Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Dreams Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 22, 2018

Ingmar Bergman's "Dreams" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. There are no supplemental features on this release. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The gentleman

Note: Dreams will be included in Criterion's upcoming Ingmar Bergman's Cinema thirty-disc box set, which will be available for purchase on November 20. Currently, the labels does not have a pre-annoubced individual release of it.

The text that is included below was initially used for our review of Artificial Eye's first Blu-ray release of Dreams, which was part of the label's Classic Bergman Collection that was produced in 2012.

***

The film tells the story of three people whose dreams come true -- temporarily. The first is fashion photographer Susanne (Eva Dahlbeck), who longs for her former lover Henrik (Ulf Palme). When an opportunity arises to do an important photo shoot in Gothenburg, where Henrik now lives with his wife, Susanne convinces herself that she could rekindle their affair.

The second person is Doris (Harriet Andersson), a young, beautiful and very naïve model who works for Susanne. Doris is in a relationship with a man (Sven Lindberg) she loves but does not always understand. As a result, lately she has been more passionate about her career. She hopes that the important photo shoot could be the beginning of something special.

The third person is a well-respected consul (Gunnar Björnstrand) who lives alone in his lavish home in Gothenburg. He is occasionally visited by his estranged daughter (Kerstin Hedeby-Pawlo), who loves reminding him about his seriously ill wife (who has been in a mental institution for years) and asking for money.

Susanne and Henrik meet in the same hotel in Gothenburg where they once made plans for the future. They talk and Susanne realizes that Henrik is not the man she left behind. Meanwhile, while looking at a beautiful dress in an expensive boutique, Doris is approached by an elderly gentleman who offers to buy it for her. When she reluctantly agrees, he invites her to his impeccable but lonely home.

Dreams is a straightforward film that lacks the depth of Bergman’s best work. The conflicts in it are simple and their resolutions predictable. The soul-searching that many of Bergman’s most memorable characters struggle with is also missing.

Nevertheless, the film maintains a good atmosphere. There is some tension in the short relationship between Doris and the consul which Bergman controls well. Unfortunately, the consul turns out to be the more interesting character but is quickly pulled out of the film. On the other hand, Susanne undergoes a predictable character transformation that does little to make the film more appealing.

Despite the weak script the cast is excellent. Björnstrand plays the lonely consul to perfection, especially before he is confronted by his daughter. Rather surprisingly, however, the true star of the film is the elegant Dahlbeck, who longs for a lover that exists only in her dreams.

Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ingmar Bergman's Dreams arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

Dreams first appeared on Blu-ray as part of British label Artificial Eye's Classic Bergman Collection box set, which arrived on the market in 2012. It looked lovely, and I remember being very pleased with the technical presentation. This new release has pretty much an identical technical presentation that replicates all of the key qualities that we typically address in our reviews. I performed some direct comparisons with different segments from the two releases and if there are any meaningful discrepancies I most definitely did not spot them. On my system, everything from depth to clarity fluidity and grading values appeared the same. I did notice a few examples of slightly elevated blacks that could be responsible for some extremely light crushing, but overall I think that this is a very solid presentation of the film. There are no age-related imperfections to report. (Note: I don't have a market copy of this release, but the screener that I was sent to review is Region-Free).

Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Swedish LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is stable and nicely balanced. In the upper register there is some extremely light hiss that occasionally tries to sneak in, but even when the volume is turned up a lot it never becomes distracting. To be honest, I only mention it because it is present in small doses, not because it is significant.

Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no special features on this release.

Dreams Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While certainly a minor entry in Ingmar Bergman's oeuvre, Dreams is still an enjoyable film with excellent leads. It should appeal primarily to folks that enjoy period romantic melodramas whose characters express their feelings in ways that make perfect sense. So, there is nothing groundbreaking or through-provoking here, just solid old-fashioned entertainment delivered with a touch of class. RECOMMENDED.