6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ingmar Bergman had discovered the bleak, windswept Fårö while scouting locations for Through a Glass Darkly in 1960. Nearly a decade later—and after shooting a number of arresting dramas there and making the island his primary residence—the director set out to pay tribute to its inhabitants.
Narrator: Ingmar BergmanForeign | 100% |
Documentary | 9% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Swedish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Criterion's Ingmar Bergman's Cinema set.
It understandably may be well nigh impossible to choose an "all time greatest filmmaker" of the 20th century, if for no other reason than that personal
tastes differ, but I can't
imagine any "devoted cineaste" not having Ingmar Bergman at least near the top of their own aggregation. Criterion
has been feting
some iconic creative forces with expansive box set compendia of films, including Essential Fellini and
The Complete Films of Agnès Varda, but in terms of overall offerings and packaging extras, Ingmar Bergman's Cinema may
itself be sitting atop a list of finest Blu-ray collection offerings. Some of the films in this impressive collection have in fact had prior releases by
Criterion, as should probably be expected, but there are a fair number making their Blu-ray debuts. As tends to be the case with Criterion releases,
technical merits are also generally excellent, and the supplements can be very appealing.
Fårö Document is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Criterion's kind of overwhelming insert book offers nice summations of each film's transfer attributes, and the relevant data points for this film are as follows:
Picture element: 16 mm original camera negativeAdditionally, a brief text card at the beginning of this presentation offers a bit of additional information in that the digital restoration was accomplished in 2017. Despite being sourced from a smaller format, this is a really beautifully detailed and nicely saturated presentation that offers surprisingly fulsome fine detail in many of the interview segments in particular. Color interstitials offering nice views of the almost alien looking landscapes are contrasted with black and white interview segments. Colors look natural, if just slightly cool at times, while the black and white footage offers secure contrast and nicely modulated gray scale. Grain resolves really tightly throughout, perhaps unexpectedly so given the 16mm source.
Scanner: Scanity
Transfer resolution: 2K
Sound element: 16 mm magnetic track
Picture and sound restoration: Swedish Film Institute
Fårö Document doesn't have an overly demanding sound design, and as such the LPCM Mono track suffices perfectly well for what amounts to some voiceover, interview segments and occasional rather evocative ambient environmental sounds in some of the color interstitial material. All spoken material is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
As mentioned above, this film and its 1979 "sibling" are housed on one disc. This film has no supplements associated with it, though Fårö Document 1979 does have a couple.
My hunch is many will be quite moved by some of the interviews in Fårö Document, and Bergman's whole approach to "introducing" his island home to the world is fraught with some unusually "philosophical" subtexts. Technical merits are first rate. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Fårödokument 1979
1979
För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor
1964
En passion
1969
Efter repetitionen
1984
Riten / The Ritual
1969
Hamnstad
1948
Till glädje
1950
Törst
1949
Nära livet
1958
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
Kvinnodröm
1955
Aus dem Leben der Marionetten
1980
2003
Kvinnors väntan / Secrets of Women
1952
Kris
1946
Trollflöjten
1975
Gycklarnas afton
1953
Tystnaden
1963
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
Såsom i en spegel
1961