Classic Bergman -Blu-ray

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Classic Bergman - 5 Disc Set [Blu-ray]

It Rains On Our Love (1946) A Ship Bound For India (1947)

Sawdust And Tinsel (1953) Dreams (1955) So Close To Life (1958)

Legendary auteur Ingmar Bergman emerged in the late 40s as an art-house icon and remained one for more than four decades. This set includes four early masterpieces available on Blu-ray for the very first time.

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Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) is considered one of the most accomplished and influential European arthouse film directors of all times, who left behind an incredibly rich body of work in the history of modern cinema. His films marked the beginning and end of an era, since he was capable of explicitly taking on fundamental questions in a way that cinema didn't achieve before him and has hardly done since. This 5 set contains a selection of films which cover two decades of the director's work; from his first period - a reflection of his concerns and life experiences - to his thriving époque – a mature work for which he attracted wide international attention.

Titles

IT RAINS ON OUR LOVE (1946)
Maggi and David decide to start a new life together, leaving a troubled past behind them. However, will their love be strong enough to overcome circumstance and human intervention?

A SHIP BOUND FOR INDIA (1947)
Sailor Johannes falls in love with his father’s mistress, Sally, heading to a fight between father and son that will bring the family to a tragic end.

SAWDUST AND TINSEL (1953)
In a small, run down circus company, a wide variety of human feelings are exhibited day by its participants. The result is a performance, never to be forgotten.

DREAMS (1955)
Suzanne, a fashion director, and Doris, her muse, go to Gothenburg for a photo shot. There, each meets up with her men and each is interrupted by another woman.

SO CLOSE TO LIFE (1958)
Three women meet at a maternity ward. Soon they find themselves united by tragic experiences, and a strange bond grows between them.

Posters

Theatrical Releases: 1946 - 1958

DVD Reviews

Review:

Classic Bergman (5-disc) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Time:	Respectively - 1:35:30.057, 1:35:31.726, 1:32:24.580, 1:27:20.235 and 1:22:02.959
Bitrate: It Rains On Our Love
Bitrate: A Ship Bound For India
Bitrate: Sawdust And Tinsel
Bitrate: Dreams
Bitrate: To So Close To Life
Audio	LPCM Audio Swedish 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Aspect Ratio: All Original Aspect Ratios - 1.33 Edition Details: • on Dreams disc: 'Women and Bergman' (28:42 in 1080i) • on So Close to Life: 'Men and Bergman' (52:09 in 1080i) Blu-ray Release Date: June 7th, 2012 Chapters: 12 (for each)

Comments:

Wonderful. I am immensely impressed with Artificial Eye's Blu-ray package of Classic Bergman. I was overjoyed to see some of the director's work I had never seen before - and in solid 1080P transfers.

I did some comparisons below - where applicable - to SD versions. In short - the Criterion Sawdust and Tinsel was picture-boxed, modestly cropped and the Sandrew PAL editions were boosted, muddy and very video-like. The Artificial Eye Blu-ray image improve as the films get younger with So Close to Life looking the best. It has fabulous contrast, excellent detail, a pleasing sheen of grain and even some depth. Sawdust and Tinsel and Dreams are likewise excellent for presentation appearance. There is minor frame specific damage marks and scratches and It Rains on Our Love has fluctuating contrast in the beginning. But overall I am very happy with these transfers (essentially single-layering for the features) with mid-20's or higher bitrates.

The audio is very clear in original Swedish mono via a robust linear PCM track(s) and there are optional English subtitles. I noted no significant flaws such as pops. There was a bit of depth in spots but this was not originally carried in abundance in any of the five films.

Supplements: Sharing the Dreams disc we get 'Women and Bergman' It runs 1/2 hour and is transferred in HD. Producer/Director Eva Beling brought together four prominent Ingmar Bergman actresses; Gunnel Linblom, Bibi Andersson, Pernilla August and Elin Klinga to discuss their work with Bergman in film and theater. Renowned Swedish film critic Nils Petter Sundgren, who has followed Ingmar Bergman throughout his career, hosts the program. It was originally Broadcast on Ingmar Bergman's birthday July 14th, 2008 on Swedish Public Television. On the So Close to Life disc we get the 52-minute long 'Men and Bergman' where Thommy Berggren, Börje Ahlstedt, Thorsten Flinck and Erland Josephson discuss their work with Bergman sharing personal stories and anecdotes - hosted again by Sundgren. Both extras are in Swedish with English subtitles.

I think AE should be very proud of this package. I was floored by the films and thrilled with the a/v of the Blu-ray rendering. This is really a valuable use of the new format - creating a supremely important film-like package fir your Home theater enjoyment. It overflows with value and we give it our highest recommendation.

Gary W. Tooze

Menus

Video	It Rains On Our Love (1946)	A Ship Bound For India (1947)
Video	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,288,644,252 bytes Feature: 22,027,382,784 bytes Video Bitrate: 27.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,547,251,363 bytes Feature: 21,274,226,688 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Sawdust And Tinsel (1953)	Dreams (1955)	So Close To Life (1958)
1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,292,386,739 bytes Feature: 22,018,707,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 27.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,269,979,134 bytes Feature: 18,080,338,368 bytes Video Bitrate: 24.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,669,471,450 bytes Feature: 20,213,213,184 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.01 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video