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Wes Craven was a master of horror movies. The Cleveland native, who made his directorial debut with 1972’s “The Last House on the Left,” gave us spine-chilling classics “The Hills Have Eyes” and “Swamp Thing” before introducing fans to “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and the “Scream” franchise. Craven’s other credits include “The People Under the Stairs,” “Vampire in Brooklyn,” and, taking his oeuvre in a slightly different direction, the drama “Music of the Heart” starring Meryl Streep.

From Freddy Kruger to Ghostface, Craven’s most iconic characters have been scaring audiences for years, but what about the movies that scared him? Because Craven loved watching movies (maybe even more than making...

War no longer recognizes ‘innocent bystanders’: a married couple seeks to sidestep ‘civil disturbances’ by relocating to a rural island, only for the war to descend on them from all sides. Forget escapist post-apocalyptic fantasies: Ingmar Bergman demonstrates how the terror of war obliterates human values at the personal level. Human trust and morals fall fast under pressure — atom bombs aren’t needed to return us to the stone age of dog-eat-dog. Bergman stages impressive large-scale ‘action’ scenes, yet always relates the terror without to psychological traumas within. It’s one of the director’s most affecting films.

Shame (Skammen)

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 961

1968 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 103 min. / Skammen) / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 5, 2019 / 39.95

Starring: Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Sigge Fürst, Gunnar Bjürnstrand, Birgitta Valberg.

Cinematography: Sven Nykvist

Film Editor: Ulla Ryghe

Produced by Lars-Owe Carlberg

Written and Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar...

The Virgin Spring Blu-ray Review The Virgin Spring (1960) Blu-Ray Review, a movie directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson. Release Date: February 8, 1960 Plot “An innocent yet pampered young virgin and her family’s pregnant and jealous servant set out to deliver candles to church, but only [...]

Continue reading: Blu-ray Review: The Virgin Spring (1960): A Study of Vengeance and a Father’s Grief...

Ingmar Bergman’s tale of murder, retribution and God’s forgiveness may be the perfect entry point for art-film appreciation — it’s immediately accessible yet genuinely profound. It’s also a compelling miracle story. Max Von Sydow is the proud father who fills himself with a spirit of vengeance that contradicts his newly-adopted Christianity.

The Virgin Spring

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 321

1960 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 90 min. / Jungfrukällan / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 26, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Pettersson, Axel Düberg.

Cinematography: Sven Nykvist

Film Editor: Oscar Rosander

Production Designer: P.A. Lundgren

Original Music: Erik Nordgren

Written by Ulla Isaksson

Produced by Ingmar Bergman, Allan Ekelund

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

I can’t help it, but the only ‘miracle’ movies that inspire me to core thoughts of faith and religion are both Scandinavian: Dreyer’s Ordet and this medieval tale from Ingmar Bergman.

On July 14, 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman was born, and a quarter-century later, he began to bring his cinematic voice to the world. A century after his brith, with an astounding body of work like few other directors and an influence that reverberates through the past many decades of filmmaking, his filmography is being celebrated like never before.

Starting this February at NYC’s Film Forum and then expanding throughout the nation “the largest jubilee of a single filmmaker” will be underway in a massive, 47-film retrospective. Featuring 35 new restorations, including The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Scenes from a Marriage, Fanny and Alexander, and many, many more, Janus Films has now debuted a beautiful trailer alongside the full line-up of films.

The Ingmar Bergman retrospective begins on February 7 at NYC’s Film Forum and then will expand to the following cities this spring:

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Wa

Detroit Film Theatre,...