Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)

Starring:Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gertrud Fridh, Georg Rydeberg, Erland Josephson, Naima Wifstrand, Ulf Johansson, Gudrun Brost, Bertil Anderberg, Ingrid Thulin, Mikael Rundquist, Agda Helin, Mona Seilitz, Folke Sundquist, Lenn Hjortzberg
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful"
Bergman's only horror film, but a drastic twist on the genre
An Hour of Sanity
We Have Met the Enemy
Bergman at his Second Best

Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
Starring: Max von Sydow , Liv Ullmann , Gertrud Fridh , Georg Rydeberg , and Erland Josephson
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Manufacturer: MGM
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Shame (Special Edition)
Persona
The Passion of Anna
The Seventh Seal - Criterion Collection
The Virgin Spring - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B00020HDI0
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Description

The delicate, dangerous line between genius and insanity is brilliantly plumbed in this haunting film from Ingmar Bergman that's "a dazzling flow of surrealism, expressionism and full-blooded Gothic horror" (The Observer). Haunted by demons past and present, artist Johan Borg (Max von Sydow) fights a losing battle to retain his sanity and maintain his artistic prowess. His wife Alma (Liv Ullmann), desperate to help him, finds herself starting to share his hallucinations. But as Johan's mind continues to unravel, Alma is forced to choose between her love and her life.

Customer Reviews:

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful".......2007-04-27

"Hour of the Wolf" (1968) is one of my favorite Bergman's films. I place it close to "Persona" to which it is a perfect matching piece. This impressive and disturbing movie about the loss of sanity by a tormented artist is another magnificent work of Ingmar Bergman, the closest to the horror genre he ever directed with his regular actors, Max von Sydow who is amazing as Johan and his Muse Liv Ullmann who is equally compelling as Alma, Jonah's wife. The film takes place on an isolated, windy island where Johan and pregnant Alma moved in hope for Johan to work on his paintings and where he is haunted by nightmares from the past that may or may not be just his dreams. They come to torture him during The Hour of the Wolf which Bergman describes as "the hour between night and dawn. It is the hour when most people die, when sleep is deepest, when nightmares are more real. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their deepest fear, when ghosts and demons are most powerful. The Hour of the Wolf is also the hour when most children are born."

Bergman has always been obsessed and fascinated by the inner demons that imagination can create and like no other filmmaker has explored the deepest mysteries of human soul and mind.

Surrealistic, Gothic and dark horror film, with its magnificent black and white cinematography provided by Bergman's long time friend and collaborator, Sven Nykvist, "The Hour of the Wolf" is a frightening view of the mind of a mad person.

It's been mentioned in more than one comment and I agree that David Lynch might have seen "Hour of the Wolf" more than once and was influenced by it when working on his own dark and surrealistic "Erazerhead".

Bergman's only horror film, but a drastic twist on the genre.......2006-12-03

VARGTIMMEN ("Hour of the Wolf") is Ingmar Bergman's only horror film. Staring Max von Sydow as the painter Johann Borg and Liv Ullmann as his lover pregnant with his child, the film adopts a vampire-story trope with this couple invited to a sinister castle on the island they are summering on.

But not only are the aristocratic inhabitants of the island ghoulish figures, they seem to not even exist. The special charm of the film is Bergman's joining simple horror to a psychological journey. The demons that plague Johann Born reflect the tortured psyche of the artist who struggles to produce his work, and their pathetic attempts to get his attention--walking alongside him ceaselessly jabbering, messing with his things while he wants simple solitude--drain him of creative energy. It's no surprise that the title Bergman first used for the film was "The Cannibals".

In the first scene Liv Ullmann speaks to the camera after the action of the film, telling us that Borg has perished. This narration occurs at the end of the film as well. Its a masterful portrayal of a woman uncertain where the border lies between appropriate dedication to a spouse and succumbing to fatal madness with him. Ullmann's acting is superb. And as with most Bergman efforts, the cinematography is quite impressive, especially of a dinner scene where the camera attempts to follow various lines of conversation among the guests seated at the table.

So why only four stars? For one, we are never told why the couple must stay on the island. One can guess that its the only place that Borg can work, in spite of the dangers lurking there, but the film would have been stronger with this explicity treated in the dialogue. Also, MGM's treatment of Bergman's films has never been of the same quality as the Criterion Collection's installments. Bergman novices would do well to start with DET SJUNDE INSEGLET ("The Seventh Seal") or NATTVARDSGAESTERNA ("Winter Light"), but fans of the auteur should see this sometime along the way.

