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| Börje
Ahlstedt, Bertil Guve, Pernilla Alwin, Ewa Fröling, Allan
Edwall, Gun Wallgren, Erland Josephson, Jan Malmsjö |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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text
When their father dies unexpectedly,
two young children from a free-spirited family become the victims
of the puritanical cruelty in the household of their new stepfather.
 As
daunting a prospect as a three-hour period drama from Ingmar Bergman
- officially the World's Most Gloomy Director - might seem to some
viewers, this universally acclaimed film is actually a severely
truncated version of an even more bladder-straining five-hour saga.
Originally screened on Swedish televisions, its five distinct acts
elegantly organized into four episodes of variable length, Bergman
finally agreed to trim his 'farewell to cinema' down to a length
only just manageable for theatrical exhibition. Though the results
failed to satisfy the disgruntled director, this three-hour version
was critically and commercially successful around the globe, picking
up more than a few major film awards and effortlessly establishing
itself as Bergman's masterpiece.
Viewing the full five-hour 'television version' for the first time,
one immediately understands Bergman's chagrin at seeing his sprawling
sage reduced to something akin to cliff notes. Not only does the
shorter version leave noticeable holes in character motivation,
it also lacks the formal structure that makes the original cut
such a majestic viewing experience, while it even turns out that
several of the original show's finest, most dramatic scenes never
made it into the theatrical cut. Paradoxically enough, all of this
makes the five-hour version the easier one to sit through: its
pacing is more balanced, its dramatic moments hit home much more
powerfully, and its four-episode structure makes the whole thing
easier to work into a busy schedule piecemeal (but don't be surprised
if you find yourself unable to stop watching after each next episode's
conclusion). |
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A Region 2 release of the original
director's cut is available for Region 2 in the UK. It has
a rather shoddy transfer, burnt-in subtitles and no extras.
A more recent box set from The Criterion Collection includes
both the theatrical cut and the full director's version,
along with generous extras. A two-disc release of the theatrical
cut and a disc of video introductions is available separately
from Criterion. The five-disc box set served as the basis
for this review.
Both the theatrical cut
and the television version are presented in their original
aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The image is anamorphically enhanced,
and offers an all but flawless presentation of both versions.
Sven Nykvist's celebrated cinematography has real warmth,
while brightly colored details leap off the screen.
The original mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital
1.0 for both versions, and offers a serviceable, uncluttered
audio track with remarkably high fidelity. The track is for
the most part strongly dialogue-oriented, but minor audio
elements that are essential to the carefully orchestrated
soundscape come through perfectly clearly in this outstanding
soundtrack.
 Arriving
in yet another gorgeously designed custom box set from The
Criterion Collection, Fanny and Alexander includes
enough supplements to keep one occupied for the better part
of a week, while the overall quality on display will surely
entice more than a few viewers to keep coming back for more.
While the real stunner in the set is undoubtedly the US video
premiere of the full-lenth director's cut of the film, the
theatrical cut is a welcome inclusion if only for the excellent audio
commentary from film scholar Peter Cowie that accompanies
it.
Most of the other extras can be found on the separate supplements
disc, which comes in its own cardboard digipak. Its major
inclusion is the 110-minute documentary 'The
Making of Fanny & Alexander', a uniquely comprehensive
fly-on-the-wall look at the entire production, directed by
Bergman himself. The 1994 interview 'Bergman Bids Farewell
to Film' (running nearly an hour) is also here, while the
newly produced 40-minute 'A Bergman Tapestry' is more similar
to the more general looks back at film productions, though
Criterion's standards are once again shown to be leagues
removed from most other DVD production houses. The other
extras consists of a collection of the video introductions
by the director taped for eleven of Criterion's Bergman
releases on DVD (with the notable exception of Fanny
and Alexander), footage of the models for the sets,
costume sketches, theatrical trailers and a 35-page booklet with
essays by Rick Moody, Stig Björkman, and Paul Arthur.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
December 9, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Fanny
and Alexander.
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