1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
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- Bloodthirsty Butcher
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1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Bo Widerberg's New Swedish Cinema
Driven by a desire to forge a socially conscious Swedish cinema—one that broke with the inward-looking psychodrama of Ingmar Bergman to give dynamic expression to the everyday experiences of working-class Swedes—writer Bo Widerberg turned to filmmaking in the early 1960s, realizing his ambition in politically committed yet poetic works that merge social-realist themes with a refined, often breathtakingly beautiful visual sensibility. Dramatizing the struggles of ordinary people fighting to chart their own destiny, these four acclaimed, popular, and pivotal films from Widerberg's most prolific period live and breathe with a rare vitality—and helped launch a new Swedish cinema.
The Baby Carriage
Infused with a jazzy, nouvelle vague–inspired energy, Bo Widerberg's feature debut has the freshness of youth. Building on his manifesto's call for a socially relevant Swedish cinema, the writer turned director offers a vivid portrait of a young factory worker (Inger Taube) finding her way toward independence as she weathers unexpected pregnancy, learns hard lessons from relationships with two very different men, and leaves behind the only home she has ever known. Abetted by fellow filmmaker Jan Troell's coolly beautiful monochrome cinematography, Widerberg takes a bold first step in his mission to create a cinema that is both engaged and engaging.
Raven's End
A period piece that forgoes nostalgia in favor of a stark examination of working-class struggle, Bo Widerberg's second feature unfolds in 1936 in the director's hometown of Malmö. It's there, in the poor district of Raven's End, that young Anders (Widerberg's regular collaborator Tommy Berggren) chases his dream of becoming a writer while growing increasingly disillusioned with the dead-end world that surrounds him: an alcoholic father, a toiling mother, and the ominous specter of Nazism. Delivering a bracing jolt of kitchen-sink realism to Swedish cinema, Widerberg paints an unsparing portrait of youthful idealism bumping up against economic despair.
Elvira Madigan
Bo Widerberg reached new heights of visual lyricism with this sublime retelling of a real-life nineteenth-century romantic tragedy. Bound by their all-consuming desire, a young circus tightrope walker (Pia Degermark, winner of the Cannes Best Actress prize) and a lieutenant (Tommy Berggren) with a wife and children forsake everything to be together and escape to the countryside—only to see their lovers' idyll gradually give way to poverty and desperation. With its painterly, sun-dappled images and indelible use of Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 21, this 1960s art-house sensation is the most ravishing expression of Widerberg's recurring theme of the tension between individual freedom and social responsibility.
Ådalen 31
One of Bo Widerberg's most explicitly political works imbues the true story of a 1931 labor strike with a powerful contemporary resonance. In the industrial district of Ådalen, in the north of Sweden, a peaceful demonstration takes a tragic turn, leading to a historic general strike. Amid these events, the teenage Kjell (Peter Schildt) experiences sacrifice and strife, love and loss, and the consequences of this shocking violence. Working once again with Elvira Madigan cinematographer Jörgen Persson—who captures shimmering, light-filled images in graceful widescreen—Widerberg entwines a stirring portrait of resistance with an intimate coming-of-age journey for a vision of history that feels vibrantly, urgently alive.
FOUR-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
• New introduction to director Bo Widerberg by filmmaker Ruben Östlund
• New interviews with actor Tommy Berggren and cinematographer Jörgen Persson
• The Boy and the Kite (1962), a short film by Widerberg and Jan Troell, with an introduction by Troell
• Swedish television interviews with Widerberg from the 1960s
• Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Elvira Madigan
• PLUS: An essay by film historian Peter Cowie and excerpts by Widerberg from his 1962 book Vision in Swedish Film
Driven by a desire to forge a socially conscious Swedish cinema—one that broke with the inward-looking psychodrama of Ingmar Bergman to give dynamic expression to the everyday experiences of working-class Swedes—writer Bo Widerberg turned to filmmaking in the early 1960s, realizing his ambition in politically committed yet poetic works that merge social-realist themes with a refined, often breathtakingly beautiful visual sensibility. Dramatizing the struggles of ordinary people fighting to chart their own destiny, these four acclaimed, popular, and pivotal films from Widerberg's most prolific period live and breathe with a rare vitality—and helped launch a new Swedish cinema.
