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Made in 1960 and set in mediaeval Sweden, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring is based on a folk ballad. It also examines a society in transition from worshipping the old Norse gods to Christianity. The film starkly contrasts Ingeri--a dark, feral Odin-worshipping brunette, foster daughter to a Christian family headed by Max Von Sydow--and their own daughter, Karin, pretty and blonde but also vain and naive, and resented by Ingeri. They travel out together to a distant church where Karin is to offer votive candles to the Virgin Mary. However, en route, Karin is raped and murdered by two desperate goatherders, accompanied by a 13-year-old boy. By coincidence, the goatherders then seek refuge with Karin's parents and even try to sell them her clothes, which proves to be a mortal error.
Bergman was greatly influenced by Kurosawa, the Japanese director of The Seven Samurai, when he made The Virgin Spring, as evinced in its ominous use of dark and shade and lengthy sequences without dialogue. However, this is more than pastiche. Although the Christian ending with which Bergman feels obliged to conclude the film doesn't quite sit well in a movie in which God is as palpably absent as in any Bergman movie, the slow, remorseless pace of the murder and subsequent retribution bring to mind Kieslowki's A Short Film About Killing in their sense of the futility of vengeance.
On the DVD: The Virgin Spring arrives on disc in a restoration that vividly enhances the sense of light and shade which is integral to the movie. Notes from critic Phillip Strick provide background to the movie, including the legend on which the film was based, as well as observing that Bergman was later so embarrassed by the film's debt to Kurosawa that he disowned it, only to be told by Kurosawa himself not to be so silly. --David Stubbs
Product Description
Netherlands released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: Swedish ( Mono ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Set in beautiful 14th century Sweden, it is the sombre, powerful fable of peasant parents whose daughter, a young virgin, is brutally raped and murdered by goatherds after her half sister has invoked a pagan curse. By a bizarre twist of fate, the murderers ask for food and shelter from the dead girl's parents, who, discovering the truth about their erstwhile lodgers, exact a chilling revenge. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes, ...The Virgin Spring ( Jungfrukällan )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By MRAM
Format:DVD
Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, is based on the disturbing 13th century Swedish ballad, Töres döttrar i Wänge, that deals with the conflicts between paganism, christianity and the belief in what is right or wrong. It tells the tale of a wealthy father and mother, whose daughter is violently raped and killed by goat herders, unknowingly in front of her Oden worshiping half sister. After deserting their victims body, they seek shelter and food from aristocrats. However, this was the dead girls family, whom upon discovering the peasants secret, take their revenge.
The Virgin Spring is often thought to be a companion piece for The Seventh Seal and there is similarities between them, however they are also very different as well. Although The Seventh Seal is very sinister, The Virgin Spring is far more dark due to it's realistic story. There are no supernatural themes as there are in The Seventh Seal, making this film in a way, more believable.
Max Von Sydow and Birgitta Valberg are wonderful as the parents, conveying their characters emotions brilliantly. Sven Nykvist's cinematography is exceptional, beautifully shot in stunning black and white and the screenplay is excellent, with Bergman's poetic style.
An unsettling examination on morals, good and evil, this is one of the great masterpieces of Ingmar Bergman and an outstanding contribution to cinema.
Special Features: Star and Director Filmographies, The Bergman Collection Trailer, Stills Gallery and Phillip Strick Film Notes.
Video Aspect Ratio: Original Academy Ratio
Feature Length: 86 mins
Language: Swedish
Subtitles: English
Certificate: 15
Region 0
The Virgin Spring is often thought to be a companion piece for The Seventh Seal and there is similarities between them, however they are also very different as well. Although The Seventh Seal is very sinister, The Virgin Spring is far more dark due to it's realistic story. There are no supernatural themes as there are in The Seventh Seal, making this film in a way, more believable.
Max Von Sydow and Birgitta Valberg are wonderful as the parents, conveying their characters emotions brilliantly. Sven Nykvist's cinematography is exceptional, beautifully shot in stunning black and white and the screenplay is excellent, with Bergman's poetic style.
An unsettling examination on morals, good and evil, this is one of the great masterpieces of Ingmar Bergman and an outstanding contribution to cinema.
Special Features: Star and Director Filmographies, The Bergman Collection Trailer, Stills Gallery and Phillip Strick Film Notes.
Video Aspect Ratio: Original Academy Ratio
Feature Length: 86 mins
Language: Swedish
Subtitles: English
Certificate: 15
Region 0
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Andy Davis
Format:VHS Tape
This masterpiece by Bergman is one of his finest. Despite being banned in many countries outside of Sweden for years, this uncut version reveals the heinous crime of rape. Max von Sydow plays the father of Karin the virgin, who exacts his revenge in a demonaic manner. I know that many people are put off by Bergman because of his dark and disturbing portrayal of life, but this film is a must for all fans of European cinema.
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By Jason Parkes
#1 HALL OF FAME
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bergman was on peak form in the late 1950's, early 1960's making such classics as Summer with Monika, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Through a Glass Darkly & The Magician. The Virgin Spring ranks along with these; I first saw this when terrestrial TV used to broadcast seasons on key directors (hey, now we have Fame Academy & Big Brother. Great. )and it struck me as a blend of the magical and the real.
I had heard of this, as Wes Craven's infamous Last House on the Left (still banned as far as I'm aware in this country)- which was a slasher/horror remake of this. The story is based on medieval legend, though Little Red Riding Hood will spring to mind.
The story is as good as any Shakespeare in terms of theme and morality- the denoument demonstrates the true nature of man- the pagan sense of revenge and the violence beneath the so-called civilised.
Max Von Sydow and Birgitta Valberg are great here, though it is Sven Nykvist's photography that stays with you after seeing the film. The Virgin Spring is a dark classic that is a treasure and a joy to watch on DVD- hardly something you can level at Dude, Where's My Car or Purely Belter.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite of the 1950s Bergman films
My favorite of the pre 1960 Bergman films, this has (once again)
amazing photography by Sven Nykvest. Read more
amazing photography by Sven Nykvest. Read more
Published 13 months ago by K. Gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bergman's other medieval masterpiece
Bergman's version of a famous Swedish folk tale manages to improve on the original and never overdoes anything. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Philoctetes
3.0 out of 5 stars
A medieval allegory
Based on a 13th century ballad with dark and light elements,paganism and Christianity.We are in 14th century Sweden where the pagan gods like Odin still exist with a burgeoning... Read more
Published on 18 July 2009 by technoguy
5.0 out of 5 stars
A dark parable of sin and vengeance
A virgin spring would be an early spring when the days break bright and clear but the nights are still forbiddingly cold. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2008 by Dennis Littrell
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unforgettable film about loss and revenge.
In 1960, a financially bankrupt Ingmar Bergman accepted a job to direct a film from a script by cult-novelist Ulla Isaksson. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2008 by Jonathan James Romley
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerful film
Virgin Spring is perhaps best remembered now as the film remade by Wes Craven in the 1970s as 'Last House on the Left'. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2007 by D. R. Clarke
5.0 out of 5 stars
a magnificent film classic
This film enages on so many levels; pace, character, drama you will return again and again to enjoy the work of perhaps one of the world's greatest directors working with a great... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2004 by J. A. Cathcart
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