The Virgin Spring Blu-ray - Birgitta Valberg

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

(aka 'The Vifgin Spring')

Sweden 1960

Winner of the 1961 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring is a harrowing tale of faith, revenge, and savagery in medieval Sweden. Starring Bergman stalwart and screen icon Max von Sydow, the film is both beautiful and cruel in its depiction of a world teetering between the sacred and the profane and one father’s longing to avenge the murder of a child.

***

Inspired by a medieval Swedish ballad, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukallan) begins with a scene of unspeakable brutality and ends with an image of uncommon beauty. 15-year-old Birgitta Peterson, on her way to church to light candles for the Virgin Mary, is raped and murdered by two older men. The men look for shelter at the home of Birgitta's father (Max Von Sydow), who murders the bestial killers in cold blood. When the deed is done, Von Sydow, a deeply religious man, begins to question the efficacy of a God that would allow his daughter's death, then permit so bloody a retribution. Then, a fresh, virgin spring bubbles from the ground where his daughter had been lying a few moments before. Taking this natural phenomenon as a sign from above, Von Sydow vows to erect a church on the spot where Birgitta met her doom. The winner of the "best foreign picture" Academy Award, The Virgin Spring currently exists in several versions of varying lengths; the longest, and most graphic, is the original Swedish cut. Believe it or not, this hauntingly beautiful film served as the basis of The Last House on the Left (1972).

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 8th, 1960

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Comparison:

Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Criterion Collection - Region FREE - Blu-ray

The Criterion Blu-ray of The Virgin Spring 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 FREE - Blu-ray

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Criterion - Region FREE Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Cover
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 321 - Region 1 - NTSC	Criterion Collection Spine #321 Region FREE Blu-ray
(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews) This edition (without any extras) is 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.
Runtime	1:29:30	1:30:39.434
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.29 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 38,969,141,474 bytes Feature Size: 27,547,047,936 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.91 Mbps 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	Swedish / German (mono), DUB: English (mono)	LPCM Audio Swedish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DUB: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Ingmar Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene • Video interviews with actresses Gunnel Linblom and Birgitta Petersson • Ingmar Bergman at AFI • 30 page Liner notes booklet with photographs and an essay by film historian and Bergman scholar Peter Cowie as well as a letter by Berman and other relevant material. DVD Release Date: January 24th, 2005 Keep Case Chapters: 21	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Disc Size: 38,969,141,474 bytes Feature Size: 27,547,047,936 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.91 Mbps 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary from 2005 by Ingmar Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene • Interviews from 2005 with actors Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson (20:33) • Introduction by filmmaker Ang Lee from 2005 (7:05) • Audio recording of a 1975 American Film Institute seminar by Bergman (40:27) • Alternate English-dubbed soundtrack • PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isaksson and the medieval ballad on which the film is based Blu-ray Release Date: June 26th, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters: 20

Comments:

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

The Criterion Blu-ray of The Virgin Spring appears to be the exact same transfer (see comments below) 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 27,547,047,936 bytes and we can see no differences in video quality, audio or extras.

NOTE: Yes, as has been leaked, we can now confirm that this Blu-ray set is Region FREE!

***

What a beautiful film. The new Criterion 1080P is a "new 2K digital restoration". It distinguishes itself from the strong SD in the form of superior contrast... where the blacks are deeper and the whites brighter. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks stunning in-motion. It's superiority over the DVD will be more noticeable the size of the system you have. Such a gorgeous film for HD.

Criterion use a DTS-HD Master track, 1.0 channel mono (24-bit) in the original Swedish language - and an optional English DUB (as on the DVD) is lossy Dolby. The, mostly, gentle score is by Erik Nordgren (Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly, The Magician, Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal) and supports the film wonderfully in the lossless. There are optional English subtitles on the Region FREE-locked Blu-ray.

Extras duplicate the 2005 DVD with the commentary, Ang Lee intro, interviews and the 40-minute 'Bergman at the AFI' audio piece. Also included is the linear notes booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isaksson and the medieval ballad on which the film is based.

Bergman on Blu-ray - and not only the appeal of director - but one of his best, and most visually striking, films. Our highest recommendation!

***

ON THE DVD: Like Forbidden Games this Criterion release also has a thick border around the edge of the frame and it also has an English DUB option. In Forbidden Games we surmised that the DUB was included to make a suitable presentation for children. Perhaps this is the case as well with The Virgin Spring?!? However, the black border, in this case as well, limits resolution... meaning the image can look even better if it had been transferred to fill the entire screen. Of course many players will automatically compensate by zooming in slightly, however this still does not improve resolution.

Regardless, Criterion's image looks stellar. I suspect a shade of black boosting to bring up sharpness but overall the quality is Criterion's usual excellent standard. As are the subtitles (best in DVD production) , Ang Lee's intro and the commentary. I've only skimmed the Video interview with Linblom and Petersson and haven't yet listened to the Bergman seminar at the AFI - it was in 1975 at the Harold Lloyd Masters ceremony in Los Angeles. The fairly hefty booklet included is gorgeous. Aside from my initial comments (black border, DUB), which I sincerely hope will not become a new Criterion DVD production trend, this edition is as great as you may have expected. We strongly recommend and assume it easily eclipses the PAL Tartan release listed HERE (sample now shown below).