The Baby Carriage
Infused with a jazzy, nouvelle vague–inspired energy, Bo Widerberg's feature debut has the freshness of youth. Building on his manifesto's call for a socially relevant Swedish cinema, the writer turned director offers a vivid portrait of a young factory worker (Inger Taube) finding her way toward independence as she weathers unexpected pregnancy, learns hard lessons from relationships with two very different men, and leaves behind the only home she has ever known. Abetted by fellow filmmaker Jan Troell's coolly beautiful monochrome cinematography, Widerberg takes a bold first step in his mission to create a cinema that is both engaged and engaging.
Raven's End
A period piece that forgoes nostalgia in favor of a stark examination of working-class struggle, Bo Widerberg's second feature unfolds in 1936 in the director's hometown of Malmö. It's there, in the poor district of Raven's End, that young Anders (Widerberg's regular collaborator Tommy Berggren) chases his dream of becoming a writer while growing increasingly disillusioned with the dead-end world that surrounds him: an alcoholic father, a toiling mother, and the ominous specter of Nazism. Delivering a bracing jolt of kitchen-sink realism to Swedish cinema, Widerberg paints an unsparing portrait of youthful idealism bumping up against economic despair.
Elvira Madigan
Bo Widerberg reached new heights of visual lyricism with this sublime retelling of a real-life nineteenth-century romantic tragedy. Bound by their all-consuming desire, a young circus tightrope walker (Pia Degermark, winner of the Cannes Best Actress prize) and a lieutenant (Tommy Berggren) with a wife and children forsake everything to be together and escape to the countryside—only to see their lovers' idyll gradually give way to poverty and desperation. With its painterly, sun-dappled images and indelible use of Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 21, this 1960s art-house sensation is the most ravishing expression of Widerberg's recurring theme of the tension between individual freedom and social responsibility.
Ådalen 31
One of Bo Widerberg's most explicitly political works imbues the true story of a 1931 labor strike with a powerful contemporary resonance. In the industrial district of Ådalen, in the north of Sweden, a peaceful demonstration takes a tragic turn, leading to a historic general strike. Amid these events, the teenage Kjell (Peter Schildt) experiences sacrifice and strife, love and loss, and the consequences of this shocking violence. Working once again with Elvira Madigan cinematographer Jörgen Persson—who captures shimmering, light-filled images in graceful widescreen—Widerberg entwines a stirring portrait of resistance with an intimate coming-of-age journey for a vision of history that feels vibrantly, urgently alive.
FOUR-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
• New introduction to director Bo Widerberg by filmmaker Ruben Östlund
• New interviews with actor Tommy Berggren and cinematographer Jörgen Persson
• The Boy and the Kite (1962), a short film by Widerberg and Jan Troell, with an introduction by Troell
• Swedish television interviews with Widerberg from the 1960s
• Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Elvira Madigan
• PLUS: An essay by film historian Peter Cowie and excerpts by Widerberg from his 1962 book Vision in Swedish Film
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
I think I’m the only person to have ever suggested Ådalen 31 here. Shame they didn’t get Olivier Assayas to discuss it, as he has programmed it at different cinematheques and has said that it convinced him to become a filmmaker
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Elvira Madigan is a total masterpiece, hopefully this release puts it back into conversations it belongs in
- Fred Holywell
- Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:45 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Yes, Elvira Madigan was held in such high regard in the period following its 1967 release, but it seems now like it's fallen from favor, and even memory. Not sure why that is, since I think the film's sublime and rather timeless. Visually beautiful, of course, romantic, poetic, also sad and ultimately disturbing. All four films are remarkable works, and I heartily recommend the set to those unfamiliar with Widerberg's output.domino harvey wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 2:05 pmElvira Madigan is a total masterpiece, hopefully this release puts it back into conversations it belongs in
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
My thoughts on the standout of the set:
therewillbeblus wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:37 pmElvira Madigan would seem familiar if I described its narrative structure, but the process of delivery is unlike anything I've seen. We know how the story ends before we are privileged a glance at the radiance of love's power in the first images. This is essentially a story of how love liberates in private, becoming a world on its own, and how this is at odds with the rest of the world that doesn't subscribe to its rules. In this kind of love, the couple is the center of their shared world, their playful games are so self-assured that we don't need to understand their jokes or idiosyncratic flirtations because they jive off of one another’s energy seamlessly, speaking a unique language known only to them, that we have no business trying to piece and should be grateful enough for the opportunity to voyeuristically admire.