An Hour of Sanity.......2006-05-26

One of Bergman's finest psychological thrillers, "Hour of the Wolf" is a great film for a number of reasons. Whether you're a Bergman fan or just looking for a good thriller for the evening, "Hour of the Wolf" might be just the thing you're looking for.

Like some of Bergman's other classics, this movie stars a young Max von Sydow in a role which will surprise many American viewers, and the lovely Liv Ullmann. While Max von Sydow is certainly Swedish (that isn't the surprising part), many people know of him from his later films in which he's significantly older. If you're remotely interested in seeing him in an earlier picture look no further than "Hour of the Wolf" as his performance is superb!

The film itself is truly a masterpiece. The story is about a painter that goes with his wife to a secluded island near Sweden in hopes of getting away from everyday life (or at least that's what we're told early on). What we see, however, is his delusional mind slowly warping the serenity around him to fit his own fears and desires.

The visuals and black and white shadow-play Bergman uses throughout the film are emotionally packed, highly creative and utterly petrifying. In many cases the images are either extremely abstract or "disjointed" as their meanings remain unknown to the filmgoer throughout the film.

Like some of Bergman's psychological thrillers, those not used to Bergman's artistic style might find "Hour of the Wolf" to be long, drawn out and too convoluted. I'm tempted for that reason to give this film a 4.5 out of 5, but simply because it's an excellent cross over into the "psychological horror" genre I'm inclined to giving it a solid 5 with this warning. Remember that this film is more of an aesthetic experience rather than an enjoyable film (which it still manages to be).

We Have Met the Enemy.......2005-12-26

And he is us, goes the old saying. It certainly applies to Ingmar Bergman's twisted take on the classic vampire tale. The artist Johan Borg (Max Von Sydow) travels with his pregnant wife Alma (the always revelatory Liv Ullmann) to a cottage on a small island. Johan is trying to regain his footing as a painter, and Alma has come along to support him. Very soon some strange people intrude on the couple's isolation and invite them to dinner at "the castle."

So outlandish are these faux aristocrats that we quickly conclude they're phantasms manufactured in Johan's overheated imagination. But then we see Alma responding to them as well. Johan is dragged deeper into the machinations of his group of ghouls until they finally bring him down into the darkest parts of his psyche. Johan's ultimate crisis occurs during the "hour of the wolf" that time in the dead of night when according to legend babies are eager to come in to the world, and the dying are eager to leave it.

Bergman uses Johan's failing battle for sanity to explore one of his most enduring obsessions. By his own admission, Bergman didn't believe in God. He believed in a world that was whole in itself, built up over time by man and nature. Yet this wholeness seems to always be in danger of splintering, disintegrating, or getting sucked out of a person the way the voracious vampires of his dark imaginings draw Johan's life force from him. This fear of a world so shattered that the pieces can't be put back together again becomes the recurring bass line that anchors all of Bergman's major films.

At the movie's end, Alma wonders if she could have helped Johan more if she had loved him less, which would have allowed her to gain some distance from his madness. Or maybe, she muses, the opposite is true. She should have gone deeper into his obsessions with him. Maybe her failure to save him was a failure of empathy and selflessness. Alma is wrestling with one of life's more bedeviling conundrums: how close we can or should get to another person. Emotional connection attenuates at either extreme: too much distance leads to coldness and isolation; too much empathy leads to self-immolation. Here, as he does later in Scenes from a Marriage, Bergman shows how difficult it is to find that space where two people can connect in ways that are life enhancing rather than soul destroying.

Cinematographer Sven Nykvist seems born to make a vampire movie. In a nod to the German Expressionists he creates a world that's all flat white light sliced apart by dark shadows. Ghostly faces emerge out of the black to leer, gape and mock. Bergman both uses and has fun with the conventions of the Nosferatu story. Hour of the Wolf is a deadly serious exploration of the artistic psyche shredded by stress that's leavened with some over the top symbolism (particularly the use of birds) and some vamping ghouls. (Erland Josephson as the macabre Baron Von Merkins and Ingrid Thulin as the voluptuous Veronica Vogler seem to have particular fun with their roles.)

While not at the summit of the master's achievements, Hour of the Wolf is mesmerizing, accessible, and, when it steps outside the self-imposed limits of its genre, psychologically profound.

