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A Tempted Christ wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:17 pm On the other hand, the 4K restoration of Tati's Playtime was never given a standalone Blu-Ray and is only available as part of the Tati box set.

True, but all the othe Tatis were only in the box-set.

Also meant to say: I like the Brief Encounter parody where Marianne gets something stuck in her eye (at a train station) and David says 'let me help, I'm a doctor'. It ties into Marianne's desire for romantic 'play' and David's infidelity (and maybe his original role as the principled young man who stole Marianne away from her boring husband).

tenia wrote:I got a response from Mulvaney to my email regarding Smiles of a Summer Night :
"I connected with the producer of BERGMAN'S CINEMA and it seems that we're aware of the book having a misprint. In fact, the same master for SMILES was used in our box set and in the single Blu-ray edition. The error will be corrected on a future printing of the book."

Also, for Swo :
- Smiles is a HD transfer, not a 2K one.
- Scenes from a Marriage TC is the same transfer but with almost half the video bitrate (30.58 Mbps for the individual release, 18.33 Mbps for the IBC version) because Saraband shares the same disc.

I've finally getting through the boxset (using the set's order) but remembered about this.
For those who bought the Second Pressing, has the book been updated for the tech details of Smiles of a Summer Night ?

In the last couple of month’s the idea of knowing more of Ignmar Bergman’s cinema grew on me and I’ve thought about buying this set or the one by Arthaus (which would spare me some shipping costs and probably the import duties). Problem is: I only know three movies of his so far.

I’m a huge fan of Persona and its glooming atmosphere of confusion and frustration (I already own the Criterion Blu-ray), while I feel pretty indifferent about The Seventh Seal. The last picture I’ve already watched is Winter Light wich quietness I liked too.
Generally speaking, I’m kinda on the fence about Bergman’s cinema.

You’ve seen three films by him, two of which you liked... I don’t think you are on the fence about him! I don’t know what anything anyone can say will do to convince you, but those who enjoy his films enjoy this set

I've started making my way through the set, in the order provided by the set "festival" format. I'm mostly impressed by the technical aspects of it, though was surprised that while the restorations are very good looking overall, stabilization and cleaning were imperfect.
I'm midway through Scenes from a Marriage, which I'm watching with the French Studio Canal set instead since it split the TV version on 2 BD-50 instead of cramming it on 1 disc only. I've quickly compared with the Criterion disc in the set, and for sure, compression is abysmal in places. It's a shame, because for a 16mm movie restored digitally in 2002, it actually looks pretty good.

T!me wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2020 3:18 pm In the last couple of month’s the idea of knowing more of Ignmar Bergman’s cinema grew on me and I’ve thought about buying this set or the one by Arthaus (which would spare me some shipping costs and probably the import duties). Problem is: I only know three movies of his so far.

I’m a huge fan of Persona and its glooming atmosphere of confusion and frustration (I already own the Criterion Blu-ray), while I feel pretty indifferent about The Seventh Seal. The last picture I’ve already watched is Winter Light wich quietness I liked too.
Generally speaking, I’m kinda on the fence about Bergman’s cinema.

I think this set is so monumental that even people who hate Bergman should get it.

IMHo it’s the best blu ray release in history, both in terms of quality of films and value for money.

Well, I guess, I'll have to start saving some money then. Hopefully some European amazon will offer it to a more wallet-friendly price by the time I've saved enough.

nitin wrote: Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:27 am IMHo it’s the best blu ray release in history, both in terms of quality of films and value for money.

I'd have to agree. While there are a few klunkers - even the worst films are elevated by the context.

I finally finished watching in the suggested order. Would tend to binge on a few discs in a few days - then months without watching any. But this was an incredible experience overall - and I found the groupings really interesting

Has anyone watched Cries and Whispers with the English "dubbed" track (which I understand is largely performed by the original cast)? Does it have anything to recommend itself?

I've seen the film 3 or 4 times subtitled, but it's next on my trip through the Bergman box and was wondering if it is worth experiencing in that format.

I wasn't aware that an English dub was included, which is potentially interesting news as I'd never get my wife to watch the Swedish version in a million years (she basically doesn't do subtitled films except under very rare big-screen circumstances), but I think for all sorts of reasons it's very much a film for her.

