Eclipse Series 1: Early Bergman (Torment / Crisis / Port of Call / Thirst / To Joy) (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

Am happy to see that Criterion continues to put out more Bergman as time goes on. This collection includes arguably the best work from his early period and features most often actors Birger Malmstem and Stig Olin, two regulars from this phase in Bergman's career. It is remarkable how versatile these actors are, delivering distinct performances from film to film.The prints are good, the subtitles removable. Each disc is packaged separately in a plastic case, and there is a concise essay printed on the inside cover for each film. The five cases slide up into the wraparound cover, so this isn't deluxe packaging. No special features, but these films are really intended for the Berman aficionado, who will presumably have seen one or more of them already.All five films are nicely shot, and two of them (Port of Call and Thirst) are even recommendable to general viewers unaware of Bergman or his corpus. To Joy could just as well have been called To Despair--it is one of the few Bergman films I find truly depressing, with its depiction of a tortuous relationship involving a beautiful and congenial Swedish girl, portrayed by Maj-Britt Nilsson. The other two films, Frenzy and Crisis, besides their visual quality, have historical interest as Bergman's first produced screenplay and directorial effort, respectively.Not included in this collection of early work are (among other films) The Night Is My Future (1947), which had popular success in its day but is quite conventional, and Prison/The Devil's Wanton (1949), which, while a mature and personal work, might be considered plodding and heavy-handed.

Purchased this box set last week. Here are some impressions. They contain plot descriptions and some spoilers.TORMENT (1944). The movie focuses on a boarding-school senior, Widgren, who is terrorized by his Latin teacher, and a local shop girl, Bertha, who in different ways, is involved with both men. Widgren is portrayed as a sensitive, caring, idealist. He says he wants to write and play the violin all day. He becomes involved with and falls in love with Bertha, only to be rejected by her later. He tries hard in school, but is scolded by his Latin teacher and unfairly given a demerit and later expelled. He works hard to impress his parents but they only express disappointment in him. He is a good soul who is slowly beaten down by convention and society. He almost folds to the pressure and begins to distance himself from others and life in general, but is saved in a way by a kind professor who understands him. The girl and the Latin teacher both represent tormented people, those who are, for some reason or another, excluded from society, and both meet a tragic end. 3/4 stars.CRISIS (1946). The movie is told as if it were a play, a drama. There is a narrator who sets the stage in the beginning and speaks once again to end the tale. The movie centers around Nelly, an 18 year old girl raised by a loving women (not her natural mother), who grows up in a small town but dreams of something more for herself. She is pursued by a local gentlemen, Ulff, who is kind, but she does not want to be tied down. When she is given the opportunity to live with her estranged mother and work in a beauty shop in a city, she accepts the invitation. She also becomes involved with a man, Jack, who is a friend of the mothers. Her departure creates a crisis in each of the characters as they are forced in various ways to examine their lives. For some, it leads to growth and acceptance. For others, it is too painful. A decent movie overall. 3/4 stars.PORT OF CALL (1948). The movie begins with the attempted suicide of a young woman, Berit, who has a troubled past, having spent years in a reformatory and who is now under the watchful eye of her judgemental mother. The young women begins an affair with a sailer, now a dock worker, Gosta, and through him hopes to find the happiness that has eluded her during life. Gosta too has a sense that time is passing by with little to show for it. He has seen much during his many years at sea, but still is alone and unsure of himself. The film has much Bergman philosophy in it, but is pretty conventional in most other respects. However, it is quite touching. In one scene, Berit tells Gosta that if they stay in town, they won't have much. He responds, "But I'll have you and that is a lot." Overall a very solid film. 4/4 stars.THRIST (1949). The movie focuses on a young women, a ballet dancer, as she and her husband travel across Europe. She is married to a scholar who is fascinated by coins. Their marriage is a rocky one. He is practical. She is not. She drinks often and is depressed that she cannot dance due to a knee injury and cannot bear chuldren. In a series of flashbacks, you see glimpses of her troubled past, an affair with a married man, a botched abortion, and the not so glamarous life as a ballet dancer. The couple at times hate each other but neither can bear to be alone. The dialogue is quite good, but the movie, which jumps around a lot, is not always easy to follow and there are sub stories that do not seem to add much to the main one. 2/4 stars.TO JOY (1950). The film begins with a violinist in a small orchestra, Stig Ericsson, receiving news of his wife's death, Marta, and continues with a lengthy flashback showing how the couple met and scenes from their mostly unhappy marriage, including an affair. Stig is an ambitious musician whose dreams of becoming a concert sololist but his talent is not quite up to the task. Plagued by mediocrity and lack of accomplishmemnt, he lashes out at those around him, his friends, his conductor, and most of all, his caring wife. In a cruel Bergman twist, it is only when Stig realizes that Marta has been the only positive event in his life, his only source of joy, that she is taken away from him. This is true Bergman cinema. 4/4 stars.

These films though early works are worthy of the genius of Bergman and in many cases more accessible for the understanding of the classic Bergman themes: man's struggle with the anguishes of life.Recommended for the Bergman lover and those unacquainted with the poet of misery.

first rate collection of Bergman, well packaged and curated. My daughter is getting a great film education. I will enjoy revisiting it when she is finished....

Bergman deserves all the accolades he's received and continues to receive.

The new eclipse series by the Criterion Collection is great for bringing cinephiles everywhere the opportunity to see films like this. The film is not perfect nor does it entirely submerge the viewer, but for a real fan of cinema, or more particularly Bergman, you can ask for nothing more. The film reveals Bergman's roots, it has his signature dark, brooding characters and themes, desolate landscapes, if not, at times, his own imagistic stamp.The story, however, is maybe the engaging side of mediocrity. The film draws you into the downward spiral of the main characters (the central focus of the story) without making the world seem hopeless and desolate. But it doesn't reach the pre-poop-your-pants euphoria it seems to promise. It's almost there, but doesn't realy ever clinch it.The spiral of these characters is hidden within the world of the film. The torment, is silent, removed, intricate. The film is not what I expected from the early Bergman collection, and is not perfect, but is well worth the rent, for it's politics of the body, insight into Bergman's work and a subtle story that shames American suspense's absurdity, it's over-the-top plot structures, and its star driven sales. It's real, dark, flawed yet engaging. Worth a viewing or two.

excellent

Great collection