Bergman at his Second Best.......2005-07-21

At times Ingmar Bergman grows tiresome: the tormented artist cups his head in his hands one time too many, the soulful woman stares past the camera a bit too long . . . Yet no one composes the blacks, whites, and grays of a frame more beautifully. Look at the scene in which Borg and Alma struggle to stay awake in the darkened cottage; see the inrush of light as Alma sets about her morning's chores; and watch how eerie the whiteness becomes when the old woman -- the one from Borg's sketchbook, the one who "always threatens to take off her hat" -- appears, a nightmare walking. Really, Bergman has no peers: he fails only in comparison to himself. However pretentious, HOUR OF THE WOLF remains a formidable work of art, a horror movie or case study transformed by the mastery of its fabricator.

The Ingmar Bergman Special Edition DVD Collection (Persona / Shame / Hour of the Wolf / The Passion of Anna / The Serpent's Egg)

Average customer rating:

Well done, but the aspect ratios are STILL wrong
MGM gets it right

The Ingmar Bergman Special Edition DVD Collection (Persona / Shame / Hour of the Wolf / The Passion of Anna / The Serpent's Egg)
Starring: Bibi Andersson , Gunnar Björnstrand , Margaretha Krook , Jörgen Lindström , and Liv Ullmann
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Manufacturer: MGM
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Cries & Whispers - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B0001MIK6I
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Amazon.com

There is no denying this fact: Ingmar Bergman's films are true commitments. Though averaging only an hour and a half in length, the psychological depth, the magnitude of human exploration, and the emotional rollercoaster you embark on while watching his films can stick with you for a lifetime. According to Bergman, "No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls." By the mid-sixties, Bergman was about to show the world how far the medium film could go. He began to move away from his Seventh Seal style into the dreamlike, deconstructive, nonlinear realm that would continue throughout his career. This DVD set wonderfully captures all his landmark films of the late 1960s marking this significant transition. Each film stars Liv Ullmann, Bergman's beautiful muse, and involves another longtime collaborator, cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Each film has been remastered, and is presented in its unedited theatrical version loaded with pertinent extras, including a featurette on each film, interviews with cast members (every disc has an on-camera interview with Liv Ullmann), a feature-length commentary by Bergman biographer Marc Gervais on four of the films, and a wonderfully surprising commentary by David Carradine on The Serpent's Egg. Couple these films with an extra disc of supplemental material and you have yourself an incredible Ingmar Bergman film festival. --Rob Bracco

The Films:
In Persona (1966), Elisabeth Vogler (Live Ullmann) has stopped speaking and withdrawn from the world. At her doctor's orders, she moves to a remote cottage to be watched over by Nurse Alma (Bibi Andersson). To fill the silence, Nurse Alma talks aloud to her silent listener and slowly lays out her soul and identity to her patient. In essence, the nurse becomes the patient herself. If the extent of your Bergman exposure is The Seventh Seal, be prepared to get blown away by this film's hallucinatory, multilayered exploration in identity and personality. The hallucinatory analysis of personal identify continues with the haunting The Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen) (1968). Artist Johan Berg (Max von Sydow) is desperately trying hold on to his sanity, while being haunted by his demons. His wife (Ullmann) is trying to help, but also begins to share Johan's hallucinations. As they both begin a downward spiral Ullmann has to make a painful decision between the love of her husband or her own sanity. Shame (Skammen) (1968) stars von Sydow and Ullmann as a couple in the midst of a civil war. They escape to their farm for safety only to be haunted by the soldiers that invade their home. The Passion of Anna (En Passion) (1969) again stars von Sydow and Ullmann. Andreas and Anna live on a remote island with a neighboring couple. While trying to escape the skeletons of their pasts, they each seek solace in one another, even as their lives are torn apart by deception, isolation and psychological turmoil. The last film in the set is a leap forward to 1977. The Serpent's Egg (Das Schlangenei) may be the weakest of the set, but by no means is it a lesser film. It tells the tale of two Jewish trapeze artists trapped in Berlin during the Nazis regime. Bergman would only turn out three more feature films before disappearing into retirement. --Rob Bracco

Description

Disc 1: HOUR OF THE WOLF SE Disc 2: PASSION OF ANNA SE Disc 3: PERSONA SE Disc 4: THE SERPENT'S EGG SE Disc 5: SHAME SE Disc 6: BONUS DISC

Customer Reviews:

Well done, but the aspect ratios are STILL wrong.......2005-09-29

I had originally given this collection 5 stars, but then did some investigating. It turns out that although they've fixed the aspect ratios on a couple of the films, they are still wrong on Shame, Persona, and Hour of the Wolf. This effectively chops out about 12% of the films, destroying Bergman's original compositions. I didn't believe it at first until I went through scene-by-scene and realized the horrible truth.
[...]