MichaelB wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 4:11 pm I wasn't aware that an English dub was included, which is potentially interesting news as I'd never get my wife to watch the Swedish version in a million years (she basically doesn't do subtitled films except under very rare big-screen circumstances), but I think for all sorts of reasons it's very much a film for her.

Commiserations, MichaelB. We are all very sorry to hear this!

It makes not one iota of difference to me: we all have different tastes, and the art of maintaining a successful long-term relationship (19 years this July) is to respect this.

In fact, we made a point of watching Marriage Story together (I knew that I stood little chance with Scenes From a Marriage), and our overwhelming takeaway from that was the fact that the Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson characters either didn't understand this at all or didn't think that it mattered as much as it ultimately did.

In any case, one area where our tastes very much do overlap is weird sex films (in her case for extra-cinematic reasons: she's currently actively contemplating PhD research into the issue of women's attitudes towards their genitalia and how this is linked to the amount of innocent or malicious misinformation that they've absorbed over their entire lifetimes), and I suspect finding a partner who shares those interests is a considerably trickier prospect! I remember showing her Jan Švankmajer's Conspirators of Pleasure at a very early stage of our relataionship, and she got it instantly, which is by no means true of everyone I've watched it with, including her immediate predecessor.

I'm not sure how much film watching I'd get done by myself, if my wife didn't come along for the journey. I'm thankful that she's generally game for me to pick our viewing. I do (or did) watch some stuff alone that I suspect she will not like or that I'm watching more out of interest, rather than expecting it to be good, but those opportunities have completely evaporated since having a baby a few weeks ago. No longer am I going to get those weekend mornings or late midweek nights alone! The exercise bike is still an opportunity to watch some lesser stuff, which I don't necessarily have the urge to project.

In fairness, you work in film for a living though, so I imagine you can badge most watching as work?

MichaelB wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 4:11 pm I wasn't aware that an English dub was included, which is potentially interesting news as I'd never get my wife to watch the Swedish version in a million years (she basically doesn't do subtitled films except under very rare big-screen circumstances), but I think for all sorts of reasons it's very much a film for her.

Here are the Bergmans released by Criterion with English dubs :
Through a Glass Darkly
Winter Light
The Silence
The Virgin Spring
Cries and Whispers
Autumn Sonata
Fanny and Alexander (both cuts)

Seventh Seal has an English dub as well.

swo17 wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:06 pm Thanks tenia, I've updated my post

Any idea if the Trilogy is the same transfers as in the box?

Also I have noticed that Marionettes is marked as "Swedish" audio both on the Criterion website AND the disk audio itself - odd as it's in German :p

Does anyone have any information about Ignmar Bergman's "The Bacchae" / "Backanterna" ? I've been looking for a script, English subtitles... Is there anything out there detailing what Bergman's directorial process may have been like? Thank you!

odino wrote:

swo17 wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:06 pm Thanks tenia, I've updated my post

Any idea if the Trilogy is the same transfers as in the box?

They're most likely are the exact same discs except for the main menus.

Apologies for what I know is a redundant question, but my search back through this thread didn't lead me to the answer. Can someone who knows the answer without having to do much work tell me if there is any reason I should hold on to any of the previous Bergman discs or Eclipse set if I've purchased the big box set? I'm weeding my collection and I am hoping any previous Bergman I had can go to make space for other films.

Thanks in advance.

The only one I'm thinking of holding onto (once I muster up the energy to do what you are) is Autumn Sonata, since I recall the new transfer being different and not in a good way. Maybe I'm misremembering though, I haven't tested the two in my player personally. Aside from that, it's possible some of the essays are whittled down, but even if so, they're posted online. I don't believe Criterion shed supplements.

I'd wait for a second opinion just in case I missed anything, but I think you can safely sell off the other discs.

The only title that I think would be debatable is Cries and Whispers. The color timing is very different, where the reds really pop on the older version - the newer restoration on the box set mutes them and the palette is less garish and more naturalistic. That's the only one I can think of where you might want the older version, but again that comes down to taste.

EDIT: therewillbeblus posted before I could - I'd have to take another look at that title.

That's a good point hearthesilence, I didn't own Cries and Whispers beforehand (and never really cared for it much...) but recall the same muted reds being a cause for concern on Autumn Sonata, so that makes sense

Edit: Wow, I just re-checked the Beaver caps for CaW and I'd def hang onto your copy. I kinda wanna pick up the previous version individually just have a disc on hand with the colors popping as I remember, even though I don't love the film!