Summer with Monika Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Summer with Monika Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 12, 2023

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.

It may almost be comical to think of Ingmar Bergman and so-called "exploitation cinema" in the same breath, and yet rather curiously this 1952 opus from the legendary director was in fact repurposed as a kind of quasi-"nudie" picture by exploitation meister Kroger Babb, as some appealing supplementary content on this disc gets into. That opportunity was supposedly provided by a somewhat tawdry story involving "young love" and an unplanned pregnancy, as well as a rather brief and really not all that provocative look at a nude Harriet Andersson in the title role. Rather fascinatingly, at least for those who like the ins and outs of various licensing deals and even distribution gambits, two versions of Summer With Monika were therefore screened for American audiences in particular, this "original" one, and Babb's rejiggering, which was retitled, Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl.

Summer With Monika is one of several films in the Bergman set which have had prior standalone releases from Criterion, and in this particular instance, this seems to be pretty much the same disc as Criterion released over a decade ago. Svet Atanasov's Summer with Monika Blu-ray review of that release has a more detailed plot summary. I've tried to come close to matching some of Svet's screenshots from his review so that those interested can see that the releases are in my estimation largely identical. As I'm prone to repeat, different reviewers means different opinions, and so those who keep track of such things may note my scores may differ marginally from Svet's.

Summer with Monika Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Summer With Monika is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37. 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: 35 mm original camera negative
Scanner: Arriscan
Transfer resolution: 2K
Sound element: 35 mm magnetic track
Picture restoration: SF Studios
Sound restoration: Criterion Post

A bit more technical information culled from Criterion's original insert booklet (which is not included with this version) is relayed by Svet in his Summer with Monika Blu-ray review, and while this presentation does not have the prefatory information on a restoration, there is a brief closing credit for a 2009 digital restoration facilitated by Chimney Pot, all of which reinforces my belief this is the same as the earlier Criterion release, unlike at least a couple of other films in the Bergman set which have newer transfers from earlier standalone releases. This is a lovely looking presentation that preserves the lyrical cinematography of Gunnar Fischer, and which offers some spectacularly resplendent use of light and shadow, especially in some of the sun dappled exterior material. Detail levels are typically excellent throughout, aided by a frequent use of at times extreme close-ups. There are some very minor signs of age related wear and tear that have made it through the restoration gauntlet, and some may feel a newer transfer might have slightly tightened grain resolution, this is a wonderfully organic looking presentation.

Summer with Monika Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Summer With Monika features a nicely expressive LPCM Mono track in the original Swedish. The overall sound here is a bit dated, without a really expressive low end in particular, but Erik Nordgren's score sounds lush and the use of ambient environmental effects in several outdoor scenes also resonates well and believably. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and there are no issues with regard to damage, distortion or dropouts. Optional English subtitles are available.

Summer with Monika Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Ingmar Bergman Introduction (HD; 4:08) is subtitled in English.


• Peter Cowie Interviews Harriet Andersson (HD; 24:35) is an appealing conversation from 2012.


• Images from the Playground (HD; 29:55) is a half hour documentary by Stig Bjorkman which includes some really wonderful "home movies" Bergman shot on the sets of several films, including this one. The silent footage is accompanied by archival interviews with Bergman, and newer interviews with both Harriet Andersson and Bib Andersson. Subtitled in English.


• Monika Exploited! (HD; 12:58) is a fun piece with Eric Schaefer looking at Kroger Babb's "reinvention" of the film as exploitation material.


• Trailer (HD; 1:54)

Summer with Monika Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Without sounding too churlish, any number of relatively earlier Bergman dramas in particular might be labelled as glorified soap operas, and this is probably one of that ilk, though Bergman's arguable obsession with Harriet Andersson provides her with a standout role which she plays to the hilt. There are also some really gorgeous nascent signs of Bergman's facility with landscapes emergent in this effort. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements are very enjoyable. Recommended.