7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A love story that relates the love between the two young people Annika and Pär. The film describes all the uncertainty, fear, tenderness and joy the two experience together. All the while in the background there is the reality of the parents, the lost generation of the welfare society. Their solitary dreams of the future have been lost in everyday routine at the car repair shop and the refrigerator agency.
Starring: Ann-Sofie Kylin, Rolf Sohlman, Anita Lindblom, Bertil Norström, Lennart TellfeltForeign | 100% |
Drama | 70% |
Romance | 15% |
Coming of age | 3% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Swedish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Swedish: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of multiple awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Roy Andersson's "A Swedish Love Story" a.k.a. "En kärlekshistoria" (1970) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The bonus feature on the disc is a gallery with excerpts from other films from the Swedish director. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Annika and Pär
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roy Andersson's A Swedish Love Story arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.
The release has been sourced from a pre-existing master, but the basics we typically address in our reviews are strong. Generally speaking, detail and clarity are very pleasing, with the majority of the well-lit close-ups, in particular, looking very good. The wider panoramic shots also boast decent depth. Contrast levels remain stable. Colors are also stable and natural, never appearing boosted. Grain is retained and visible throughout the entire film, but it is not as evenly exposed and resolved as it should be. This isn't to imply that there are any serious visual anomalies, but the encoding could have been optimized better so that the film looks even more convincing. A bit of extremely light noise also attempts to sneak in during a few of the darker sequences, but never becomes distracting (see screencapture #14). The best news here is that no attempts have been made to resharpen and repolish the film. Needless to say, this makes a huge difference when one views it on a large screen. Lastly, there is one transition where the sides of the frame look a bit rough, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in our review. All in all, while there is some room for improvement, the Blu-ray release definitely represents a very nice upgrade in quality over the old Swedish R2 DVD release of the film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Swedish LPCM 2.0 and Swedish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I prefer the LPCM 2.0 track. The dialog is exceptionally crisp stable, and easy to follow, while Björn Isfält's score easily breathes throughout the film. Dynamic intensity is limited, but depth and clarity are outstanding. For examples, during the final sequence, where Annika's disparages in the fog, the echoes are very effective. Elsewhere, the mopeds also sound terrific. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in our review.
Roy Andersson's En kärlekshistoria is one of the simplest and most touching films about true love ever made. I first saw it many years ago, but I still clearly remember how overwhelmed I was after its final credits rolled. Very few films have had a similar effect on me. It is now available on Blu-ray as part of British distributors Artificial Eye's new The Roy Andersson Collection Blu-ray box set. Make room for it in your collections, folks. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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