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Announced with some fanfare as the final feature-length film to be directed by Ingmar Bergman, the autobiographical Fanny and Alexander turned out to be one of this great filmmaker’s very best movies. One would be hard pressed to imagine a more fitting culmination to such a distinguished career -- but, as it turned out, Bergman still had many stories to tell, albeit mostly for Swedish television. This 1982 film begins as the loving Ekdahl family, a financially comfortable clan, gathers to celebrate Christmas; but tragedy soon strikes when the patriarch dies. Ten-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve) and eight-year-old Fanny (Pernilla Alwin) suffer terribly after their widowed mother (Ewa Froling) marries an outwardly pleasant clergyman (Jan Malmsjo) who turns out to be a sadistic tyrant. It takes the efforts of their indomitable grandmother (Gunn Wallgren) and her Jewish friend (Erland Josephson) to liberate the children. Bergman’s cinematic memoir is certainly realistic, but it’s also enchanting, as you would expect from a fairy tale. Comedy, tragedy, romance, and fantasy skillfully blend to create a perfect evocation of time and place. On the one hand, there’s an ebullient sense of wonder; on the other, a gothic sensibility reminiscent of such tales as Jane Eyre. The performances are above reproach, especially those of Guve and Alwin, who betray none of the precious theatricality that all too often mars the work of child actors. Sven Nykvist’s cinematography provides one unforgettable image after another, and Daniel Bell’s superb music perfectly underscores the moods Bergman creates so powerfully with his innate storytelling ability. Criterion’s newly remastered DVD edition restores this remarkable motion picture to all its glory, and for cineastes its release is one of the signal events of the year. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Though he made allusions to his own life in all of his films, Fanny and Alexander was the first overtly autobiographical film by Ingmar Bergman. Taking his time throughout (188 minutes to be exact), Bergman recreates several episodes from his youth, using as conduits the fictional Ekdahl family. Alexander, the director's alter ego, is first seen at age 10 at a joyous and informal Christmas gathering of relatives and servants. Fanny is Alexander's sister; both suffer an emotional shakedown when their recently-widowed mother (Ewa Froling) marries a cold and distant minister. Stripped of their creature comforts and relaxed family atmosphere, Fanny and Alexander suddenly find their childhood unendurable. The kids' grandmother (Gunn Wallgren) "kidnaps" Fanny and Alexander for the purpose of showering them with the first kindness and affection that they've had since their father's death. This "purge" of the darker elements of Fanny and Alexander's existence is accomplished at the unintentional (but applaudable) cost of the hated stepfather's life. Ingmar Bergman insisted that Fanny and Alexander, originally a multipart television series pared down to feature-film length, represented his final theatrical film, though within a year after its release he was busy with several additional Swedish TV projects, and his final work, the 2003 Saraband (also produced for Swedish television), eventually received global theatrical distribution. Oscars went to Fanny and Alexander for Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography (Sven Nykvist), Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 037429201022
• Source: CRITERION
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 3:08:00
• Sales Rank: 7,808

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Fanny & Alexander Box Set

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