Review "The Parson's Widow" Image - Region 0

(aka "Prästänkan" or "Præsteenken" or "The Witch Woman" or "The Fourth Marriage of Dame Margaret" )

Sweden / Denmark 1920

Carl Theodor Dreyer creates a humorous, poignant, and compassionate domestic satire on aging, obsolescence, and the social status of women in The Parson's Widow. Using recurrent imagery, doppelgängers, and plot repetition, Dreyer affectionately illustrates the transience and unalterable cycle of life: the repeated shot of Söfren and Mari by the waterfall at the beginning and end of the film; Dame Margarete's perceived appearance as a young woman; the dilemma that Dame Margarete and her first husband (her true love) similarly faced as Söfren and Mari on the road to the parsonage. Inevitably, by presenting Söfren and Mari's comically misadventurous path towards reconciling the diametric forces of moral obligation and personal integrity, perseverance and humanity, social duty and emotional need, Dreyer reveals the immutable process of life and the innate human struggle for spiritual and secular equilibrium.

Excerpt from Aquarello's Strictly Film School Website HERE

Theatrical Release: October 1920 - Sweden

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DVD Review: Image - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Ole Kofoed for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Image Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:11:02
Video	1.33:1 (window-boxed) Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.50 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Piano)
Subtitles	English intertitles.
Features	Release Information: Studio: Image Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 (window-boxed) Edition Details: • De nåede færgen / They Caught the Ferry (Dreyer short 11:12). • - Danish language with removeable English subtitles. • Thorvaldsen (Dreyer short 9:58). • - Danish or English language. • Neal Kurz Music Cues (Direct Jump to Music). DVD Release Date: September 21, 2004 Keep Case Chapters 22

Comments

There are speckles and in a few sequences with more serious print damage and it appears that there are a few frames missing. But for a 85 years old movie it's in pretty good shape with a sharp picture most of the time. out of

- Ole Kofoed

Recommended Film reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

	NO COVER POSTED					NO COVER POSTED
My Only Great Passion: The Life and Films of Carl Th.Dreyer (Hardcover) by Jean Drum	The Cinema of Carl Dreyer (The International film guide series) by Tom Milne	The Films of Carl-Theodor Dreyer David Bordwell	Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer by Paul Schrader Paperback or Hardcover	Speaking the Language of Desire : The Films of Carl Dreyer by Ray Carney Paperback or Hardcover	DREYER IN DOUBLE REFLECTION edited with commentary by Donald Skoller	Carl Theodor Dreyer's Jesus: A Great Filmmaker's Final Masterwork (Hardcover) by Carl Theodor Dreyer

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Region 0 - NTSC

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