Ingmar Bergman's Cinema

[swo17]

The "two-DVD and Blu-ray only" features won't make it over to the box, the "box set only" ones will be new. Translation: if you care about having every extra you'll probably want to hold on to your individual releases.

[mteller]

I don't think so. I think they're making a distinction between the original single DVD and the later double DVD. Blu-ray probably means the same as the box.

Just my guess.

EDIT: or maybe you're right, but some of the features will be moved to a bonus disc or something? I dunno

[domino harvey]

The "two-DVD and Blu-ray only" features won't make it over to the box, the "box set only" ones will be new. Translation: if you care about having every extra you'll probably want to hold on to your individual releases.

Or, based on this, if you care about any critical extras that aren't commentaries. A grim look at a potential huge deficit for this box set. I had my hopes up with the extras comment that this would contain all the existing pieces...

[soundchaser]

Bergman Island is absolutely on the box set, so this discrepancy needs a little more clarification before we assume everything's getting dropped.

[swo17]

There's no reason for Bergman Island to be tied to The Seventh Seal specifically, so they could just be moving things around.

Arranged as a film festival with opening and closing nights bookending double features and centerpieces

So like maybe The Seventh Seal shares a disc with another film, and the general Bergman extras get grouped together on a few bonus discs. Remember there are only 30 discs here for 39 films (or 41 if you separately count the two with multiple versions).

EDIT: Or maybe not, since the image of the set included in the press release shows separate discs for Winter Light, The Silence, The Virgin Spring, and The Seventh Seal. :-k

[dwk]

That "box set edition" is Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks gift set they released that had Smiles of a Summer Night, Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, and The Virgin Spring . I think.

[domino harvey]

Oh man, you may be right!

[domino harvey]

I just checked the cache of the page and it was the same way well before this set was announced. This indeed is referring to the old gift set

[soundchaser]

Yep, and to add to that, Gordon Reynolds is responsible for the old cover image of Death that graced the original release. I don't think anyone's credited for the new poster.

[Rayon Vert]

They're probably the worst commentaries I've ever heard (or let's be kind: all four would make my top five). Worth hearing one of them once for camp value maybe, but they are complete shit.

I'd have to listen to them again (it's been 8 or 9 years or whatever), but I honestly remember really liking the Gervais commentaries. (I seem to remember him tracing a process of dissolution of the self that is explored through the Persona-Anna cycle, along with the metafictional-deconstruction formal aspects.) Although since I've heard other people hold out an opinion similar to yours, so I'd be curious to revisit them.

The MGM DVDs also have those Greg Carson-directed 20-to-26 minute featurettes each, with, if I remember, interviews from the participating actors (Liv Ullmann?).

[Luke M]

That "box set edition" is Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks gift set they released that had Smiles of a Summer Night, Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, and The Virgin Spring . I think.

Oh! Amazing catch! Very happy as the blu-ray seemed to indicate a better transfer.

[tenia]

So like maybe The Seventh Seal shares a disc with another film, and the general Bergman extras get grouped together on a few bonus discs. Remember there are only 30 discs here for 39 films (or 41 if you separately count the two with multiple versions).

I'd suppose there are 2 ways to achieve that :
- moving all the extras to dedicated bonus discs, allowing to have some shorter movie sharing discs. It doesn't seem very practical though.
- grouping the shortest movies with the shortest extras together, and having pretty much no dedicated extra discs except for things like the 3rd Fanny & Alexander disc. I'd bet especially on the former Eclipse movies to be bulked together, and for Summer Interlude to share a disc with another movie.

Going back to the existing discs though, most of them are far above 25 Gb. It might be the time for Criterion to get their extras more efficiently re-encoded...

[phoenix474]

Having just seen a terrible Korean DVD (of the theatrical version) of Face to Face, I gotta say that it's exclusion feels a bit weird. I loved it and it's so typically "Bergman". Well, this is still gonna be the release of all releases

[Calvin]

Olive have the rights to Face to Face, so its exclusion from the set is the only one that seems to make any sense. It feels ungrateful to pick any fault with a set that looks so impressive on paper, but when so few films are missed out it does seem strange that they didn’t include them for inclusions sake.

[domino harvey]

What's strange is 39 is such a peculiar number. Any of the missing titles could have given them a nice round 40

[FlickeringWindow]

This is easily my most anticipated release of the year and sort of justifies me being so slow to see more of Bergman's films.

My guess is that Olive Films either won't or can't "lend" Face to Face to Criterion for the set. Shout! Factory was unable to release three MST3K episodes because Paramount licensed the films to Olive.

[Calvin]

My guess is that Olive Films either won't or can't "lend" Face to Face to Criterion for the set. Shout! Factory was unable to release three MST3K episodes because Paramount licensed the films to Olive.

Indeed, that one makes sense. This Can't Happen Here seems to be deliberately suppressed, but why It Rains on Our Love, Prison, and Music in Darkness are missing is anyone's guess.

[Marwood]

why It Rains on Our Love, Prison, and Music in Darkness are missing is anyone's guess.

One reason may be that these three are not distributed on DVD in Sweden by SF like the majority of Bergman's other films, but by another company called Studio S . Maybe that makes them difficult to license, or at least more expensive?

[bearcuborg]

They're probably the worst commentaries I've ever heard (or let's be kind: all four would make my top five). Worth hearing one of them once for camp value maybe, but they are complete shit.

I'd have to listen to them again (it's been 8 or 9 years or whatever), but I honestly remember really liking the Gervais commentaries.

Richard Schickel has some truly awful commentaries. The thing about Gervais is that he would always cram his own religious experience into the subjects. At least that’s how I remember them.

[Calvin]

why It Rains on Our Love, Prison, and Music in Darkness are missing is anyone's guess.

One reason may be that these three are not distributed on DVD in Sweden by SF like the majority of Bergman's other films, but by another company called Studio S . Maybe that makes them difficult to license, or at least more expensive?

I think Studio S are a Swedish boutique label who licensed them from SF, and they're also releasing the Swedish (DVD-only) equivalent to this set.

[Rayon Vert]

Richard Schickel has some truly awful commentaries. The thing about Gervais is that he would always cram his own religious experience into the subjects. At least that’s how I remember them.

The interesting thing with Gervais is he's a Jesuit priest but I didn't feel that forced a particular interpretation.

But then I liked the Schickel commentaries I listened to (Rebecca, Side Street, The Big Red One, Rio Bravo, Leave Her to Heaven), so forget what I say.

[domino harvey]

All I remember about the Leave Her to Heaven commentary is the actor who played the kid made me want to let him drown too

[JSC]

why It Rains on Our Love, Prison, and Music in Darkness are missing is anyone's guess.

Artificial Eye was able to license a good looking print of It Rains on our Love for their blu-ray release
of Bergman's work (which included other titles being released in this new set).

[denti alligator]

Another missed opportunity is Faithless (2000), screenplay Bergman and directed by Liv Ullmann and featuring Erland Josephson. Flat out masterpiece that hasn't even had a proper DVD (!) release.

It was released in the UK by Tartan.

Non-anamorphic and nearly unwatchable transfer.

[spectre]

A shame about Music in Darkness – that’s my favourite of his early films! Prison is also pretty essential. Of course this is an amazing release nonetheless, but it’s a pity they couldn’t release everything together, a la the Potemkine Rohmer set.