Fanny & Alexander [Criterion Collection] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Though he made allusions to his own life in all of his films, Fanny and Alexander was the first overtly autobiographical film by Ingmar Bergman. Taking his time throughout (188 minutes to be exact), Bergman recreates several episodes from his youth, using as conduits the fictional Ekdahl family. Alexander, the director's alter ego, is first seen at age 10 at a joyous and informal Christmas gathering of relatives and servants. Fanny is Alexander's sister; both suffer an emotional shakedown when their recently-widowed mother (Ewa Froling) marries a cold and distant minister. Stripped of their creature comforts and relaxed family atmosphere, Fanny and Alexander suddenly find their childhood unendurable. The kids' grandmother (Gunn Wallgren) "kidnaps" Fanny and Alexander for the purpose of showering them with the first kindness and affection that they've had since their father's death. This "purge" of the darker elements of Fanny and Alexander's existence is accomplished at the unintentional (but applaudable) cost of the hated stepfather's life. Ingmar Bergman insisted that Fanny and Alexander, originally a multipart television series pared down to feature-film length, represented his final theatrical film, though within a year after its release he was busy with several additional Swedish TV projects, and his final work, the 2003 Saraband (also produced for Swedish television), eventually received global theatrical distribution. Oscars went to Fanny and Alexander for Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography (Sven Nykvist), Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Features:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • Optional English-dubbed soundtrack
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Bergman video introductions, made for Swedish television
  • A selection of theatrical trailers
  • A new essay by novelist Rick Moody

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Art Direction - 1983 (Anna Asp)
•     Won Best Cinematography - 1983 (Sven Nykvist)
•     Won Best Costume Design - 1983 (Marik Vos-Lundh)
•     Won Best Foreign Language Film - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1983 (Sven Nykvist)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)

• French Academy of Cinema

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1983
•     Nominated Best Director - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1983 (Sven Nykvist)
•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1983

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1983

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Director - 1983 (Ingmar Bergman)
•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1983

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Pernilla Allwin - Fanny Ekdahl
       Bertil Guve - Alexander Ekdahl
       Gunn Wallgren - Helena Ekdahl
       Borje Ahlstedt - Helena's son Prof. Carl Ekdahl
       Allan Edwall - Oscar Ekdahl
       Ewa Froling - Emilie Ekdahl
       Christina Schollin - Lydia Ekdahl
       Jarl Kulle - Gustav Adolf Ekdahl
       Mona Malm - Alma
       Gunnar Bjornstrand - Filip Landahl
       Jan Malmsjo - Bishop Edvard Vergerus
       Marianne Aminoff - Bishop's mother Blenda
       Erland Josephson - Isak Jacobi
       Stina Ekblad - Ismael
       Mats Bergman - Aron
       Ake Lagergren - Johan Armfeldt

• Director:

  Ingmar Bergman

• Screenwriter:

  Ingmar Bergman

• Cinematographer:

  Sven Nykvist

• Featured Music:

  Benjamin Britten, Robert Schumann

• Composer (Music Score):

  Daniel Bell, Frans Helmerson, Marianne Jacobs

• Editor:

  Sylvia Ingemarsson

• Production Designer:

  Anna Asp

• Executive Producer:

  Jörn Donner

• Set Designer:

  Jacob Tigerskiold

• Costume Designer:

  Marik Vos-Lundh

• Production Manager:

  Katinka Farago, Brita Werkmäster

REVIEW:

• As Ingmar Bergman's pentultimate theatrical feature, this semi-autobiographical tale of two young children in turn-of-the-century Sweden is a distillation of a six-hour TV miniseries, which the director turned into a 3-hour plus movie. The last feature film that Bergman directed, it is a story seen through a child's eyes. The potent symbolism and profound melancholy that run through most of Bergman's work is evidenced here, but it is balanced by scenes of great sensual pleasure (a true delight, given Bergman's reputation for dourness) and emotional joy. The youthful point-of-view encourages the audience to adopt a naive simplicity while viewing the film, resulting in more profound mood swings as the tale follows the downward spiral of the protagonists' lives after their beloved poppa Oskar dies. Bergman's notoriously determined pacing works particularly well in evoking the childrens' dread in the Bishop's stultifying Puritanical household. The large ensemble cast is uniformly superb, with the two children (Bertil Guve and Pernilla Allwin) a heartbreakingly sweet touchstone for our emotions. This is one of Bergman's most impressive achievements, and probably his most popular and accessible film, as it examines his familiar issues of psychological torment and spiritual confusion in a humanistic and life-affirming context. Nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, Fanny and Alexander took home four trophies, including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography for Bergman's longtime collaborator Sven Nykvist, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi