Summer Interlude [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Ingmar Bergman Ingmar Bergman

Overview

In this melancholy romance, a not-so-young ballerina recalls an earlier, tragic love affair. The heroine, Marie (Maj-Britt Nilsson), spends a summer with her possessive Uncle Erland (Georg Funkquist), who lives with his cancerous wife on an island near Stockholm. While staying with her uncle, who may have intimidated her into a sexual relationship, Marie befriends an innocent youth, Henrik (Birger Malmsten), with whom she soon falls in love. As the glorious summer comes to an end and autumn approaches, harkening Marie's return to the mainland and her dancing career, the lovers express their love to each other. But a fatal swimming mishap brings an end to the affair. Marie continues with her life, but she fails to come to terms with the tragic past. Later, Marie receives the diary that she kept during that memorable summer. She thereupon returns to the island, where she again meets her ghoulish Uncle Erland. Repulsed by his cynicism, Marie determines to recover her joy of living. She returns to Stockholm and shares the diary with her lover, a smarmy journalist (Alf Kjellin). In the concluding scene, she expresses her regained exuberance while dancing. A pivotal film in Ingmar Bergman's oeuvre, Sommarlek marked his maturation as a master filmmaker capable of evocative imagery and poignant expression. Of particular note are the unsettling scenes between Marie and her ominous uncle, framed and lit to emphasize the disturbing nature of their relationship. Maj-Britt Nilsson's performance as Marie is also remarkable, enhanced by Bergman's increasing mastery of the close-up. The splendid achievement of Sommarlek signalled a long succession of masterworks that ensued until Bergman's withdrawal from filmmaking in the 1980s.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/29/2012
UPC:	0715515095716
Original Release:	1950
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:36:00
Sales rank:	20,237

Special Features

A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Peter Cowie

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Olaf Riego	The Doctor
Carl Stroem	Sandell
Renée Björling	Aunt Elisabeth
Marianne Schuler	Kerstin
Maj-Britt Nilsson	Marie
John Botvid	Karl, a janitor
Carl-Axel Elfving	Flower boy
Ernst Brunman	The Captain
Annalisa Ericson	Kaj, a ballerina
Birger Malmsten	Henrik
Douglas Håge	Nisse, a janitor
Julia Caesar	Maja, a dresser
Gunnar Olsson	The Priest
Torsten Lilliecrona	Ljus-Pelle
Stig Olin	Ballet Master
Alf Kjellin	David Nystrom
Mimi Pollak	Short lady
Georg Funkquist	Uncle Erland
Emmy Albiin	Uncle Erland's faithful old servant
Eskil Eckert-Lundin	Orchestrator at the theatre,Composer
Sten Mattsson	Sailor on the boat
Olav Riégo	The doctor
Carl Ström	Sandell
Fylgia Zadig	Nurse
Eric Nordgren	Composer,Composer

Technical Credits

Ingmar Bergman

Herbert Grevenius

Ingmar Bergman	Director,Screenwriter
Allan Ekelund	Producer
Herbert Grevenius	Screenwriter