Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Cries and Whispers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 10, 2015

Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Whispers" a.k.a. "Viskningar och rop" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original English-language trailer for the film; exclusive filmed conversation with actress Harriet Andersson; archival raw on-set footage shot during the production of the film; new video essay by filmmaker ::kogonada; archival program featuring Ingmar Bergman and the famous actor Erland Josephson; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Emma Wilson. In Swedish or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"I don't want you to do that. I don't want you to be kind to me."

The film follows closely four women. Three of them are sisters: Maria (Liv Ullmann, Autumn Sonata), Karin (Ingrid Thulin, The Silence), and Agnes (Harriet Anderson, Smiles of a Summer Night), while the fourth, Anna (Kari Sylman, Face to Face), is a nurse. Virtually the entire film takes place inside a lavish home somewhere in the Swedish countryside.

Agnes is dying of cancer and Maria, Karin, and Anna are doing their best to help her deal with the excruciating pain. But it seems impossible and for long periods of time the three women can only observe her agony. A doctor (the great Erland Josephson) occasionally visits the house, but like the three women he is also unable to help.

Agnes’ raspy cries can be heard even in the most remote corners of the house. They are powerful, deeply disturbing, at time almost inhuman. When occasionally her exhausted body gives up and she falls asleep, Maria, Karin, and Anna whisper, afraid that they might disrupt Agnes’ temporarily relief. The heavy silence is calming, but it makes the house look surreal.

Scattered flashbacks reveal important bits from the women’s personal lives. There are moments of pleasure, pain, happiness, and bitter disappointments. There are intrigues and unexpected revelations, confessions that are meant to hurt.

With Agnes slowly dying in her bed, the women quietly begin reevaluating their lives -- lives seemingly beautiful but full of half-truths and lies, controlled and directed by the dogmatic rules of a shockingly hypocritical society.

Cries and Whispers may well be Swedish master Ingmar Bergman’s bleakest film. It is full of the raw emotions that are frequently on display in many of his best films, but it has a very specific intimate atmosphere that enhances their intensity and ultimately draws the viewer a lot deeper into the world of its protagonists. The film also engages the mind in a unique way and forces it to speculate with endless what-if scenarios. (What if a family member was suffering as Agnes does and there was no way to numb the pain? How would you react? And what if the suffering also started collapsing your personal life? What would you do?) This special connection blurs the typically obvious line that separates the real from the imaginary and frequently makes the film almost impossible to endure. Unsurprisingly, when eventually the final credits roll, the viewer feels that he has experienced something profoundly real, that he has witnessed a very personal tragedy.

The film’s visual style is quite extraordinary. For example, lush red colors frequently fill up the screen and during key transitions completely erase faces and objects. In various close-ups light and shadows are also carefully captured to reveal different feelings and emotions. Bergman shot the film with the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist, whose brilliant work won him Oscar Award for Best Cinematography in 1974.

The four leads are outstanding, but Andersson’s performance is unforgettable. Her cries are so intense and her facial expressions so remarkably authentic that it truly does look and sound as if she is suffering in front of the camera.

Cries and Whispers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

Like the rest of the restored Ingmar Bergman films that have already transitioned to Blu-ray, Cries and Whispers has literally been given a new life. The numerous close-ups boast excellent depth and clarity and now one can easily see exceptionally small details that are simply missing on the old R1 DVD release of the film. Shadow definition is also far more convincing, especially during the darker sequences that suffered the most on the DVD release. There are a few areas of the film where minor density fluctuations remain, but they are inherited. In fact, after the restoration it is rather easy to see exactly where and how time has left its mark (see screencapture #3). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Perhaps the most substantial improvements are in the area of color reproduction. Not only are the very important nuanced reds better saturated and healthier, but there are actually completely new color tonalities. Unsurprisingly, the film's entire color scheme is far more convincing and the unusual fade-to-red transitions better balanced and ultimately more effective (see screencaptures #12 and 14). There are no serious stability issues to report in this review. The film is also completely free of distracting debris, scratches, cuts, damage marks, and stains. All in all, this is a lovely presentation of Cries and Whispers that truly allows one to experience the film in an entirely new way. (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).

Cries and Whispers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Swedish LPCM 1.0 and English Dolby Digital 1.0 (official English dub track). For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless Swedish audio track has undoubtedly been remastered because midrange and high frequencies are in fact better balanced. Depth and clarity are improved as well. The overall range of nuanced dynamics is somewhat limited, but this should not be surprising considering the fact that Cries and Whispers is a dialog-driven feature without a prominent music score. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

Cries and Whispers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - presented here is an archival video introduction by Ingmar Bergman which was recorded for SVT Svenks Television in the summer of 2003, on the island of Faro, where the Swedish director had lived since 1967. The introduction also features reporter Marie Nyrerod. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles. (8 min, 1080i).

• Harriet Anderson - in this filmed video conversation, actress Harriet Andersson (Agnes) discusses her contribution to Cries and Whispers with film historian Peter Cowie. The conversation was filmed exclusively for Criterion in 2012. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).

• On-set Footage - presented here is archival raw on-set footage shot during the production of Cries and Whispers. The footage can be seen with an audio commentary by film historian Peter Cowie. (34 min, 1080i).

• On Solace - in this new video essay, filmmaker ::kogonada deconstructs Cries and Whispers. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - an original English-language trailer for Cries and Whispers. (2 min, 1080p).

• Ingmar Bergman: Reflections on Life, Death, and Love with Erland Josephson - presented here is an archival program featuring Ingmar Bergman and the famous actor Erland Josephson, who was one of his closest friends and appeared in many of his best films (The Passion of Anna, Hour of the Wolf, Scenes from a Marriage, Fanny and Alexander). The two discuss some of the myths, half-truths and truths about the legendary director's working methods, the type of atmosphere that frequently permeated his films, the difficulty of being an active professional (director or actor) and a father and husband at the same time, some of the great joys and disappointments they experienced during the years, etc. The interview was conducted by journalist Malou von Sivers for TV4 International Sweden in 1999. In English and Swedish, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (53 min, 1080i).
  
  1. Introductions
  2. Demon director
  3. Artistic directions
  4. Fathers
  5. Guilt
  6. Women
  7. Love and forgiveness
  8. Ugly Youth
  9. Vindication
  10. Chaos and solitude
  11. Aging
  12. Death
  13. Laughter and curiosity
  

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Emma Wilson.

Cries and Whispers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Reactions to Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers can be very different as it touches the heart and provokes the mind in unusual ways. It is beautiful to look at, but the raw pain and suffering at times make it incredibly difficult to endure. I think that the only other director that has been able to explore the same territory Bergman does in his film with a similar authority is Michael Haneke, but his style is indeed drastically different. Cries and Whispers has been recently restored in 2K and it looks magnificent on Blu-ray. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.