Faro 1979 Blu-ray - Ingmar Bergman

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

(aka "Fårö-dokument 1979" or "Faro Document 1979" or "Fårö Document 1979" )

Sweden 1979

Midway through his time in Germany, Bergman returned to Fårö for his second documentary exploration of the remote Swedish island he loved and the socioeconomic realities experienced by those who lived there. Longer, more optimistic, and less ascetic than its predecessor, this film charts a calendar year in the life of the island’s 673 inhabitants, many of whom he observes working tirelessly shearing sheep, thatching roofs, and slaughtering livestock, as well as going about various communal rituals. Distilled from twenty-eight hours of material, Fårö Document 1979 is a lyrical depiction of life’s cyclical nature.

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Theatrical Release: December 24th, 1979

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Review: Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:44:27.010
Video	Disc Size: 47,676,946,380 bytes Feature Size: 28,002,410,496 bytes Average Bitrate: 31.79 Mbps 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:
Audio	LPCM Audio Swedish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Disc Size: 47,676,946,380 bytes Feature Size: 28,002,410,496 bytes Average Bitrate: 31.79 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • shares the Blu-ray Disc with Faro Document • Karin's Face (14:34) - personal photo album, especially the pictures of his mother Karin • Daniel (10:39) Blu-ray Release Date: November 20th, 2018 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters 19

Comments:

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

Criterion present Bergman's Fårö Document 1979 on a dual-layered Blu-ray with a high bitrate. The follow-up 1979 film looks especially pleasing, full of rich grain. The image has color depth and looks film-like in-motion. Fårö Document 1979 was transferred from a mix of both the CRI (Color Reversal Intermediate) negative and a duplicate negative from 16mm elements. Both Blu-ray transfers (this and Faro Document) have a good fidelity to the original film, its just that 79 looks like a 16mm, as opposed to Fårö Document's 35mm - this film starts with this text screen:

The film is presented in its original Swedish language, mono 24-bit linear PCM track with music by Claes af Geijerstam performed by Ola & the Janglers, Den blomstertid nu kommer ("The Flower Time Now Comes") performed by Popular Choir of Fårö, Santa Lucia by Female Choir of Fårö etc. and it sounds authentically flat but consistent and clear. There are optional English subtitles on this Region-Free Blu-ray.

There are extras for this film on the Blu-ray disc, the first being "Karin's Face", a short 15-minute documentary that Bergman made about his personal photo album, focusing mostly on his mother Karin. The second is an 11-minute short documentary "Daniel", on the birth and early years of Bergman's eponymous son.

I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed Bergman's "Fårö Document" and "Fårö Document 1979". What originally sounded rather dry and anthropological (removed) is quite emotional and just as intimate as one would expect from Bergman. The transfers are film-like, presenting the film as it would have been seen originally on Swedish TV, only better (from the film's print, not a TV broadcast.)

Colin Zavitz

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