8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
After having neglected her children for many years, celebrated but icy concert pianist Charlotte visits her daughter Eva at her home. Over the course of a day and a long, painful night, the duo confront the bitter discord of their relationship.
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar Björk, Marianne AminoffForeign | 100% |
Drama | 85% |
Music | 2% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Swedish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Mono (192 kbps)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
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 new 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. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring Farran Smith Nehme's essay "Mothers, Daughters, and Monsters". In Swedish or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Do you remember?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using Digital Vision's Phoenix and the Foundry's NUKE.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using Audio Cube's integrated workstation.
Transfer supervisor: Mats Forsberg.
Colorist: Mats Holmgren/Chimney Pot, Stockholm."
The high-definition transfer is simply terrific. The numerous close-ups of Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann's faces during the intense discussions boast outstanding depth and fantastic clarity (see screencapture #1). Contrast levels also remain stable throughout the entire film. Perhaps the most dramatic improvements, however, are in the area of color reproduction. There is a wide range of new, beautifully saturated and very healthy colors that effectively transform the entire film. The often overwhelming noise visible during darker sequences on the R1 DVD release has also been eliminated. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Sharpening adjustments have not been applied either. Unsurprisingly, from start to finish the film looks very healthy. Lastly, I noticed a couple of very light vertical lines (obviously inherited), but there are no cuts, damage marks, stains, or warps to report in this review. Frame transitions are also excellent. To sum it all up, this new Blu-ray release of Autumn Sonata offers a tremendous upgrade in quality over previous DVD releases of the film. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Swedish LPCM 1.0 and English Dolby Digital 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
There are notable improvements in the audio department as well. Despite the fact that this is primarily a dialog-driven film, it is very easy to tell that depth and clarity are substantially better when compared to those of the R1 DVD release of Autumn Sonata. Chopin's prelude also sounds thicker and better rounded. There is absolutely no background hiss, cracks, pops, audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.
I sincerely hope that Criterion will continue bringing more of the recently restored in Sweden Ingmar Bergman films to Blu-ray. From Summer Interlude to Summer with Monika to Wild Strawberries, every single Blu-ray release has been a revelation. Autumn Sonata, the Swedish director's one and only film with the great Ingrid Bergman, is not an exception. It looks fabulous on Blu-ray. Buy with confidence, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Aus dem Leben der Marionetten
1980
Efter repetitionen
1984
En passion
1969
Riten / The Ritual
1969
Nära livet
1958
Hamnstad
1948
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
Kvinnodröm
1955
Till glädje
1950
Törst
1949
Gycklarnas afton
1953
Kvinnors väntan / Secrets of Women
1952
Kris
1946
2003
Scener ur ett äktenskap
1973
Tystnaden
1963
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
Såsom i en spegel
1961
Skammen
1968
Viskningar och rop
1972