Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Autumn Sonata Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 4, 2018

Ingmar Bergman's "Hostsonaten" a.k.a. "Autumn Sonata" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include an original trailer for the film; exclusive interview with Liv Ullmann; archival video interview with Ingrid Bergman; long documentary film produced by Arne Carlsson; introduction by Ingmar Bergman; and audio commentary by film critic Peter Cowie. In Swedish or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Do you remember?

Autumn Sonata is the one and only film for which the two legendary Bergmans, Ingmar and Ingrid, teamed up. It channels a lot of their own frustration with family members who had profound effect on their lives when they were younger.

Acclaimed concert pianist Charlotte Andergast (Ingrid Bergman, Europe ’51, Stromboli - Terra Di Dio) decides to visit the country house of her daughter Eva (Liv Ullmann, Persona, Cries and Whispers) and her husband Victor (Halvar Bjork, The New Land) seven years after the last time they met. It is early autumn, the best time to travel through the Swedish countryside.

Eva enthusiastically greets her mother and immediately proceeds to show her the room where she will spend the weekend. Then while waiting for Victor to come home, the two women try to decide how to best spend their time together.

Also staying in the house is Helena (Lena Nyman, I Am Curious), Eva’s mentally ill sister. She is almost completely paralyzed and unable to speak properly. Eva has been taking care of her sister for years, without telling Charlotte.

The casual planning quickly evolves into a tense discussion about parental responsibilities, missed opportunities, and eventually guilt. Feeling lonely for the first time in her life, Charlotte is shocked to hear Eva confessing that she never thought she was the mother she should have been. When Eva needed Charlotte to be her mother, she was always busy practicing or performing in Europe’s best concert halls. Then in a similarly surprising confession, Charlotte reveals that she never wanted to be the mother Eva needed.

Autumn Sonata is an indescribably beautiful yet brutal film. It takes place over the course of a single day inside a very stylish country house nearby a picturesque lake. Bergman shot the film with his favorite cinematographer Sven Nykvist in Norway in the fall of 1977, soon after the Swedish government had accused him of income tax evasion.

The film looks and feels like a carefully staged theater play. The camera patiently observes Bergman (at the time already seriously ill) and Ullmann’s faces as they remember the past and then unleash their emotions. There are numerous long close-ups throughout the film, however, where their eyes reveal a lot more than their words.

Sporadic flashbacks offer a glimpse at crucial events that should have revealed that the relationship between the mother and her daughters is collapsing. In one of them the still healthy Helena makes an important discovery after Charlotte leaves for an important concert. This dramatic event is then analyzed as witnessed by Charlotte, Eva, and Helena.

The use of Chopin’s Prelude no. 2 in A Minor in the film is most appropriate. At first the music is simple, calm and relaxing, but the occasional tritons gradually reveal a different, more complex harmonic structure. Charlotte and Eva’s relationship evolves in a similar fashion.

*In 1979, Autumn Sonata earned Oscar nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Ingrid Bergman) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Ingmar Bergman).

Autumn Sonata Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata arrives on Blu-ray courtesy Criterion.

The release is sourced from a brand new restoration that was completed in 2017. Obviously, the previous release of the film from 2013 was prepared from a different remaster. There are some noticeable discrepancies between the two presentations of the film, which I will highlight below.

The density levels of the new presentation are practically identical to those of the previous presentation. I looked very closely, and while there are some very minor fluctuations during the indoor footage, at the end the difference seems cosmetic. In fact, if you upscale to 4K, you will see that the visuals instantly acquire the exact same consistent tightness. Now, the new presentation is graded differently. The primaries become warmer, and with the shift there is also an adjustment in the brightness levels. The most notable difference is in the expanded brown and brown/yellow nuances, which tone down red and red nuances (compare screencaptures #1 and 2 with the corresponding screencaptures from the first review we posted). This is an adjustment that also has an impact on the film's dynamic range, which becomes noticeably more subdued but without having adverse effects on depth and delineation. In fact, exactly the opposite is true, because in certain areas the new grading eliminates some extremely light crushing that was introduced with the previous grading job (see screencapture #6). However, this is yet another cosmetic adjustment that is extremely difficult to spot and appreciate. In fact, given the very particular lighting during the indoor footage and its impact on how colors are perceived, the old presentation routinely emerges as the slightly more convincing one. Overall fluidity and image stability are identical. All in all, as far as I am concerned the overall image balance on the new presentation is marginally superior and as a result there is a small range of better nuances on it, but the color values of the old presentation appear to be slightly more appropriate and convincing. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Autumn Sonata Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Swedish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit) and English: Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the Swedish tracks and was paying close attention because this release is sourced from a new restoration. To be honest, I could not hear any significant difference to mention in our review. But, I was not surprised that this turned out to be the case because the lossless Swedish track from the previous release was already outstanding.

Autumn Sonata Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Autumn Sonata. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Introduction - director Ingmar Bergman introduces Autumn Sonata and discusses his relationship with Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann during the shooting of the film in this excerpt from an interview which reporter Marie Nyrerod conducted for SVT Svensk Television in 2003. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles. (8 min, 1080i).

• The Making of "Autumn Sonata" - a massive documentary that chronicles the creation of Autumn Sonata (from September 5, 1977 until November 7, 1977). The documentary was shot by Arne Carlsson. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles. (207 min, 1080p).

• Liv Ulmann - in this exclusive new video interview, legendary actress Liv Ullmann discusses her numerous collaborations with Ingmar Bergman and his directing style, her character in Autumn Sonata, the Swedish director's intense relationship with Ingrid Bergman during the shooting of the film, etc. The interview was conducted by Criterion in New York in 2013. In English, with optional English subtitles for the archival footage used during the interview where Swedish is spoken. (19 min, 1080p).

• Ingrid Bergman at the NFT - in this archival video interview conducted by critic John Taylor Russell, Ingrid Bergman discusses her acting career, and specifically her work with Ingmar Bergman, Jean Renoir, Roberto Rossellini, and Humphrey Bogart. The interview was filmed at the National Film Theatre in London in 1981. In English, not subtitled. (40 min, 1080i).
  
  1. Beginnings
  2. Hollywood
  3. Roberto Rossellini
  4. Jean Renoir
  5. Autumn Sonata
  6. Questions from the audience

• Commentary - this audio commentary by film critic Peter Cowie was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1995. It initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of Autumn Sonata.
  
  1. The austere second half of Bergman's career
  2. Ingrid Bergman's affinity with her role
  3. Finding Charlotte
  4. A sea change in tone
  5. The anxiety in all of us
  6. Bergman's direction/Life vs. art
  7. The romantic vs. the rational
  8. Lighting/Children
  9. Ingrid Bergman
  10. Generational misunderstandings
  11. Liv Ullmann
  12. Ingmar Bergman's memories of youth/Close-ups
  13. Public humiliation
  14. A cinema of ideas/Rehearsals
  15. Autobiography
  16. Music/Guilt
  17. Contrasts
  18. Critical reception/Growing up

Autumn Sonata Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was very surprised to see that this upcoming release of Autumn Sonata is sourced from a new restoration that was completed in 2017, because the previous release from 2013 offered a wonderful presentation of the film. There is a noticeable difference between the two, and to be honest there is a lot that I like in both. Part of me prefers the color grading of the first 2K restoration, but I also think that the warmer grading of the new restoration, which promotes more earthy and autumn-like primaries and nuances with a slightly better image balance, is lovely. So, it is really, really difficult for me to pick a winner. The release is included in Criterion's upcoming Ingmar Bergman's Cinema thirty-disc box set, which will be available for purchase on November 20. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.