MGM gets it right.......2004-04-24

After much confusion, the long-awaited Bergman set has finally come out. You can disregard all the negative comments you may have read about faked aspect ratios, etc. Yes, MGM tried to pull a fast one on a couple of the titles in this box, but after being caught out, they did the right thing by pulling the box and waiting to issue an excellent set with transfers that easily match those of Criterion, Kino, etc. (Let's hear it for consumer power!) All the titles are now in their proper aspect ratio. The black and white transfers (Persona, Hour of the Wolf and Shame) are truly beautiful. These films have probably not looked this good since they first came out. The digital transfers for the two colour titles offer equally fine video and clear original audio. The disc of bonus materials is fascinating, with rare interviews with Bergman himself from 1970 and 2002. The bonus disc and the five individual titles also offer interviews with key Bergman players, including Erland Josephson, Bibi Anderson and the ever-insightful Liv Ullmann.
As for the films, they speak for themselves. If you still haven't seen the four sixties films in this box (the summit of Bergman's art in the opinion of many critics), here's a chance to get acquainted with some truly great late-20th century art. Forget about the bad press. MGM got it right this time.

Average customer rating:

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful"
Bergman's only horror film, but a drastic twist on the genre
An Hour of Sanity
We Have Met the Enemy
Bergman at his Second Best

Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
Starring: Max von Sydow , Liv Ullmann , Gertrud Fridh , Georg Rydeberg , and Erland Josephson
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Shame (Special Edition)
Persona
The Passion of Anna
The Seventh Seal - Criterion Collection
The Virgin Spring - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B0000YEEGW
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Description

Customer Reviews:

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful".......2007-04-27

Bergman's only horror film, but a drastic twist on the genre.......2006-12-03

An Hour of Sanity.......2006-05-26

We Have Met the Enemy.......2005-12-26

Bergman at his Second Best.......2005-07-21

Average customer rating:

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful"
Bergman's only horror film, but a drastic twist on the genre
An Hour of Sanity
We Have Met the Enemy
Bergman at his Second Best

Hour of the Wolf [Region 2]
Starring: Max von Sydow , Liv Ullmann , Gertrud Fridh , Georg Rydeberg , and Erland Josephson
Director: Ingmar Bergman
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Shame (Special Edition)
Persona
The Passion of Anna
The Seventh Seal - Criterion Collection
The Virgin Spring - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B0002ADWR6

Customer Reviews:

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful".......2007-04-27

Bergman's only horror film, but a drastic twist on the genre.......2006-12-03

An Hour of Sanity.......2006-05-26

We Have Met the Enemy.......2005-12-26

Bergman at his Second Best.......2005-07-21

The The Ingmar Bergman Special Edition DVD Collection (Persona / Shame / Hour of the Wolf / The Passion of Anna / The Serpent's Egg)

Average customer rating:

The The Ingmar Bergman Special Edition DVD Collection (Persona / Shame / Hour of the Wolf / The Passion of Anna / The Serpent's Egg)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman - Criterion Collection (Through a Glass Darkly/Winter Light/The Silence)

ASIN: B00092PU2W

Product Description

Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French Available Audio Tracks: Swedish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) Includes:Persona / Shame / Hour of the Wolf / The Passion of Anna / The Serpent's Egg Brand-new digital film transfers Commentary by Bergman biographer Marc Gervais on four of the films Commentary by David Carradine on The On-camera interviews with Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, and Bibi Andersson Featurettes: "The Search for Sanity," "Disintegration of Passion," "A Poem in Images," "Away from Home," "German Expressionism," and "The Search for Humanity" Elliott Gould reads The Passion of Anna (with photos) Photo galleries Original theatrical trailers

[6 Movies on 4 DVDs] Captain Courageous / Voyage of the Unicorn "The Complete 3 Hour TV Mini-Series" / Beneath the 12 Mile Reef / Captain Kidd / Mutiny / Legend of Sea Wolf

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[6 Movies on 4 DVDs] Captain Courageous / Voyage of the Unicorn "The Complete 3 Hour TV Mini-Series" / Beneath the 12 Mile Reef / Captain Kidd / Mutiny / Legend of Sea Wolf

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