Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Shame Blu-ray Movie Review

Sex and violins.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 9, 2022

Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's critically acclaimed body of work spans no less than seven decades, with his most prolific output occurring in the 1950s and 60s with such films as Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Persona. After those films -- but before future classics such as Cries and Whispers and ventures into long-form television like Scenes from a Marriage and Fanny and Alexander -- comes Shame, a visceral but intimate portrait of two married musicians whose increasingly cold relationship mirrors their country's looming civil war.

In short, Shame follows Eva and Jan Rosenberg (Bergman regulars Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow), former violinists who now have lives of total solitude on a rural island farm. On the surface they are content with their modest life, but obvious resentment can be seen in their treatment towards one another: Jan, for example, ignores reality in favor of escapism and the couple are at odds about the idea of bringing children into the world. But a burgeoning civil war has finally crept into their small corner of the world, so the Rosenbergs flee for a nearby town after explosions threaten their home and personal safety. After being captured by the enemy, both try to maintain a politically neutral stance but Eva's words are eventually used against them in a crudely obvious attempt to create propaganda.

What begins like a large-scale wartime drama is scaled back considerably during Shame's much quieter second half, when the town's former mayor Colonel Jacobi (Gunnar Björnstrand), forms a long-term relationship with the discharged Rosenbergs and manipulatively trades personal favors for their newfound (and continued) freedom. His actions begin an unsettling turn of events that, mirroring the literal fallout from their gutted farmhouse and the charred surrounding areas, brings the civil war home... as well as pre-war tensions between the couple back to the surface. Though portions of the sleek but subtly complex story feature a stripped-back narrative flow that, in my opinion, will hamper the film's emotional impact for new viewers (not to mention those not closely tied to its subject matter), Shame's devastating atmosphere and strong lead performances ensure its legacy even more than five full decades later.

Available individually or as part of the expansive (but surprisingly affordable) Ingmar Bergman's Cinema boxed set, Shame arrives courtesy of Criterion, long-time champions of the director who have introduced several generations of Western audiences to his vast body of work. Although both identical discs feature the same strengths and weaknesses detailed below, Shame remains a compelling and important film that's well worth seeking out in any form.

Shame Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's included fold-out booklet advertises that this Blu-ray's digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from a 35mm interpositive and restored by the Swedish Film Institute... and while from a distance the image looks clean, crisp, and film-like, it doesn't quite hold up to scrutiny. The positives are obvious: depth, broad detail, and contrast levels are all very good, and on the surface a consistent level of film grain adds to Shame's overall texture in a significant way, thanks in part to the purist-minded restoration and post-processing that thankfully do not wipe away its grain structure with excessive noise reduction. However, the finer details are where this Blu-ray shows its seams, as numerous compression artifacts -- mostly in the form of macroblocking -- can be easily spotted on clothing patterns, background details, and close-ups alike; while these aren't always evident in motion, their regular appearance mars what is otherwise a very solid visual presentation. What appears to be mosquito noise and a few chunkier grain patters also appear (though much more sporadically), but it's difficult to criticize the transfer in this area because of the blurrier boundaries between original source material and reckless encoding. This is a good-not-great presentation at best although, to be fair, its most flagrant problems will not be nearly as evident on smaller displays.

Shame Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Criterion's booklet likewise details the Swedish LPCM 1.0 mix as being remastered from Shame's 35mm optical track, with clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle being manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX. The result does not show as many obvious fine-detail shortcomings as its transfer, as dialogue is prioritized to sound clean and crisp while achieving a good balance with background effects, including the very minimal diagetic music performances. It's simply a straightforward and mostly damage-free presentation that gets the job done perfectly, whether we're in cramped and crowded quarters, we hear voices echoing outdoors, or when explosions strike in the distance.

Optional English subtitles are included during the main feature only; like the audio, no sync issues were detected.

Shame Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc set ships in Criterion's usual attractive packaging, with a clear keepcase showcasing the striking black-and-white artwork and a darker inner print. A fold-out booklet is also included with production notes, details about the Blu-ray transfer, promotional photos, and an essay by Michael Sragow titled "Twilight of the Humans" that can also be read on Criterion's website. The on-disc bonus features, as usual, add a nice amount of historical context.

• Shame in the News (5:20) - This brief vintage news broadcast shows director Ingmar Bergman and some of the cast and crew of Shame on the set before filming began. It was originally broadcast on Swedish television on September 9, 1967. In Swedish with optional English subtitles.

• Ingmar Bergman (14:31) - Director Ingmar Bergman talks about Shame in this excerpt from an interview recorded for the Swedish television program Forum and was originally broadcast on September 29, 1968, the day of the film's theatrical release. In Swedish with optional English subtitles.

• Liv Ullman (21:02) - This English-language interview with legendary actor Liv Ullman, sub-titled The Fårö Island Years, was produced by The Criterion Collection in 2018; in it, she speaks about her memories of the film as well as her long professional relationship with director Ingmar Bergman.

• An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman (72:27) - This feature-length documentary, produced in 1968 for New York's WNET public television station and filmed by Gunnar Fischer, follows enthusiastic host Lewis Freedman as he visits director Ingmar Bergman during the production of Shame. Among other topics, they discuss some of Bergman's major works leading up to the film as well as the just-released Hour of the Wolf.

Shame Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shame is, for many, a standout title in Ingmar Bergman's prolific filmography, a rough-edged and striking portrait of two struggling musicians set against a backdrop of war and chaos. While I've always felt that slight pacing issues -- mostly a result of (purposely?) withheld information -- keep it from feeling like a more effective character study, Shame still packs an emotional wallop that, especially for first-time viewers, won't be forgotten. Criterion's Blu-ray, available individually here or as part of the expansive Ingmar Bergman's Cinema boxed set, offers a somewhat mismanaged video presentation but excels more strongly in all other areas. Recommended with slight reservations.