love with Erland Josephson (2000), a fifty-two-minute interview with Bergman and his longtime collaborator   On Solace, a video essay by filmmaker ::kogonada   Trailer for Cries and Whispers   A lavishly illustrated 248-page book, featuring essays on the films by critics, scholars, and authors including Peter Cowie, Alexander Chee, Molly Haskell, Karan Mahajan, Fernanda Solórzano, and many others; selections from Ingmar Bergman’s own writing and remarks on his work; and detailed guides to the feature films and supplements included in the set