Wild Strawberries Blu-ray - Bibi Andersson

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Smultronstället" )

Sweden 1957

The 1958 Berlin Festival Grand Prix Award winning "Wild Strawberries" is a wonderful psychological road movie, and it's in my humble opinion one of Ingmar Bergman's finest and one of my all time favorites. There's is no excuse for not having seen this film, now when it's widely available on such great DVD's. I give it my best recommendations.

Mikkel Svendstrup

Traveling to accept an honorary degree, Professor Isak Borg—masterfully played by veteran director Victor Sjöström—is forced to face his past, come to terms with his faults, and make peace with the inevitability of his approaching death. Through flashbacks and fantasies, dreams and nightmares, Wild Strawberries dramatizes one man’s remarkable voyage of self-discovery. This richly humane masterpiece, full of iconic imagery, is a treasure from the golden age of art-house cinema and one of the films that catapulted Ingmar Bergman to international acclaim.

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 26th, 1957

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Criterion Collection - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Tartan Video (The Bergman Collection) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Mikkel Svendstrup of DVDsnak for all the DVD Screen Caps!

The Criterion Blu-ray of Wild Strawberries appears to be the exact same transfer as in their Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema 100th Anniversary 30 Blu-ray Boxset (reviewed, as a work in-progress, HERE)

Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Criterion Collection - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT

2) Tartan Video (The Bergman Collection) - Region 0 - PAL MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers			Coming to Blu-ray in the UK by BFI in January 2022:
Distribution	Criterion Collection Region 0 - NTSC	Tartan Video Region 0 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine # 139 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews) Criterion (without any extras) also available in The Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films - a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. It contains Alexander Nevsky (1938), Ashes And Diamonds (1958), L'avventura (1960), Ballad Of A Soldier (1959), Beauty And The Beast (1946), Black Orpheus (1959), Brief Encounter (1945), The Fallen Idol (1948), Fires On The Plain (1959), Fists In The Pocket (1965), Floating Weeds (1959), Forbidden Games (1952), The 400 Blows (1959), Grand Illusion (1937), Häxan (1922), Ikiru (1952), The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952), Ivan The Terrible, Part II (1958), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), Jules And Jim (1962), Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949), Knife In The Water (1962), The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Loves Of A Blonde (1965), M (1931), M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), Miss Julie (1951), Pandora's Box (1929), Pépé Le Moko (1937), Il Posto (1961), Pygmalion (1938), Rashomon (1950), Richard III (1955), The Rules Of The Game (1939), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), La Strada (1954), Summertime (1955), The Third Man (1949), The 39 Steps (1935), Ugetsu (1953), Umberto D. (1952), The Virgin Spring (1960), Viridiana (1961), The Wages Of Fear (1953), The White Sheik (1952), Wild Strawberries (1957), Three Documentaries By Saul J. Turell plus the hardcover, full color 240-page book.
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Criterion Blu-ray
Runtime	1.31.45	1.27.24 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:32:32.588
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5,70 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5,51 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.33:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,929,446,018 bytes Feature: 27,367,059,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.08 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio	Dolby Digital Mono	Dolby Digital Mono	LPCM Audio Swedish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, none	English, none	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Film Scholar Peter Cowie • Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work, A 90-Minute Documentary by Filmmaker and Author Jörn Donner • Stills Gallery, Featuring rare Behind-the-scenes Photos DVD Release Date: Keep Case Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Tartan Video Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Star and Director Filmographies • Scene Selection • Geoff Andrew Film Notes • Extract from Bergman's Book 'Images - My Life in Film' • The Bergman Collection Trailer DVD Release Date: February 25th 2002 Keep Case Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,929,446,018 bytes Feature: 27,367,059,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.08 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Commentary by Film Scholar Peter Cowie • Introduction by Bergman (4:04) • Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work, Documentary by Filmmaker and Author Jörn Donner (1:30:38) • Behind-the-scenes (16:54) Blu-ray Release Date: June 11th, 2013 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 23

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

The Criterion Blu-ray of Wild Strawberries appears to be the exact same transfer as in their Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema 100th Anniversary 30 Blu-ray Boxset (reviewed, as a work in-progress, HERE). The feature's file-size is exactly the same at 27,367,059,456 bytes and we can see no differences in video quality, audio or extras and only a negligible alternation of the menus (see below).

***

ADDITION Criterion Blu-ray- May 2013: Wow - hypnotic, amazing image (a touch of edge enhancement!), lossless audio - tack on a Bergman intro - lose the stills gallery from the NTSC DVD. Essential Bergman - don't hesitate. 'Nuff said.

- Gary Tooze

***

ON THE DVDs: Both are great DVDs, but the Criterion is better in almost every aspect. Its sharper and the contrast is better.

The Criterion seems to be cropped negligible on top. The extras are also a lot more interesting on the Criterion disc. If you don't own it already go for the Criterion, if you own the Tartan, you might want to upgrade.

- Mikkel Svendstrup

Menus

(Criterion Collection - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Tartan Video (The Bergman Collection) - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)