Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-4

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What A Disgrace
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Re: The Seventh Seal (4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray)

#26 Post by What A Disgrace » Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:40 pm

I have a feeling that I'm going to sell the Criterion box set before I even watch it.

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swo17
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Volume 1

#27 Post by swo17 » Wed Aug 04, 2021 6:34 pm

Volume 2
For over 50 years, Ingmar Bergman produced ground-breaking works of cinema that established him as one of the world’s most acclaimed, enduring and influential filmmakers.

In the 1950s he firmly established himself at the vanguard of world cinema. Following his breakthrough success Summer with Monika (1953), Bergman continued with a series of ground-breaking productions, many of which are still considered some of the greatest films ever made.

Presented over six discs, Ingmar Bergman: Volume Two features eight landmark titles by the iconic filmmaker – presented together on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. These include the Palme d’Or-nominated comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), the introspective meditation on old age and human existence, Wild Strawberries (1957) and the iconic exploration of faith and death, The Seventh Seal (1957).

The films:
Summer Interlude (1951), Waiting Women (1952), Summer with Monika (1953), A Lesson in Love (1954), Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Magician (1958)

Extras:

• Audio commentary on The Seventh Seal by film critic and editor-in-chief of Diabolique magazine, Kat Ellinger
• Perfect-bound book featuring new essays by David Jenkins, Ellen Cheshire, Leigh Singer, Kieron McCormack, Philip Kemp, Jessica Kiang, Geoff Andrew and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Other extras TBC
Is this going to be their only stab at the 1950s? Because it's missing Carnie's Twilight!

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dwk
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#28 Post by dwk » Wed Aug 04, 2021 6:51 pm

I think Criterion released that one in the UK.

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swo17
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#29 Post by swo17 » Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:05 pm

So they did

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TMDaines
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#30 Post by TMDaines » Thu Aug 05, 2021 6:33 am

BFI haven't included any of the five films that AE released previously on Blu-ray.

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rapta
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Re: The Seventh Seal (4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray)

#31 Post by rapta » Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:19 pm

What A Disgrace wrote:
Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:40 pm
I have a feeling that I'm going to sell the Criterion box set before I even watch it.
The Criterion set has several films that the BFI sets won't, but I suppose the BFI sets are still very nice (and are encoded by David Mackenzie, and on separate discs too).

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Ribs
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#32 Post by Ribs » Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:28 pm

Both sets are still more than one film on a disc. As the movies are for the most part not very long, I don't really see it as a serious issue beyond that David Mackenzie will do a generally better job regardless of the space available.

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#33 Post by rapta » Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:45 pm

Ribs wrote:
Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:28 pm
Both sets are still more than one film on a disc. As the movies are for the most part not very long, I don't really see it as a serious issue beyond that David Mackenzie will do a generally better job regardless of the space available.
Sorry yes they're on five discs in the first volume and six discs in the second. I imagine the Mackenzie encodes to be much better. Criterion set is going to be better for special features. I guess they're all worth owning, but personally since I own the Criterion and AE sets, I'm happy with just the first volume of the BFI sets (and I do own the BFI edition of The Touch too...is The Magic Flute worth owning twice?).

I just got hold of the Bergman: A Year in a Life in the 3-disc edition BFI released a few years ago, if only to overdose on Bergman-related discs.

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#34 Post by jsteffe » Thu Aug 05, 2021 3:51 pm

I received Volume 1 and watched TORMENT last night. Despite the caveats I've seen about the source materials, it looks better than I expected.

As for SAWDUST AND TINSEL/GYCKLARNAS AFTON, how about Carniedämmerung?

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#35 Post by L.A. » Sun Oct 31, 2021 9:53 am

DVD Compare’s review for The Seventh Seal

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tenia
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#36 Post by tenia » Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:10 pm

It's unfortunate the review doesn't look at this but the 4k restoration is obviously grain managed, something that was already visible on BD, and I wonder how it renders in 4k and HDR.

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#37 Post by cdnchris » Sun Oct 31, 2021 2:48 pm

I just watched the 4K and thought it looked nice. It's very fine but visible, and better than the Criterion disc in the box set in this regard (I have the BFI Blu-ray as well but haven't looked at it yet). Can't get the disc to load on my desktop yet, but on the television I thought it looked really good.

