SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT (DVD/1.33/B&W/MONO/1955/ENG-SUB) DVD

Smiles of a Summer Night
Bergman's comic masterpiece opens with middle-aged lawyer Frederik Egerman (Gunnar Bjornstrand) again failing to consummate his marriage with the much younger Anne (Ulla Jacobsson). While visiting a former lover, actress Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), he crosses swords with her current lover, Count Malcolm (Jarl Kulle), after both men learn that Frederik is the father of her illegitimate child. At Desiree's behest, her mother invites Egerman, the Count, and their wives along with Egerman's grown son, Henrik (Björn Bjelvenstam) to her manor house for the weekend. Before their departure, divinity student Henrik wards off the eager advances of the housemaid by reading from the Bible aloud, but it seems clear that he and Anne are quite taken with one another. After arriving at the Ryarp estate the guests are served a dinner spiked with a love potion which provokes swift reactions. The bewildered Frederik becomes aware of the increasingly intense bond between Henrik and Anne, and the Countess (Margit Carlquist) makes a public bet with her husband that she can seduce Frederik. Shocked by the dinner-table conversation, the strait-laced Henrik retires to his room to commit suicide. In the course of his bumbling attempt, he has the good fortune to learn why so many prefer sex to death. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide

Cast Eva Dahlbeck as Desirée Armfeldt Ulla Jacobsson as Anne Egerman Harriet Andersson as Petra, the maid Margit Carlquist as Charlotte Malcolm Gunnar Björnstrand as Fredrik Egerman Jarl Kulle as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm Åke Fridell as Frid, the groom

Crew P.A. Lundgren - Art Director Mago - Costume Designer Ingmar Bergman - Director Oscar Rosander - Editor Eric Nordgren - Composer (Music Score) Carl M. Lundh - Makeup Gunnar Fischer - Cinematographer Allan Ekelund - Producer Ingmar Bergman - Screenwriter

Smiles of a Summer Night
A welcome anomaly in the career of the famously angst-ridden director, this eight-part rondo is a dazzling comedy of manners suffused with the shimmering eroticism of summer nights. Under the influence of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bergman sets his mismatched couples awhirl, and in the stumbling slapstick and sublime ecstasy of the chase, he gently punctures the illusions and pretensions that have made their current ties so stifling. Of course, as is the director's wont, the men are the truly benighted creatures here, in particular the hapless Frederik, who is as blind to the farcical nature of his marriage as he is to the intentions of the designing Desiree. But even amidst the Ryarp manor's lush atmosphere of abandon and sensuality, none of the players can escape an undercurrent of bittersweet longing, a sense of the transience of romantic love. Despite a characteristic dash of Strindbergian venom, one might not immediately recognize the director's signature in the elegant epigrams and polished wit of the screenplay, but his genius is evident in the inspired ensemble of acting of the entire company, particularly the ineffable work of these four intoxicating actresses. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
 

British Academy of Film and Television, Best British Film (nominated) Cannes Film Festival, International Poetic Humor Prize (winner) Telluride Film Festival, Film Presented (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: New high definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound Video introduction to the film by director Ingmar Bergman New video conversation with film historian Peter Cowie and writer Jörn Donner Swedish theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition 24-page booklet including a new essay by theater and film critic John Simon and an essay by film critic Pauline Kael DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 108 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Opening Credits [1:44] 2. Fredrik Egerman [3:18] 3. Family Gathering [3:34] 4. Afternoon Nap [2:15] 5. Desirée's Performance [3:39] 6. Father to Son [3:29] 7. Goodnight to Anne [5:14] 8. Backstage Reunion [7:18] 9. Moonlight Promenade [1:13] 10. Old Memories Awakened [6:45] 11. "Will There Be a War?" [6:29] 12. Mrs. Armfeldt's Wisdom [:02] 13. Meet the Malcolms [5:04] 14. From Petra With Love [2:40] 15. Woman of the House [4:22] 16. Charlotte Pays a Visit [4:09] 17. Weekend Gathering [5:51] 18. Smoking and Scheming [6:15] 19. Strange Brew [2:17] 20. A Little Night Music [7:28] 21. Special Delivery [3:13] 22. Summer Night Smiles [5:50] 23. For Jesters and Fools [4:28] 24. Russian Roulette [:45] 25. For Eighteen False Smiles [6:47] 26. "Does it Hurt?" [1:29] 27. "I Promise" [1:55] 28. Color Bars [1:31]