MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Honored writer and director Ingmar Bergman's final masterpiece, Fanny & Alexander, gets a long-awaited deluxe DVD treatment thanks to this magnificent five-disc release from The Criterion Collection. Every inch of this release, from the DVD menu design to the box set packaging, is a perfect example of the classic Criterion style. Things get off to a roaring start with the full-length (312-minute) version of the film broadcast on Swedish television in 1984. This version, which is Bergman's preferred cut of the film, has never been available on home video in the U.S. The film's 1.66:1 aspect ratio looks stunning, and the film, which is split up on two discs, features remarkably sharp picture quality and audio done in an all-new high-definition digital transfer. The second disc features one of the set's first hidden gems -- a new documentary titled "A Bergman Tapestry." This nearly 40-minute retrospective features new interviews with many of the surviving cast and crew members from Fanny & Alexander. Next up is the more familiar 188-minute theatrical cut of the film. While the picture and audio mix appears the same, this disc features an insightful commentary from film scholar Peter Cowie and the film's original theatrical trailer. Between the television and theatrical versions, fans with time to spare can finally compare and contrast the two very different versions of the same story.

The set's final two discs consist of a treasure trove of rare items sure to thrill Bergman enthusiasts. First, there is the long-awaited Bergman-directed feature-length documentary The Making of Fanny & Alexander. In the documentary, the viewer has the rare opportunity to get a glimpse into Bergman's on-set behavior, his attention to detail, and his relationship with actors. Next up is a Swedish television special titled Ingmar Bergman Bids Farewell to Film in which we see a very relaxed Bergman lounging on a couch as he discusses his childhood, his career, and why he quit making films. A stills gallery, sketches of the film's Oscar-winning costume design, and video footage of Anna Asp's set designs round off this fourth disc. The fifth and final disc features a fascinating special made once again for Swedish television, only this time in 2003, when we see the 85-year-old director looking back on 11 of his films and offering thoughts on what those films meant to him when he made them and what they mean to him today. For several of the films, the original U.S. theatrical trailers are included. As if all this were not enough, Criterion has included a beautifully made booklet containing choice photos from the film and essays from film critics and writers from around the world. An outstanding DVD package for an outstanding film, Criterion's five-disc Fanny & Alexander will be a prized possession for any serious cinemagoer. ~ Jason Gibner, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 5
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (Vistavision)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfers
  • Ingmar Bergman's feature-length documentary The Making of Fanny Alexander, presented here for the first time on DVD in a new high-definition digital transfer
  • "Ingmar Bergman Bids Farewell to Film," a one-hour conversation between Bergman and Nils Petter Sundgren made for Swedish television in 1984
  • Audio commentary on the theatrical version by film scholar Peter Cowie
  • "A Bergman Tapestry," a new documentary featuring exclusive interviews with cast and crew
  • Rare introductions by Bergman to 11 of his films
  • A selection of Bergman theatrical trailers
  • Costume sketches and video footage of the models for the film's sets
  • Optional English-dubbed soundtrack on the theatrical version
  • Stills gallery
  • New and improved English subtitle translations
  • 36-page booklet featuring new essays by documentarian and film historian Stig Bjorkman, novelist Rick Moody, and film scholar Paul Arthur

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

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 1986

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