Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-4

[What A Disgrace]

I have a feeling that I'm going to sell the Criterion box set before I even watch it.

[swo17]

Volume 2

For over 50 years, Ingmar Bergman produced ground-breaking works of cinema that established him as one of the world’s most acclaimed, enduring and influential filmmakers.

In the 1950s he firmly established himself at the vanguard of world cinema. Following his breakthrough success Summer with Monika (1953), Bergman continued with a series of ground-breaking productions, many of which are still considered some of the greatest films ever made.

Presented over six discs, Ingmar Bergman: Volume Two features eight landmark titles by the iconic filmmaker – presented together on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. These include the Palme d’Or-nominated comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), the introspective meditation on old age and human existence, Wild Strawberries (1957) and the iconic exploration of faith and death, The Seventh Seal (1957).

The films:
Summer Interlude (1951), Waiting Women (1952), Summer with Monika (1953), A Lesson in Love (1954), Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Magician (1958)

Extras:

• Audio commentary on The Seventh Seal by film critic and editor-in-chief of Diabolique magazine, Kat Ellinger
• Perfect-bound book featuring new essays by David Jenkins, Ellen Cheshire, Leigh Singer, Kieron McCormack, Philip Kemp, Jessica Kiang, Geoff Andrew and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Other extras TBC

Is this going to be their only stab at the 1950s? Because it's missing Carnie's Twilight!

[dwk]

I think Criterion released that one in the UK.

[swo17]

So they did

[TMDaines]

BFI haven't included any of the five films that AE released previously on Blu-ray.

[rapta]

I have a feeling that I'm going to sell the Criterion box set before I even watch it.

The Criterion set has several films that the BFI sets won't, but I suppose the BFI sets are still very nice (and are encoded by David Mackenzie, and on separate discs too).

[Ribs]

Both sets are still more than one film on a disc. As the movies are for the most part not very long, I don't really see it as a serious issue beyond that David Mackenzie will do a generally better job regardless of the space available.

[rapta]

Both sets are still more than one film on a disc. As the movies are for the most part not very long, I don't really see it as a serious issue beyond that David Mackenzie will do a generally better job regardless of the space available.

Sorry yes they're on five discs in the first volume and six discs in the second. I imagine the Mackenzie encodes to be much better. Criterion set is going to be better for special features. I guess they're all worth owning, but personally since I own the Criterion and AE sets, I'm happy with just the first volume of the BFI sets (and I do own the BFI edition of The Touch too...is The Magic Flute worth owning twice?).

I just got hold of the Bergman: A Year in a Life in the 3-disc edition BFI released a few years ago, if only to overdose on Bergman-related discs.

[jsteffe]

I received Volume 1 and watched TORMENT last night. Despite the caveats I've seen about the source materials, it looks better than I expected.

As for SAWDUST AND TINSEL/GYCKLARNAS AFTON, how about Carniedämmerung?

[L.A.]

DVD Compare’s review for The Seventh Seal

[tenia]

It's unfortunate the review doesn't look at this but the 4k restoration is obviously grain managed, something that was already visible on BD, and I wonder how it renders in 4k and HDR.

[cdnchris]

I just watched the 4K and thought it looked nice. It's very fine but visible, and better than the Criterion disc in the box set in this regard (I have the BFI Blu-ray as well but haven't looked at it yet). Can't get the disc to load on my desktop yet, but on the television I thought it looked really good.

[cdnchris]

So I was finally able to pull screen grabs from the disc, and here's an SDR sample for resolution purposes; I thought the grain was rendered well. It has been converted to a JPG because the original file was around 10MB, so keep that in mind:

[EddieLarkin]

Geoff D says it's a winner.

[yoloswegmaster]

Standalone version of Wild Strawberries is coming out on Jan. 17

[Tuppence]

This BFI set contains the SFI's 2K restoration of SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, and it is substantially better than the Criterion presentation in all respects. Much sharper and more detailed, beautifully natural in its grain, and the optical transitions are much more stable than the older master. Really a shame Criterion screwed up and didn't use it for their own Bergman set (despite erroneously listing this very master in the accompanying book).

[tenia]

I'm still sure they screwed the disc up by forgetting to update the presentation and preferred to fix the book instead for the 2nd pressing. Really a shame.

[swo17]

Does the Vol. 2 box include the Seventh Seal UHD?

[MichaelB]

Does the Vol. 2 box include the Seventh Seal UHD?

Not unless something’s gone badly wrong with the packaging.

[Rayon Vert]

This BFI set contains the SFI's 2K restoration of SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, and it is substantially better than the Criterion presentation in all respects. Much sharper and more detailed, beautifully natural in its grain, and the optical transitions are much more stable than the older master. Really a shame Criterion screwed up and didn't use it for their own Bergman set (despite erroneously listing this very master in the accompanying book).

Are there other films in the set where the BFI is superior to the Criterion, or is the rest all equivalents?

[Tuppence]

Are there other films in the set where the BFI is superior to the Criterion, or is the rest all equivalents?

The only other master here that Criterion elected not to use is for THE MAGICIAN. I haven't looked at it yet, but will compare the two side-by-side shortly.

[andyli]

Are there other films in the set where the BFI is superior to the Criterion, or is the rest all equivalents?

The only other master here that Criterion elected not to use is for THE MAGICIAN. I haven't looked at it yet, but will compare the two side-by-side shortly.

Any update on this comparison? I am about to order the second set, and The Magician being a newer restoration would seal the deal for me.

[swo17]

Vol. 3 coming in August

For more than 50 years, Ingmar Bergman produced groundbreaking works of cinema that established him as one of the world’s most acclaimed, enduring and influential filmmakers.

Firmly established as one of cinema's most original and artistic talents by the 1960s, Bergman continued his explorations of the human psyche with a series of increasingly provocative and stylised productions.

Including the Oscar-winning rape-and-revenge drama The Virgin Spring (1960), his assessment on the purpose and promise of religion in the Faith Trilogy (Through a Glass Darkly, The Silence, Winter Light), and the landmark psychological drama Persona (1966), through these films Bergman challenged audiences to confront and consider topics seldom explored with such depth.

The films:

The Virgin Spring (1960)
The Devil's Eye (1960)
Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
The Silence (1963)
Winter Light (1963)
All These Women (1964)
Persona (1966)
The Rite (1969)

Extras:

• Newly commissioned audio commentary on The Virgin Spring by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
• The Men and Bergman (2007, 52 mins): Eva Beling's documentary featuring Erland Josephson, Thommy Berggren, Börje Ahlstedt and Thorsten Flinck
• 100-page perfect bound book featuring new essays by Catherine Wheatley, Claire Marie Healy, Jannike Åhlund, Philip Kemp, Ellen Cheshire, Geoff Andrew, Andrew Graves and Kat Ellinger
• Other extras TBC
• Newly commissioned artwork by Andrew Bannister
• Limited edition of 5,000

Please note that our distribution rights mean that this release is only available to customers in the UK (and related territories).

[therewillbeblus]

The Rite didn't wind up gelling for me, but it's an interesting film and a welcome addition to these sets considering its absence from the Criterion Bergman box

[swo17]

None of these films are absent from the Criterion box. I may still pick this set up though if any of the transfers are significant improvements like Smiles of a Summer Night was