There is a tragedy inherent to this contrast with environment, but Widerberg conscientiously doesn’t focus there nearly as much as the sublime that exists for the individual, completely special and singular and dependent on nothing but intrinsic energy with their loved one to survive. They muse about the outside world: war, occupations, philosophy; and yet they can safely do so from their bubble of symbiotic passion. The attention paid to this Eden-like paradise in the woods, exalted spiritual relationships with all creation in their vicinity, is like the fairy tales real life brings when we look for them. When the milieu's cancer does seep in, the message is less of a wake-up call to problems in how they practice their love, but a shade of realism that has become poisonously repellent in the wake of how sober these lovers have become to the possibilities of life. The scene where Sixten becomes angry about Hedvig showing her legs doesn't feel sourced in common jealousy so much as a discomfort with the need to compromise the self through sharing the beauty only he can truly know with the numbed misperceptions of the outside world. Just as cognitive-heavy intelligent people kill themselves when their environments don't match their psyches, the emotionally-explosive lovers can become just as hopeless in an atmosphere that doesn't reflect their level of intimacy.
The ‘blade of grass’ analogy said in the film defines this position of meaning-making better than I can, but it’s true in all the ways that matter to these people and that have mattered to us at certain times of our lives and, with any luck, will again. As Sixten says, “Isn’t that what love is? That you borrow someone’s eyes to experience the world as they see and feel it?” I can’t help but realize that this is exactly what Widerberg is granting us, the gift to relive that experience of love. I’m in love with this film.
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
It was the Swedish A Man and a Woman! It's surprising that it's taken Criterion so long to get around to it, though I'm frankly much more interested in the other films in this set.Fred Holywell wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 4:16 pmYes, Elvira Madigan was held in such high regard in the period following its 1967 release, but it seems now like it's fallen from favor, and even memory.domino harvey wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 2:05 pmElvira Madigan is a total masterpiece, hopefully this release puts it back into conversations it belongs in
- MichaelB
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
We still played it in rep in the 1990s - and reasonably often, so it must still have had an audience even then.
- GaryC
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
It had a cinema reissue in 1991 (though its new cinema certificate is missing from the BBFC database), and that's when I saw it. I don't remember much about it now other than its visuals, so it may well watch it again sometime. I've not seen any other of Widerberg's films, so with The Man on the Roof and the ones on Netflix, now's my chance.
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
The other films on this set are excellent. Perfect examples of the New Swedish Cinema: exciting and different. This was all done as a reaction to Bergman’s cinema which was viewed by the younger directors as influential but as a dead end of sorts.
I watched all these films plus Widerberg’s so-called Felliniesque LOVE 65 (missing from this set) on YouTube years ago (all good subtitled prints) which were issued in France on DVD. (The French discs didn’t have subs). I’m not sure who did the removable online subs but they were excellent.
Now if Criterion put out an Alain Tanner box I’ll be even happier.
I watched all these films plus Widerberg’s so-called Felliniesque LOVE 65 (missing from this set) on YouTube years ago (all good subtitled prints) which were issued in France on DVD. (The French discs didn’t have subs). I’m not sure who did the removable online subs but they were excellent.
Now if Criterion put out an Alain Tanner box I’ll be even happier.
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- Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:34 am
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Was "Elvira Madigan » released on blu-ray in Sweden ? There is a Japanese blu-ray but 1080i only (even though the picture is gorgeous); it opens with the Swedish cinema logo; hope that Criterion will fix it to 1080p24.
- Cipater
- Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:34 am
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Not as far as I know -- the only Widerbergs to be released on Blu-Ray here are The Man on the Roof and The Man from Majorca. The restoration of Elvira Madigan is widely available on VOD, however.Rupert Pupkin wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2023 8:24 pmWas "Elvira Madigan » released on blu-ray in Sweden ?
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Elvira Madigan in VOD in 1080 ? via Criterion.com ? Mubi ?
- Cipater
- Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:34 am
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
I was referring to Swedish VOD sites, e.g. SF and TriArt. It's also available via the library service Cineasterna (our equivalent of Kanopy). Sorry for causing confusion.Rupert Pupkin wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 2:42 amElvira Madigan in VOD in 1080 ? via Criterion.com ? Mubi ?
