Smiles Of A Summer Night - Criterion Collection
by Ingmar Bergman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eva Dahlbeck, Gunnar Bj?rnstrand, Harriet Andersson, Margit Carlqvist, Ulla JacobssonDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Brand: BJORNSTRAND,GUNNAR
Cinematographer: Gunnar Fischer
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Editor: Oscar Rosander
Producer: Allan Ekelund
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Swedish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-05-25
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Smiles Of A Summer Night - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: A delightful adult comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite films, well presented by Criterion. It is an early Ingmar Bergman effort, and the characters don't show the depth that his later creations showed. This may have been intentional, as it is a comedy of manners made for a people (the Swedes) who admire directness and propriety. The problem the characters have is that the men start the movie with the wrong women. The women will sort this all out with a variety of bumps and smiles along the way. The men will end up wiser and the women happier.
It is an amusing movie rather than a side-splitter. There are some clever lines, especially from Mrs. Armfeldt (wonderful as a wise dowager). The women are beautiful, with Ulla Jacobsson and Harriet Andersson particularly so. The contrast between them is fascinating, particularly in their relationship and actions with young Henrik Egerman. At times wife and maid swap roles, then swap back again.
Swapping happens throughout the film. Father/husband Fredrik Egerman begins the film as a respected lawyer, very sure of himself, and worldly wise (he thinks). Testosterone-laden soldier Count Carl Magnus Malcolm begins in love with renown actress Desiree Armfeldt and barely tolerating his wife. The film and the women send them on a journey, and it is a pleasure to follow them.
The movie is not for everyone. Subtitled, in glorious black & white, and clever... it promises smiles and delivers just that.
Summary of Smiles Of A Summer Night - Criterion Collection
Distinguished lawyer Frederik Egerman lives with Anne, his picturesque, young wife, his son Henrik, a forlorn student of the cloth, and Petra, the flirtatious yet sensible maid. One summer evening Frederik takes Anne to see a play starring his former lover Desir?e, the veteran actress with an equally seasoned reputation. With her glamorous stage entrance and one inviting smile, she sparks the lives of the parties involved into a game of love and loyalty that barely masks each player's percolating insecurities. Through witty dialogue, theatrical direction, and an ensemble cast, director Ingmar Bergman delivers a raw exhibition of human desire.Ingmar Bergman achieved international stardom with this classic melancholy comedy about the romantic entanglements of three 19th-century couples during a weekend at a country estate. It's exactly what you'd expect from a bedroom farce filtered through the ideas and eyes of Bergman: sharp, serious, pensive, austerely sexy, and ultimately sobering. Still, anyone who thought the Swedish filmmaker was incapable of a little fun has only to watch Bergman's orchestrations of these dangerous liaisons. Prosperous lawyer Fredrik (Gunnar Bj?rnstrand) is married to the comely young Anne (Ulla Jacobsson), who (despite his best efforts) remains a virgin. Henrik (Bj?rn Bjelfvenstam), Fredrik's grown son from a previous marriage, is desperately in love with Anne--and having an affair with the maid (Harriet Andersson)--despite the torturings of his pious soul. When actress Desiree (Eva Dahlbeck), Fredrik's former mistress, breezes into town, Fredrick pays her a visit, only to find himself jealous of her relationship with the piggish Count Malcolm (Jarl Kulle), who just happens to be married to Anne's best friend, the depressed and suicidal Charlotte (Margit Carlqvist); both women have a decided bone to pick with Desiree. All convene at the estate of Desiree's mother for a weekend of confrontations, illicit romance, dinner, dueling, and eventual pairing with the right romantic partner. Bergman winningly conveys the aspects of love among both the young and the old--those who feel they'll live forever and those whose impending mortality colors their actions. Absolutely brilliant and heartfelt, a true cinematic masterpiece. The basis for Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, of "Send in the Clowns" fame. --Mark Englehart
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