''Ingmar Bergman's Cinema'' is a

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

disc

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

featuring 39 films directed by

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

, released by

the Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

on November 20, 2018 in the United States. The set spans Bergman's early career, beginning in the 1940s, up to his final film in 2003. The films are organized non-chronologically, and are instead presented in four groupings that mimic the procession of a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

. Accompanying the discs is a book featuring critical essays on each of the films, intended to guide the viewer through the experience. Of the 39 films featured, 18 had not been previously released by the Criterion Collection prior to their inclusion in the set. The Criterion Collection announced the release of the set on July 13, 2018, in commemoration of Bergman's centenary birthday on July 14, 2018.

Overview

The box set includes 39 films directed by

across 30

discs, spanning six decades. The films are arranged as a curated festival with 'opening' and 'closing' nights bookending double features and 'centerpiece' programs. In addition to the films, the set comes with supplementary materials included on the individual discs, as well as on an exclusive supplementary disc presented as the final disc of the set. Introductions from Bergman himself are included for eleven of the films, while six also feature audio commentaries; additionally, there are over five hours of interviews with Bergman's key collaborators. Accompanying the discs is a 248-page book containing various essays on the films as they presented, intended to guide the viewer through the experience of watching each.

Films

Additional discs

Packaging and artwork

''Ingmar Bergman's Cinema'' is packaged in a hardbox which contains a cardboard binder holding the individual discs. The cover artwork for the box features a still image from ''

Persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...

'' (1966), while the back displays a portrait of Bergman.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic Glenn Kenny assessed the set as "impressive and almost exhaustive", and interpreted it as "a fresh case for ergman'scontinuing importance", in response to criticisms such as

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...

's 2007 opinion piece "Scenes From an Overrated Career". David Mermelstein of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' noted that, "despite some oddities in presentation," the set "shows

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

the director’s work continues to merit close attention."

Notes

References

{{Criterion Collection Ingmar Bergman The Criterion Collection