Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Fårö Document Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 31, 2023

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.

Disc 11 of Ingmar Bergman's Cinema aggregates two documentaries which are inevitably interlinked and which I would argue should be seen with each other in order to appreciate the full scope of what Ingmar Bergman achieved. Fårö Document stems from 1969, while Fårö Document 1979 followed a decade later, as its very title announces. Both documentaries explore the rustic island environment where Bergman lived for many years and where several of his most iconic films were shot. Some interested in this pair of documentaries may also want to check out Bergman Island , which Criterion also released.

Fårö Document is a really appealing look at not just a location which is in and of itself both barren and beautiful in about equal measure, but also the hardy souls who have called the island home for either most or all of their lives. There's a kind of interesting sociopolitical and socioeconomic aspect to many of the interviews, and Bergman overtly gets into how rural communities are often forsaken in favor of more densely populated urban sites. Some of the farming types interviewed are really interesting, though PETA types should be aware there's some graphic footage of sheep being slaughtered.

Fårö Document Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 negative
Scanner: Scanity
Transfer resolution: 2K
Sound element: 16 mm magnetic track
Picture and sound restoration: Swedish Film Institute

Additionally, 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.

Fårö Document Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Fårö Document Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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.

Fårö Document Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.