Ingmar Bergman's Cinema

Ingmar Bergman's Cinema

Cover artwork
Director	Ingmar Bergman
Distributor	The Criterion Collection
Release date	November 20, 2018 (2018-11-20) [1]
Runtime	4537 minutes [2]
Format	Blu-ray
Discs	30

Ingmar Bergman's Cinema is a Blu-ray disc box set featuring 39 films directed by Ingmar Bergman, released by the Criterion Collection on November 20, 2018 in the United States. The set spans Bergman's early career, beginning in the 1940s, up to his final film in 2003. The films are organized non-chronologically, and are instead presented in four groupings that mimic the procession of a film festival. Accompanying the discs is a book featuring critical essays on each of the films, intended to guide the viewer through the experience. Of the 39 films featured, 17 had not been previously released by the Criterion Collection prior to their inclusion in the set.

The Criterion Collection announced the release of the set on July 13, 2018, in commemoration of Bergman's centenary birthday on July 14, 2018. ^[3]

Overview

The box set includes 39 films directed by Ingmar Bergman across 30 Blu-ray discs, spanning six decades. ^[4] The films are arranged as a curated festival with 'opening' and 'closing' nights bookending double features and 'centerpiece' programs. ^[5]

In addition to the films, the set comes with supplementary materials included on the individual discs, as well as on an exclusive supplementary disc presented as the final disc of the set. ^[6] Introductions from Bergman himself are included for eleven of the films, while six also feature audio commentaries; additionally, there are over five hours of interviews with Bergman's key collaborators. ^[6] Accompanying the discs is a 248-page book containing various essays on the films as they presented, intended to guide the viewer through the experience of watching each. ^{[4] [7]}

Contents

Films

Key

†	Denotes films previously unreleased by either the Criterion Collection or their Eclipse line

Grouping	Disc no.	Film	Year	Ref.
"Opening Night"	1	Smiles of a Summer Night	1955	[3]
	2	Crisis	1946
		A Ship to India †	1947
	3	Wild Strawberries	1957
	4	To Joy	1950
		Summer Interlude	1951
	5	Summer with Monika	1953
	6	Dreams †	1955
		A Lesson in Love †	1954
"Centerpiece 1"	7	Scenes from a Marriage — Television version	1973	[3]
	8	Scenes from a Marriage — U.S. theatrical version
		Saraband †	2003
	9	From the Life of the Marionettes †	1980
		Hour of the Wolf †	1968
	10	Shame [lower-alpha 1]	1968
		The Passion of Anna †	1969
	11	Fårö Document †	1970
		Fårö Document 1979 †	1979
	12	Through a Glass Darkly	1961
	13	Winter Light	1963
	14	The Silence	1963
	15	The Virgin Spring	1960
"Centerpiece 2"	16	The Seventh Seal	1957	[3]
	17	The Devil's Eye †	1960
		All These Women †	1964
	18	Sawdust and Tinsel	1953
		The Rite †	1969
	19	The Magician	1958
	20	The Magic Flute	1975
		After the Rehearsal †	1984
	21	The Touch †	1971
		The Serpent's Egg †	1977
"Centerpiece 3"	22	Persona	1966	[3]
	23	Thirst	1949
		Port of Call	1948
	24	Cries and Whispers	1972
	25	Waiting Women †	1952
		Brink of Life †	1958
	26	Autumn Sonata	1978
"Closing Night"	27	Fanny and Alexander – Television version	1982	[3]
	28	Fanny and Alexander – Theatrical version	1982

Additional discs

Grouping	Disc no.	Content(s)	Year	Ref.
N/A	29	The Making of Fanny and Alexander	1984
	30	Additional supplements	—

Packaging and artwork

Ingmar Bergman's Cinema is packaged in a hardbox which contains a cardboard binder holding the individual discs. ^[9] The cover artwork for the box features a still image from Persona (1966), while the back displays a portrait of Bergman.

Reception

The New York Times critic Glenn Kenny assessed the set as "impressive and almost exhaustive", and interpreted it as "a fresh case for [Bergman's] continuing importance", in response to criticisms such as Jonathan Rosenbaum's 2007 opinion piece "Scenes From an Overrated Career". ^{[10] [11]} David Mermelstein of The Wall Street Journal noted that, "despite some oddities in presentation," the set "shows [that] the director’s work continues to merit close attention." ^[12]

Notes

1. At the time of the box set's release, Shame had not been released by the Criterion Collection; it was, however, given a standalone release three months later on February 4, 2019. ^[8]

References

1. Chitwood, Adam (July 12, 2018). "Criterion Announces Massive 39-Film Ingmar Bergman Blu-ray Collection". Collider . Archived from the original on October 18, 2018.
2. "Ingmar Bergman's Cinema". Barnes & Noble . Archived from the original on March 28, 2019.
3. Raup, Jordan (July 13, 2018). "The Criterion Collection Announces 39-Film Ingmar Bergman Box Set". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
4. Lustgarten, Abbey (November 11, 2018). "Introducing Ingmar Bergman's Cinema". The Criterion Collection . Archived from the original on January 18, 2019.
5. "DVD Beaver: Ingmar Bergman's Cinema Blu-ray Collection". dvdbeaver.com.
6. "Ingmar Bergman's Cinema 30-Disc Collection Releasing on Blu-ray". HD Report. November 12, 2018. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019.
7. "Ingmar Bergman's Cinema". The Criterion Collection . Archived from the original on July 4, 2019.
8. Bowen, Chuck (February 14, 2019). "Blu-ray Review: Ingmar Bergman's Shame on the Criterion Collection". Slant Magazine . Archived from the original on February 15, 2019.
9. Partridge, Jon (November 22, 2018). "Criterion Review: Unboxing INGMAR BERGMAN'S CINEMA". Cinapse . Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
10. Kenny, Glenn (November 20, 2018). "Viewing Ingmar Bergman Through a Glass Less Darkly". The New York Times .
11. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (August 2007). "Scenes From an Overrated Career". The New York Times .
12. Mermelstein, David (December 4, 2018). "'Ingmar Bergman's Cinema' Review: On Blu-ray, Scenes From a Master". The Wall Street Journal .