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#38 Post by cdnchris » Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:56 am

So I was finally able to pull screen grabs from the disc, and here's an SDR sample for resolution purposes; I thought the grain was rendered well. It has been converted to a JPG because the original file was around 10MB, so keep that in mind:
Image

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#39 Post by EddieLarkin » Tue Nov 02, 2021 6:09 am



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Tuppence
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#41 Post by Tuppence » Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:07 pm

This BFI set contains the SFI's 2K restoration of SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, and it is substantially better than the Criterion presentation in all respects. Much sharper and more detailed, beautifully natural in its grain, and the optical transitions are much more stable than the older master. Really a shame Criterion screwed up and didn't use it for their own Bergman set (despite erroneously listing this very master in the accompanying book).

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tenia
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#42 Post by tenia » Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:37 pm

I'm still sure they screwed the disc up by forgetting to update the presentation and preferred to fix the book instead for the 2nd pressing. Really a shame.

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#43 Post by swo17 » Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:49 pm

Does the Vol. 2 box include the Seventh Seal UHD?

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#44 Post by MichaelB » Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:13 pm

swo17 wrote:Does the Vol. 2 box include the Seventh Seal UHD?
Not unless something’s gone badly wrong with the packaging.

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#45 Post by Rayon Vert » Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:27 pm

Tuppence wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:07 pm
This BFI set contains the SFI's 2K restoration of SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, and it is substantially better than the Criterion presentation in all respects. Much sharper and more detailed, beautifully natural in its grain, and the optical transitions are much more stable than the older master. Really a shame Criterion screwed up and didn't use it for their own Bergman set (despite erroneously listing this very master in the accompanying book).
Are there other films in the set where the BFI is superior to the Criterion, or is the rest all equivalents?

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#46 Post by Tuppence » Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:26 pm

Rayon Vert wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:27 pm
Are there other films in the set where the BFI is superior to the Criterion, or is the rest all equivalents?
The only other master here that Criterion elected not to use is for THE MAGICIAN. I haven't looked at it yet, but will compare the two side-by-side shortly.

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andyli
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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-2

#47 Post by andyli » Sat Mar 05, 2022 9:25 pm

Tuppence wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:26 pm
Rayon Vert wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:27 pm
Are there other films in the set where the BFI is superior to the Criterion, or is the rest all equivalents?
The only other master here that Criterion elected not to use is for THE MAGICIAN. I haven't looked at it yet, but will compare the two side-by-side shortly.
Any update on this comparison? I am about to order the second set, and The Magician being a newer restoration would seal the deal for me.

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-3

#48 Post by swo17 » Thu May 05, 2022 10:37 am

Vol. 3 coming in August
For more than 50 years, Ingmar Bergman produced groundbreaking works of cinema that established him as one of the world’s most acclaimed, enduring and influential filmmakers.

Firmly established as one of cinema's most original and artistic talents by the 1960s, Bergman continued his explorations of the human psyche with a series of increasingly provocative and stylised productions.

Including the Oscar-winning rape-and-revenge drama The Virgin Spring (1960), his assessment on the purpose and promise of religion in the Faith Trilogy (Through a Glass Darkly, The Silence, Winter Light), and the landmark psychological drama Persona (1966), through these films Bergman challenged audiences to confront and consider topics seldom explored with such depth.

The films:

The Virgin Spring (1960)
The Devil's Eye (1960)
Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
The Silence (1963)
Winter Light (1963)
All These Women (1964)
Persona (1966)
The Rite (1969)

Extras:

• Newly commissioned audio commentary on The Virgin Spring by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
The Men and Bergman (2007, 52 mins): Eva Beling's documentary featuring Erland Josephson, Thommy Berggren, Börje Ahlstedt and Thorsten Flinck
• 100-page perfect bound book featuring new essays by Catherine Wheatley, Claire Marie Healy, Jannike Åhlund, Philip Kemp, Ellen Cheshire, Geoff Andrew, Andrew Graves and Kat Ellinger
• Other extras TBC
• Newly commissioned artwork by Andrew Bannister
• Limited edition of 5,000

Please note that our distribution rights mean that this release is only available to customers in the UK (and related territories).

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-3

#49 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu May 05, 2022 10:52 am

The Rite didn't wind up gelling for me, but it's an interesting film and a welcome addition to these sets considering its absence from the Criterion Bergman box

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Re: Ingmar Bergman Vols. 1-3

#50 Post by swo17 » Thu May 05, 2022 10:57 am

None of these films are absent from the Criterion box. I may still pick this set up though if any of the transfers are significant improvements like Smiles of a Summer Night was

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