8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A chronicle of the many years of love and turmoil that bind Marianne and Johan, tracking their relationship as it progresses through a number of successive stages: matrimony, infidelity, divorce, and subsequent partnerships.
Starring: Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Gunnel Lindblom, Bibi Andersson, Jan MalmsjöForeign | 100% |
Drama | 83% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Swedish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This version of 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.
Scenes from a Marriage is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. 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 negative A/B cutSince I reviewed the original Criterion release, which had a bit more technical information in the foldout included in the keepcase, I'll include the info printed there as well:
Scanner: Spirit DataCine
Transfer resolution: High definition
Transfer facility: Chimney Pot / Stockholm Sound element: 35 mm magnetic print
Picture and sound restoration: SF Studios
Scenes from a Marriage is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. On widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. This high definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine from the original 16mm negative A/B cut.Screenshots 1, 3, 5 and 7 are from the television miniseries found on Disc 7 of this set. Screenshots 2, 4, 6 and 8 are from the U.S. Theatrical Version found on Disc 8 of this set. Those interested may also want to visit my original review, where I tried to both reproduce screenshots for some scenes and offer a variety of others across the two presentations so that those interested can do some comparing between the two, but the bottom line is I wasn't able to discern much if any difference between the two presentations, with what I consider at least near identical values in terms of detail, palette and grain resolution. As should probably be expected from the source format, grain can be rather gritty looking at times, and fine detail can tend to recede a bit in midrange and wide shots (there are relatively few really "wide" shots), but overall this is a nicely organic and well detailed looking presentation. Some of the darkest material definitely looks a good deal coarser than the bulk of the presentation, and there are a few passing issues with crush and lack of shadow detail. I note that our Forum for this film has some comments on what some members consider to be lackluster compression on the Theatrical Version of this film that's included in Ingmar Bergman's Cinema, where it, as mentioned above, shares disc space with Saraband, but I didn't notice anything so egregious between the two presentations that it struck me as overtly problematic, and in fact in some ways I actually preferred the grain resolution on the theatrical version to that on the television version.
The soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original 35 mm magnetic print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss and crackle.
Scenes from a Marriage offers a workmanlike LPCM Mono track for both of its versions. There's frankly not much ambition to the sound design here, as the bulk of the film is comprised of dialogue scenes either between Marianne and Johan, or other supporting characters. There are a few passing outdoor moments or other snippets where ambient environmental sounds can intrude, but this is really for all intents and purposes one of Bergman's more relentless "talk fests", which is not meant as a disparagement, simply a description. All dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout both presentations, and whatever restoration gauntlet the tracks underwent removed any signs of distortion, dropouts or other damage.
Scenes from a Marriage is one of Ingmar Bergman's most personal and intimate films, for a variety of reasons including some discussed in my original review which is linked to above. It's a kind of gruelling experience at times, especially for those who are married and know how difficult it can be at times (as is joked about in Bergman Island, which takes place in the house where large swaths of this was filmed, there's a sentiment that the film led to as many divorces as anything else). With an understanding of the smaller millimeter source format, technical merits here are solid, and while Criterion hasn't provided a glut of supplements, what's included is quite interesting. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Riten / The Ritual
1969
Törst
1949
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
2003
Efter repetitionen
1984
En passion
1969
Hamnstad
1948
Till glädje
1950
Aus dem Leben der Marionetten
1980
Kvinnodröm
1955
Nära livet
1958
Kvinnors väntan / Secrets of Women
1952
Kris
1946
Skammen
1968
Gycklarnas afton
1953
Tystnaden
1963
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
Såsom i en spegel
1961
Djävulens öga
1960
En lektion i kärlek
1954