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Description
After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries). In turn-of-the-century Sweden, four men and four women of different classes attempt to navigate the laws of attraction. During a weekend in the country, the women collude to force the men’s hands in matters of the heart, exposing their pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock-full of flirtatious propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen legends as Gunnar Björnstrand (The Seventh Seal, Winter Light) and Harriet Andersson (Through a Glass Darkly, Cries and Whispers), Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• Digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Video introduction to the film by director Ingmar Bergman
• Video conversation between Bergman scholar Peter Cowie and writer Jörn Donner, executive producer of Fanny and Alexander
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by theater and film critic John Simon and a 1961 review by film critic Pauline Kael
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Perfect Film, May 17 2011
By A Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Smiles of a Summer Night (Criterion) (Blu-Ray) (n/a Quebec) (Blu-ray)
Bergman's first major film, and the only comedy he ever made. This will blow your socks off (especially if you only know Bergman's later works).It's a romp, a meditation on the unpredictability of life and emotions, a tribute both to perseverance and to capriciousness. The performances are flawless: engaging, complex, simultaneously light and profound.
It will make you wish Bergman had made more comedies: I've never seen another comedy that accomplishes this level of depth and vivacity, with pits of despair danced over, landing in a glorious, life-affirming ending.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet, good hearted, often funny sex-farce, April 14 2012
By K. Gordon - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Smiles of a Summer Night (Criterion) (Blu-Ray) (n/a Quebec) (Blu-ray)
A bunch of upper class folk spend a weekend together at a countryhouse. Lots of bed hopping, betrayal, male macho posturing, and female
manipulation ensues.
Never for a second dull, but for me never quite rose to the heights of
Bergman's greatest works either.
Personally I found the Soundheim musical adaptation of this - 'A Little
Night Music' - more moving and human. There's something a bit distanced and
controlling about Bergman's approach which limits our chance to
empathize with these characters. I smiled a lot, but was left wanting
something deeper.
Sort of a fun one-night-stand of a film.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A different kind of Bergman ~, Dec 21 2011
By Christopher Barrett "Evil Corgi" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Smiles of a Summer Night (Criterion) (Blu-Ray) (n/a Quebec) (Blu-ray)
Ingmar Bergman is among my favorite international directors. I love that the vast majority of his films have been lovingly restored and presented by Criterion films. Among my favorites of his is Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a slightly more upbeat and lighthearted film than most Bergman's. Which is not to say that this is all fun and giggles. There is a bit of a dark undercurrent, mainly in the interaction of the main characters. The servants add a bit of quirky romantic comedy on the side as well.What it boils down to is a convoluted story at first glance, but one told so well and so richly, that the viewer is never confused. Basically middle aged guy marries young woman but they don't consummate the marriage because she loves her husband's son from his first marriage. His rival, the Count (a wonderful performance by Jarl Kulle) is having an affair with an actress who previously had an affair with the middle aged guy between his marriages, oh and she incidentally has a young son with the same name as the middle aged guy. And they seem to still be pining for one another, and the Count finds out, and well... misunderstandings can occur when the middle aged guy (Fredrik) ends up at the actress' house wearing the Count's nightshirt and the Count arrives.
The story moves from the city to the countryside for some wonderful scenes with the slightly crazy mother of Desiree (the actress). There is a wonderful scene where the elder lady sits in her chair across the table from the other 5 guests, in a very large chair, almost as if she is conducting court. There is also a scene near the end involving Russian roulette... but without giving anything away, it is still a fun and lighthearted film that never really crosses into the terribly dark realms that Bergman was so known for exploring.
The transfer to Blu-Ray was handled magically with Criterion's well tested methods. The audio is uncompressed monaural and is fit nicely to the shots (not slightly off time like many restored audio tracks).
There are tons of extras: the usual audio commentary, a brief intro to the film by Bergman, and a nice booklet with an essay included. It's pretty standard Criterion extras, not one of the more noted collections of extras by them... But the film is wonderful and well restored, so it's worth every penny in my opinion!
Also please note: If the third party sellers get greedy, then you can always check Criterion's website for films. I ran across a couple of Criterion films not being offered directly from amazon and the third party sellers were charging at least 3 times what you could buy it for from Criterion. Just a note.
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