8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Traveling to accept an honorary degree, Professor Isak Borg is forced to face his past, come to terms with his faults, and make peace with the inevitability of his approaching death.
Starring: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, Jullan KindahlForeign | 100% |
Drama | 87% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.32:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Swedish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
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.
Wild Strawberries is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.32. 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 negativeA bit more technical information culled from Criterion's original insert booklet (which is not included with this version) is relayed by Svet in his Wild Strawberries Blu-ray review. This is a ravishing looking transfer with just a couple of momentary issues in things like optical dissolves where frame instability can be spotted. Otherwise, though, this offers really stunning detail levels (just take a look at Borg's skin in screenshot 6 for one good example), along with nicely consistent contrast that helps to bring Gunnar Fischer's gorgeous cinematography fully to life. As Peter Cowie mentions in his commentary, some of the dream material, notably the first rather frightening nightmare, have been garishly lit and perhaps had brightness boosted, which can make whites come pretty close to blooming territory (see screenshot 4). Grain is tightly resolved throughout, understandably spiking during some opticals.
Scanner: Arriscan
Transfer resolution: 2K
Transfer facility: Chimney Pot / Stockholm Sound element: 35 mm print
Picture restoration: SF Studios
Sound restoration: Criterion Post
Wild Strawberries features an LPCM Mono track in the original Swedish. As I so often mention, different reviewers means different opinions, and Svet gave this track a top flight 5.0 rating. I have no serious issues with anything on this track, but to my ears there are some baked in limitations that can give a somewhat flat, boxy sound at times, though there is some surprising dynamic range at play. Dialogue, effects and score are all rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.
Bergman became an international superstar with the perceived hat trick of Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal and this film, and it's not hard to see why. Each film is incredibly distinctive, even if they all seem to have obviously sprung from the same creative source. Wild Strawberries is as visually resplendent as The Seventh Seal, though in a completely different way, and it in fact addresses some of the issues surrounding mortality that The Seventh Seal does, albeit in a perhaps slightly less magical realist way. This is an inarguable masterpiece which Criterion presents with excellent technical merits and some really enjoyable supplements. Highly recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Gycklarnas afton
1953
Tystnaden
1963
En lektion i kärlek
1954
Till glädje
1950
Hamnstad
1948
Törst
1949
Riten / The Ritual
1969
En passion
1969
Efter repetitionen
1984
Sommarlek
1951
Nära livet
1958
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
Kvinnodröm
1955
Höstsonaten
1978
Kvinnors väntan / Secrets of Women
1952
Kris
1946
Aus dem Leben der Marionetten
1980
2003
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
Scener ur ett äktenskap
1973