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
I'm not sure that I could access to this VOD site from France. Is this in 1080 or just SD (in France the movie has been released only on DVD (although using the Swedish restoration) ? I have the Japanese blu-ray which opens with the Swedish logo but is in 1080i; hence some "fluidity" problems.Cipater wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 3:46 amI was referring to Swedish VOD sites, e.g. SF and TriArt. It's also available via the library service Cineasterna (our equivalent of Kanopy). Sorry for causing confusion.Rupert Pupkin wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 2:42 amElvira Madigan in VOD in 1080 ? via Criterion.com ? Mubi ?
- Cipater
- Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:34 am
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Yes, it's HD. Can't swear by each site's player and streaming quality however.Rupert Pupkin wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 6:15 pmI'm not sure that I could access to this VOD site from France. Is this in 1080 or just SD (in France the movie has been released only on DVD (although using the Swedish restoration) ?
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
The films and (as far as I can tell) all of the special features are now streaming on the Criterion Channel, three weeks before the Blu-ray release date. Have they ever made an entire Criterion edition available for streaming before releasing it on physical media?
- Randall Maysin Again
- Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2021 3:28 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
golly, these features look as sparse and fleeting as a Nordic sommar!fiendishthingy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2023 6:28 pmThe films and (as far as I can tell) all of the special features are now streaming on the Criterion Channel, three weeks before the Blu-ray release date. Have they ever made an entire Criterion edition available for streaming before releasing it on physical media?
- Walter Kurtz
- Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2020 3:03 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Warren Beatty’s Godardian riffs on worldwide pop culture began with Bonnie and Clyde... which almost all cineastes know is the Hollywood version of Elvira Madigan.
Elvira Madiigan
- a dark-haired male and a pretty blonde ingénue as the two leads
- traipsing though the countryside
- scrummaging for food
- frolicking in the fields
- hanging out near a stream
- reading about themselves in the newspaper
- and then—
- and then—
- gunfire!
Bonnie and Clyde
- a dark-haired male and a pretty blonde ingénue as the two leads
- rambling though the countryside
- scrummaging for dollars to pay for food
- fornicating in the fields
- hanging out near a lake
- reading about themselves in the newspaper
- and then—
- and then—
- gunfire!
Some cineastes say B&C is an homage.... others say it's a parody. Still others accuse it of being a blatant ripoff. I say... Job Well Done!
Elvira Madiigan
- a dark-haired male and a pretty blonde ingénue as the two leads
- traipsing though the countryside
- scrummaging for food
- frolicking in the fields
- hanging out near a stream
- reading about themselves in the newspaper
- and then—
- and then—
- gunfire!
Bonnie and Clyde
- a dark-haired male and a pretty blonde ingénue as the two leads
- rambling though the countryside
- scrummaging for dollars to pay for food
- fornicating in the fields
- hanging out near a lake
- reading about themselves in the newspaper
- and then—
- and then—
- gunfire!
Some cineastes say B&C is an homage.... others say it's a parody. Still others accuse it of being a blatant ripoff. I say... Job Well Done!
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
He and Art Penn really aimed at that New Wave vibe earlier with Mickey One which I’d argue is more indebted to Godard of the two with Bonnie and Clyde seeming to originate more with Truffaut.
- MichaelB
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Although Godard was initially considered as director!
But there’s no connection with Elvira Madigan beyond amusing coincidence, as Bonnie and Clyde wrapped more than three months before Elvira Madigan’s premiere.
But there’s no connection with Elvira Madigan beyond amusing coincidence, as Bonnie and Clyde wrapped more than three months before Elvira Madigan’s premiere.
- Walter Kurtz
- Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2020 3:03 pm
Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
I had known the timing but was just having fun contemplating coincidences. You can hardly find two films more different... yet, weirdly, the same, and in many more ways than the superficial coincidences I mentioned.
- CSM126
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- ryannichols7
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
sorry to beat this drum in every thread, but that slate of extras look like what Indicator or Arrow put on literally every disc. let alone a 4 movie set
- therewillbeblus
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
The transfers look absolutely fantastic though
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
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Re: 1189 Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
Others might even have done a properly optimised 3 discs set, save some costs and possibly lower the price tag.ryannichols7 wrote:sorry to beat this drum in every thread, but that slate of extras look like what Indicator or Arrow put on literally every disc. let alone a 4 movie set