Wild Strawberries - Criterion Collection

Starring:Victor SjÃ¶strÃ¶m, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar BjÃ¶rnstrand, Jullan Kindahl, Folke Sundquist, BjÃ¶rn Bjelfvenstam, Naima Wifstrand, Gunnel BrostrÃ¶m, Gertrud Fridh, Sif Ruud, Gunnar SjÃ¶berg, Max von Sydow, Ã…ke Fridell, Yngve Nordwall, Per SjÃ¶strand, Gio PetrÃ©, Gunnel Lindblom, Maud Hansson, Ann-Marie Wiman
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Studio: Criterion
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

An elderly college professor sets out in his car to receive an honorary degree--and takes a trip instead through his own past and subconscious--in this bittersweet but ultimately tender and understanding 1957 film by Swedish master Ingmar Bergman. Casting Swedish star Victor Sjöström in the lead, Bergman, then at the height of his powers as an international filmmaker, uses flashbacks and bright, lyrical storytelling to capture the full arc of one man's life: the successes that seem fleeting, the disappointments that linger in the memory, the regrets that never seem to let go. In some ways, it can be seen as a forerunner of Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry, except that Bergman's sense of irony is always more profound. --Marshall Fine

Description

The film that catapulted Bergman to the forefront of world cinema is the director's richest, most humane movie. Traveling to receive an honorary degree, Professor Isak Borg (masterfully played by the veteran Swedish director Victor Sjöström), is forced to face his past, come to terms with his faults, and accept the inevitability of his approaching death. Through flashbacks and fantasies, dreams and nightmares, Wild Strawberries captures a startling voyage of self-discovery and renewed belief in mankind.

Customer Reviews:

Wild Strawberries.......2007-06-27

One of the warmest and most cherished of Bergman's early films, "Strawberries" is an understated gem that not only brought the director world fame, but changed the way American audiences viewed the art of film altogether. Professor Borg's odyssey into the past is poignant and heartbreaking, joyous and ironic in equal measure, especially as his memory of young sweetheart Sara (Bibi Andersson) is echoed in the present by the appearance of a hitchhiker with the same name, also played by Andersson. Rich with symbolism and dreamlike visuals, "Strawberries" is an unusually tender film from the Swedish genius.

This is what film is about.......2007-05-27

Having viewed this brilliant film for the third time, there is no doubt that this film holds up. To think that this film was made in the 1950's is simply amazing. The Criterion commentary by Mr. Cowie really helped in my appreciation. I could not understand how Bergman could have made this movie when he was not even 40 years old. Bergman was quoted as saying that the lead actor (and former director) Victor Sjöström kind of took over the character, leaving not a "crumb." Maybe that is one example of how director Bergman was able to make so many films over so many years that have stood the test of time.

a great introduction to Ingmar Bergman.............2007-05-07

Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjostrom) is a crotchety, eighty year old man, whose presence has been requested to accept a special award, honoring him for the accomplishments that he made in his field. Borg has isolated virtually everyone around him with his cold, unfeeling attitude toward humankind. This is set to be turned on its head, in just a day's time, as the old man goes on something of a journey through the course of his life, by way of a series of flashbacks, on his way to town to receive his honor. In fact, they are more a series of "what if" scenarios than what actually occurred in his childhood, but they are both highly philosophical and rattle the man to his core. What has he been doing all his life? Will he continue his mindset up until his final breath?

Yes, I realize I paint a very stark picture of this film. In many respects, that is not an [entirely] accurate depiction of the tone of this story. There are great, humorous moments here. I mean, you are going to laugh out loud. Director Ingmar Bergman's style is incomparable to ANYONE, really, and he truly fuses poignance with wit into a very intriguing and unusual "slice of life" portrait. I guarantee you will enjoy it, and, less than halfway through it you will forget this is a Swedish film with English subtitles. Just wonderful.

One of Master's Most Optimistic, Profound, And Warm Films.......2007-04-08

I first saw "Wild Strawberries" many years ago at one of the special screenings in the small theater in Moscow. It was the first Bergman's film I ever saw. This picture is amazing in its emotional impact and in my opinion is one of Bergman's most optimistic, profound, and warm films.

"Wild Strawberries" provides sincere, intelligent, and emotional contemplations of life's disappointment, regrets, and losses. The main character, seventy-eight-year-old Professor Isak Borg is forced to see his life in a true and painful light, but he also would learn that there is hope.

Sparkling cinematography by Gunnar Fisher and superb acting of Bergman's regulars - Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Anderson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Max von Sydow and especially, the great silent film director, Victor Sjostrom as Professor Borg add to many delights of "Wild Strawberries" which also include Bergman's writing/directing with his famous mixing of conscious and unconscious, dreams and reality, the past and the present in the same scene.

That was something else I realized while watching "Wild Strawberries" - how close Bergman and another favorite director of mine, Andrei Tarkovsky were. I knew that Tarkovsky had called himself Bergman's student, and both of them had great respect for each other's work and talent, but it was during that first watching of "Wild Strawberries", I knew where Tarkovsky looked when he was creating his own masterpiece, "Zerkalo" or "The Mirror" (1975)

A Bittersweet Journey.......2007-02-19

Others have described Wild Strawberries in great detail here, so I won't rehash. What I will say that this is a first-rate film filled with philosophy and symbolism. To me, it is not only the story of a man's physical journey to receive the accolades of this world, but also an emotional journey that illuminates for the lead character the human qualities and relationships that in the end are the most important part of life. For what is a man who is blessed with material wealth yet has no friends?
Viktor Sjostrom, as Prof. Isak Borg gradually undergoes an emotional renaissance with the help of his daughter-in-law and kind strangers. We see him at the end bringing along his equally cold son and recalcitrant daughter-in-law, finally breaking the chain of generations of emotional rigidity that characterized the Borg men.
The film is often surrealistic, the dream sequences stunning in their clarity. And Wild Strawberries is not without its comic moments. But, it is not a film for those who want action. Ingmar Bergman has made here a thinking person's film, and if you are one of intellectual bent who enjoys mulling the vagaries of our existence, then this bittersweet journey is one you should take.

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