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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Dreams (Kvinnodröm) (Directors Suite) (1955)

Dreams (Kvinnodröm) (Directors Suite) (1955)

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Released 12-Mar-2008

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Main Menu Audio & Animation
Booklet
Trailer-4
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1955
Running Time 83:44 (Case: 87)
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (59:01) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Ingmar Bergman
Studio
Distributor
Sandrews
Madman Entertainment
Starring Eva Dahlbeck
Harriet Andersson
Gunnar Björnstrand
Ulf Palme
Inga Landgré
Benkt-Åke Benktsson
Sven Lindberg
Kerstin Hedeby
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $34.95 Music Stuart Görling


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame Swedish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.37:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures Yes
Subtitles English
English
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The original Swedish title of this film is Kvinnodröm. I don't speak Swedish but have managed to pick up the meaning of a few words over the course of many films. One of these is kvinnor, which means women, so I think the proper translation of the title should be something like Dreams of Women, rather than just Dreams. However Dreams is the title the film has always been given in English.

    The dreams of the title belong to two women, one of whom has her dreams come true if only for a day, the other whose dreams are rudely shattered. The setting is Gotheburg on a summer's day when model Doris (Harriet Andersson) is to have a photo shoot arranged by her boss Susanne (Eva Dahlbeck). Susanne has arranged for the photography to be in Gothenburg so that she can see her married lover Henrik (Ulf Palme). Before the photo session however, the Consul, Otto (Gunnar Björnstrand), attempts to pick Doris up outside a fashion house, with unusual consequences.

    This is generally regarded as a minor Ingmar Bergman film, coming as it does immediately before his sublime Smiles of a Summer Night. In fact it is something of a disappointment as a whole, at the end leaving a feeling of not adding up to much. However I think that the problem lies in the framing story, as the long central sequence with Doris and Otto is as mesmerising as the best of Bergman. The story with Susanne and her weak lover is simply not up to the rest of the material. The acting is generally superb, with Andersson and Björnstrand at their best. Even though their story takes up the bulk of the film, Eva Dahlbeck gets top billing, and she also gives her underwritten part some much needed depth.

    The cinematography, as in most of Bergman's black and white features, is excellent and the daylight scenes are especially memorable with the beautiful Swedish summer light. While Dreams is not the director's best work it still has many good things going for it. It should also be noted that Madman's release appears to be the only one available worldwide with English subtitles that isn't part of a box set, so while it isn't ideal there isn't anything better out there.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 which approximates the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio.

    It is a pity that poor judgement was applied in the video transfer of this film, because the source elements appear to be in excellent shape. While there are a few small flecks, occasional scratches or bits of fluff in the telecine gate and reel change markings, the picture is quite bright, well contrasted and generally clean. Shadow detail is good.

    Unfortunately though there must have been a bit of grain in the original scan of the frames, because a considerable amount of filtering has been done to remove it. This has resulted in excessive noise reduction artefacts being visible throughout the running time of the film. Our first view of Eva Dahlbeck has her seated in front of us. Her hair appears to have a separate life from the rest of her head, wobbling about in a separate plane. And this sort of problem continues to appear in each scene. It isn't quite as bad in the outdoor scenes, but can still be noticed.

    Optional English subtitles are provided, two identical streams in white or yellow being available. Madman are to be praised for doing this, as there are many out there who don't like coloured subtitles on black and white films, while others will be used to the SBS form of subtitling. I did not notice any spelling mistakes, and the subtitling seems to be very good except for one minor problem, in that words which are obviously intended to be italicised appear with the symbols "<" and ">" about them, for example "< mutual >" instead of "mutual".

    The disc is dual-layered despite the short running time and lack of extras. The layer break is barely noticeable at 59:01.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The sole audio track is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0.

    The audio is generally satisfactory. Dialogue is clear and would be easy for a Swedish speaker to understand I think. There isn't much in the way of distortion, and while there are instances of crackling and a few jarring pops, the soundtrack is generally up to par with films of the period.

    There is no credit for music, and while there is some music over the opening credits the only music in the film seems to arise out of the events on screen, for example the music of the fairground rides, or the jazz record played by Doris in Otto's house.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Main Menu Audio and Animation

    Music from the soundtrack plus the same (not very good) artwork from the DVD cover, some scenes faintly shown in the background.

Booklet

    The booklet contains an essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas of LaTrobe University. The essay concentrates on the film's narrative and the critical reception of those early or lesser Bergman movies that were released internationally after his great successes of the Fifties and Sixties, but has no information about the production of Dreams, which apparently was a troubled one. The rear of the cover slick has a biography and filmography of the director.

Trailers (13:08)

    After the obligatory warning about studio executives not having their annual European holiday if you burn a copy of this film, the following trailers are available:

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The film is available on DVD in Sweden but without English subtitles.

    The only other edition I am aware of is from Tartan in the UK. This Region 2 disc is reported to have the same video issues as the Region 4. The catch though is that it is only available as part of a 30-disc box set of Bergman films. So unless you want the box, the Region 4 is the way to go.

Summary

    Lesser but still worthwhile Bergman, with a fine and lengthy central sequence.

    The video quality is disappointing due to noise reduction artefacts.

    The audio quality is good.

    A paltry array of extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Philip Sawyer (Bio available.)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Review Equipment
DVDSony DVP-NS9100ES, using HDMI output
DisplaySony VPL-VW60 SXRD projector with 95" screen. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into HD DVD Player, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationReceiver: Pioneer VSX-AX4ASIS; Power Amplifiers: Elektra Reference (mains), Elektra Theatron (centre/rears)
SpeakersMain: B&W Nautilus 800; Centre: Tannoy Sensys DCC; Rear: Tannoy Revolution R3; Subwoofer: Richter Thor Mk IV

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