Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Tweetienator Det sjunde inseglet/The Seventh Seal with Max von Sydow is my most favorite movie by Ingmar Bergman, Jungrukällan/The Virgin Spring the 2nd.Bergman did some movies, who I dare to say, are ageless classics because they are deep and profound meditations of human life and its relations to god and/or to the creation and of all wonderful and terrible things that are part of life (and death) and how the individual tries to cope and deal with all those challenges and questions.Again with Max von Sydow, this is a great story set in the medieval times in rural Sweden. Rape, murder, superstition, belief, revenge, are the ingredients to this outstanding dish. As far as I know the movie is based on an old legend and Bergman again tells us the story in a very reduced manner and in pictures with a quiet, poetic and meditative character.

Mark Turner Years ago when I first saw THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT I'd read that it was loosely based on the 1960 Ingmar Bergman film THE VIRGIN SPRING. For one reason or another I'd never been able to see that movie though so just how loosely I never knew. That was one of the sad things about there being no video at one time and later that video stores didn't carry many films considered "art films" in small towns. So when I saw Criterion was releasing the film I was anxious to finely have the opportunity to see it.The movie features Max Von Sydow as Christian Per Töre, a landowner in medieval Sweden who has converted to Christianity with his wife Märeta (Birgitta Valberg). They have a young daughter named Karin who we see early on is indulged being the apple of her father's eye. Living in the same house is Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), a peasant serf of the family who resents them and has a reputation that has left her pregnant. With a holy day coming Karin is assigned the task of taking candles to the nearby church. Anxious to go she dresses in her finest clothes and asks that Ingeri accompany her. With hate in her eyes Ingeri goes along until they reach a stream before entering the nearby forest. Afraid for some reason she remains behind with the man who owns mill at the stream. When he attempts to assault her she runs after the long gone Karin.As she makes her way through the forest Karin comes across three herdsmen, brothers, and offers to share her lunch with them. They lead her to a field and as lunch progresses she senses danger from the three. Before she can escape them they're on her and rape her. When she tries to run afterward, one clubs her to death. As this all happens Ingeri watches from the wood, never helping. The men steal the fine clothes Karin was wearing and leave her behind in the woods. Back at the homestead Christian and his wife worry about their young daughter when she doesn't return, but not overly so. She's stayed in town before. As it grows dark the three herdsmen show at the house completely unaware that this is the home of Karin. They're invited in and provided a meal and shelter with the potential of work. During the night however Märeta finds her daughter's clothing among their things. Ingeri returns and tells them what happened. Events are set in motion from that point that will forever change them all.Most people will have already known the story of this film with it being over 50 years old now but I decided not to reveal the final portion of the film. That's difficult to do because some of the most striking images are contained there. If you watch the film on the Criterion edition you'll see what I mean and also hear in the extras some of the things I can't quite refer to here.The story is stark and brutal but there's no other way to depict what occurs. That this much was shown (though no real skin makes it to the screen) in 1960 is stunning in itself. But the brutal act of rape is on display and the murder after while quick is also heightened by the way the body is ransacked and left totally exposed to the world. It's upsetting and yet at the same time not nearly as much so as later films depicting the same act have been. LAST HOUSE that I referenced earlier or even the rape in DEATH WISH are much more upsetting. But the naïve attitude of Karin and her soft beauty make it an unbearable act in this film. What comes later at the hands of a grieving father is equally disturbing and yet done in such a manner as to truly be considered artistic.The movie in its entirety itself is gorgeous. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist did an amazing job with the stark black and white photography shown here. This was the first film he did with Bergman and they collaborated on many more after. The clarity of the Criterion version here is amazing. As an example a scene early on of Ingeri that's backlit shows the fine strands of stray hair completely visible in the picture. And being shot in black and white actually helps the movie rather than hinder it. To be honest this is the first film by Bergman I've had the opportunity to watch. The only reason I can explain for that as someone who loves all things film is that I've never had access to any of his films, even taking classes in film. I'd always heard his films were somber affairs and judging from this one I couldn't argue that. I'd need to see more to believe or deny that. When he began making films of a more serious nature Woody Allen said that Bergman was a big influence on him. I can see that in some sense but again, without seeing more wouldn't begin to say that's correct or not.Criterion has offered the film here with the respect that it deserves beginning with a 2k digital restoration of the film that as I said earlier is amazing. In addition to that they've included several extras worthy of mention. Those include an audio commentary by Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene, an introduction by Ang Lee from 2005 describing the influence the film had on him, an audio recording of a 1975 American Film Institute seminar by Bergman, an alternate English dubbed soundtrack for those who don't favor subtitles and a booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isaksson and the medieval ballad on which the film is based.Criterion has done a bang up job on this release and it's nice knowing that such a copy exists for those who wish to explore the movie and the films of Bergman. This will be edition that fans will want to add to their collection. Film students would bode well to pick this up too. And movie lovers might want to give this a watch to discover Bergman.

framptonhollis Recently, I've been really getting into the films of the great filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, who is easily one of my 10 favorite filmmakers of all time! His films are beautiful, unsettling, and, sometimes, quite disturbing. "The Virgin Spring" fits into all three of those categories.The inspiration for Wes Craven's "The Last House on the Last on the Left", this is probably the first film of the rape-and-revenge sub genre. The scenes depicting both the rape and the revenge are very unsettling and awfully shocking for a film made in 1960!While it deals with ugly content and subject matter, it looks stunning, and it is shot in beautiful black and white! Rarely is there a film that is so hard to watch, yet so lovely to look at, at the same time. It is probably one of the best looking films of all time, but so are all of the other Ingmar Bergman films I've seen!

Leofwine_draca A powerhouse piece of filmmaking from one of the all-time great directors. This 14th-century exploration of good and evil, morality and chaos, love and revenge is pretty much a faultless viewing experience and one which retains its ability to shock and provoke thought in the viewer even today. I can only imagine what it would have been like to see this on first release.The story is deceptively simple and yet filled with harrowing imagery. The assault in the woods is difficult to watch, even in these jaded times, and of course Bergman wrings the maximum tension out of it right from the very beginning. The second half is, perhaps, even more tense, with the expectation of impending violence and the strong, subtle filmmaking techniques (think: lots of lurking shadow, religious iconography, haunted faces). The excellent use of black and white photography reminded me of Kurosawa's work on RASHOMON. Max von Sydow holds it all together as the brusque father and family man, but he heads a cast who can do no wrong.Wes Craven went for a lurid, contemporary remake in LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but despite the graphic nature of Craven's film I don't think it holds a candle to this one.