The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 27, 2018

Winner of Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Ingmar Bergman's "The Virgin Spring" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include two archival interviews with actors Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson; recorded introduction by director Ang Lee; recorded audio seminar presented by Ingmar Bergman; and more. The release also arrives with a 24-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isakssonm the medieval ballad on which the film is based, and technical credits. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Bring me the butcher's knife."

There is a reoccurring theme in all of Ingmar Bergman’s great films -- behind the main story that they tell there is always a bigger story. This second story is where Bergman’s genius is usually fully revealed, as it is here that he transforms what ought to be a conventional cinematic experience into something far greater and illuminating.

Two-thirds of The Virgin Spring is dedicated to what one would consider to be its main story. The proud landowner Töre (Max von Sydow) and his wife Märeta (Birgitta Valberg), both devout Christians, are preparing to send their young daughter Karin (Birgitta Pettersson) to deliver a sack with holiday candles to a remote church. She will be accompanied by her half-sister Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), who is unmarried but carrying the baby of an unknown man, and has just secretly completed an old pagan ritual to hurt her.

On the day of the journey the playful Karin dons a special gown and her beauty instantly melts Töre’s heart. They eat and then the proud Töre gently places Karin on her horse, and after Märeta and the servants wish them a safe trip the two sisters leave the family farm. Soon after, in the nearby forest Karin encounters three goat herdsmen and, while Ingeri walks away and then hides in the bushes, two of them (Axel Düberg and Tor Isedal) brutally rape and kill her. The third (Ove Porath), who is just a boy, remains a silent observer.

When Karin does not return home on time Märeta becomes concerned and then panics, but Töre attempts to calm her down and reminds her that this would not be the first time that their precious daughter might have decided to use the special occasion to have a bit of fun in the nearby village. Meanwhile, completely unaware that Töre and Märeta are anxiously awaiting Karin’s return the herdsmen arrive at their farm, and after they are fed and allowed to spend the brutally cold night there one of them leaves the girl’s bloodied holiday gown as a gift.

A short monologue in the final third of the film rearranges the entire narrative and because of it what would have been a very good but still fairly straightforward revenge drama becomes something entirely different. Naturally, one is then forced to reevaluate the key conflicts from a new angle as well. The transformation is so powerful and so profound that it essentially makes the identities of the main characters irrelevant.

Considering the fact that the film was inspired by a medieval Swedish ballad and completed decades ago, its contemporary relevance is quite remarkable. On one hand it delivers an obvious and justified recognition of faith’s ability to provide structure to one’s existence and through it rationalize human nature; on the other hand the entire film also ends up successfully questioning the validity of the order of things that faith -- regardless of the religion that might be attached to it -- legitimizes.

The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution from the 35mm original camera negative on an ARRISCAN film scanner and restored by Svensk Filmindustri using Nucoda Film Master as a grading tool and Digital Vision's Phoenix and Foundry's NUKE as restoration tools. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

Transfer supervisor: Peter Bengtsson.
Colorist: Mats Holmgren/Chimney Pot, Stockholm."

The actual restoration is fantastic and it immediately becomes obvious that the film has never looked this good before -- and not only on a home video release. However, I am fairly certain that when the remaster was prepared some careful digital work was done to rebalance the visuals and a few times I think that it comes rather close to having the exact opposite effect. Indeed, a couple of the indoor sequences reveal thickness and flatness that are not entirely natural, though in all fairness the effect is unlikely to be spotted by casual viewers. (You can see an example in screencapture #21). Some years ago, the early 2K remaster of Michelangelo Antonioni's Le Amiche had similar work done, but it too looked gorgeous. The rest looks terrific. The grading, in particular, is fantastic and makes the brilliance of Sven Nykvist's cinematography that much easier to appreciate. There are no stability issues. Also, there are no damage marks, cuts, stains, specks, or other conventional age-related imperfections to report. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Swedish LPCM 1.0. and English Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Swedish lossless track is excellent. As the technical credits that we have quoted above confirm, the audio was fully restored and there are absolutely no traces of age-related imperfections. Clarity, depth, dynamic balance, and overall stability are outstanding.

The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - in this archival video introduction, director Ang Lee recalls his first viewing of The Virgin Spring and explains how the film profoundly altered his perception of cinema. The introduction was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080i).

• Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson - presented here are two archival interviews in which actors Gunnel Lindblom (Ingeri) and Birgitta Pettersson (Karin) recall their first encounters with Ingmar Bergman and discuss the director's working methods as well as their collaboration on The Virgin Spring. The interviews were conducted in Stockholm in August 2005. In Swedish and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (21 min, 1080i).

• Ingmar Bergman at the AFI - presented here is an edited audio recording of a seminar that Ingmar Bergman gave at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles on October 31, 1975. In English, not subtitled. (41 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Working with actors
  2. Dreams and music
  3. Budgets/Beginnings/Rushes
  4. The camera
  5. Theater and film
  6. Something to say

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary features Birgitta Steene, professor emerita in cinema studies and Scandinavian literature at the University of Washington and the author of Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2005, and initially appeared on the label's DVD release of The Virgin Spring.
  
  1. Paganism and Christianity
  2. Ingeri
  3. Adapting the ballad
  4. A psychological framework
  5. Family dynamics/Cinematography
  6. Believably
  7. Religious practices
  8. Dalecarlia
  9. Personal reasons
  10. The power of the rape scene
  11. The boy
  12. Critique
  13. The child sees/Close-ups
  14. film and theater
  15. Ritual and influence
  16. Purification and retribution
  17. Reception/Classical period
  18. Atonement
  19. Anachronism/The miracle
  20. Communication and Participation

• Booklet - a 24-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isakssonm the medieval ballad on which the film is based, and technical credits.

The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Virgin Spring is built upon two contrasting but legit recognitions that provide one of the simplest and most effective cinematic summations of human nature. It has the typical for Ingmar Bergman's work striking visual appearance, but it is also one of his most direct and unsettling films. This recent Blu-ray release from Criterion is sourced from a very nice 2K restoration and retains all of the bonus features from the label's DVD release of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.