Ingmar Bergman: Volume 1

Box Set (Limited Edition)

Running Time: 740

Genre: Feature, Foreign

Certificate: 15

Language: Swedish

Subtitles: English

A collection of Ingmar Bergman's early films. In 'Torment' (1944), written by Bergman, the life of young student, Jan-Erik (Alf Kjellin) becomes enmeshed with his sadistic Latin teacher, nicknamed 'Caligula' (Stig Järrel), and a newsagent assistant-cum-prostitute, Bertha (Mai Zetterling). When Jan-Erik assists the drunken Bertha home, he becomes her lover and discovers that she is terrified of another man. When Jan-Erik finds Bertha dead, he accuses Caligula of being responsible. In 'Crisis' (1946), Bergman's directorial debut, 18-year-old Nelly (Inga Landgre) lives a quiet life in a small town with her foster mother. Attracted by the promise of a more exciting life, Nelly leaves the small town to join her real mother in Stockholm. Once there, she soon discovers that there is a much darker side to human nature that she never knew existed. 'Eva' (1948), written by Bergman and directed by Gustaf Molander, is set in neutral Sweden during WWII. Bo (Birger Malmsten) is a sailor recently returned from the Navy who starts courting Eva (Eva Stiberg), but has reawakened feelings of guilt about a childhood accident in which he was responsible for a young girl's death. Although they become happily married, and Eva becomes pregnant, Bo is still plagued by nightmares and guilt, including a dream that he is about to brutally murder his best friend. When Eva is about to give birth, Bo's fear that he will be responsible for another death sends him back to the high seas. In 'Music in Darkness' (1948), directed by Bergman, Bengt (Birger Malmsten) is a promising young musician who is accidentally blinded in a firing range accident when completing his military service. Becoming isolated and withdrawn, he refuses all offers of help from the people closest to him, until he hires Ingrid (Zetterling) to act as his assistant. Gradually falling in love with her, but dissatisfied at his inability to earn a living as a pianist, Bengt enrols at a school for the blind, expecting Ingrid to be waiting for him when he graduates. However, Ingrid has moved on and is now in a committed relationship, a situation that provokes Bengt to a fit of violence in an attempt to make himself feel whole again. Bergman writes and directs 'Port of Call' (1948), a brooding and uncompromising tale of oppressive and destructive relationships set on the waterfront of the bleak Gothenburg harbour. Berit Holm (Nine-Christine Jönsson) is a lonely and disturbed young woman who has worked as a prostitute and spent years in mental institutions. When she meets impoverished deckhand Gosta (Bengt Eklund), the two begin a romance, but Gosta struggles to overcome his puritanical attitude towards Berit's difficult past. In 'Prison' (1949), written and directed by Bergman, a mathematics teacher approaches one of his former pupils who has become a film director, and asks him to consider an idea for a film about a world where the Devil has declared Earth to be Hell. While the director considers this idea, he is interviewed by a journalist and finds himself recounting a terrible event from his past, that may have a bearing on his next project. In 'Three Strange Loves' (1949), based on four short stories by Birgit Tengroth, who also stars as Viola. Neurotic ballet dancer Ruth (Eva Henning) and her husband Bertil (Birger Malmsten) are travelling from Switzerland to Sweden across war-torn Germany. As they travel, they argue bitterly over his love affairs and her inability to conceive, the result of a previous abortion - in between handing food out of the train windows to starving Germans. Meanwhile, a partially obscured love triangle emerges as the focus shifts to Viola, Bertil's mistress, who is wandering through the streets of Stockholm on a midsummer night, having been dismissed as insane by a psychiatrist who tried but failed to seduce her. By chance she meets an old school friend, Valborg (Mimi Nelson), a lesbian who also attempts to seduce her. Finally, in 'To Joy' (1950), written and directed by Bergman, Marta (Maj-Britt Nilsson) and Stig (Stig Olin) meet and marry while playing in an orchestra. However, their relationship deteriorates after Stig has an affair.