The Masterworks of Silent Cinema: The Saga of Gosta Berling

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Known under a variety of titles, The Atonement of Gosta Berling is an excellent representation of the Swedish silent cinema. Long, complex, and elaborately produced, the film nonetheless never loses sight of the human elements which motivate the story. Lars Hanson stars as Berling, a defrocked priest whose rebellious attitude hides a greater sense of idealism than most of his "pious" contemporaries. Among the women in Berling's life is a supposedly married countess, played with instinctive brilliance by a young, awkward, chubby Greta Garbo. Overflowing with betrayals, revenge, and regeneration, Atonement of Gosta Berling has enough plots for ten films. American audiences generally saw a severely truncated version, running approximately half the film's original length. What was left was enough for MGM to invite director Mauritz Stiller and star Greta Garbo to Hollywood, though in typically callous big-studio fashion, Garbo was retained while Stiller was permitted to wither on the vine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Black and White
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Features:
  • Excerpt from the 1922 "Luffarpeter" an early Garbo film
  • "Rediscovering Sweden: Peter Cowie Introduces the Films of Mauritz Stiller"
  • Newsreel footage of Garbo's departure from Sweden
  • "Reklamfilm Pub Garbo" advertising films featuring a young Garbo

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Greta Garbo - Countess Elizabeth Dohna
       Lars Hanson - Gosta Berling
       Ellen Cederstrom
       Jenny Hasselquist - Marianne Sinclaire
       Karin Swanstrom - Gustafva Sinclaire
       Mona Martenson - Countess Ebba Dohna
       Gerda Lundequist

• Director:

  Mauritz Stiller

• Screenwriter:

  Mauritz Stiller, Ragnar Hylten-Cavalius

• Cinematographer:

  Julius Jaenzon

• Production Designer:

  Vilhelm Bryde

• Short Story Author:

  Selma Lagerlöf