Synopsis
Legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman made Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) as his swan song, and it is his most autobiographical film, a masterpiece combining his trademark melancholy and emotional intensity with a surprising joyfulness and sensuality. The Criterion Collection is proud to present together both versions of this great work: the theatrical release, winner of the 1984 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and, for the first time on home video in the U.S., the original five-hour television cut. Also included is Bergman’s own feature-length documentary The Making of Fanny and Alexander (Dokument Fanny och Alexander), offering a unique glimpse into his creative process.
Collector's set includes
Fanny and Alexander — The Theatrical Version
Ingmar Bergman, 1982
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve), we witness the great delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling, convivial bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-century Sweden, in Ingmar Bergman’s intended swan song, Fanny and Alexander.
Fanny and Alexander — The Television Version
Ingmar Bergman, 1982
Ingmar Bergman has described Fanny and Alexander as “the sum total of my life as a filmmaker.” And in this, the full-length (312-minute) version of his triumphant valediction, his vision is expressed at its fullest.
The Making of Fanny and Alexander
Ingmar Bergman, 1982
Directed by Ingmar Bergman himself, this feature-length documentary chronicles the methods of one of cinema’s true luminaries as he labors to realize his crowning production.
Disc Features
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FIVE-DISC BOX SET:
- New restored high-definition digital transfers
- Ingmar Bergman’s feature-length documentary The Making of Fanny and Alexander, presented here for the first time on DVD in a new high-definition digital transfer
- Ingmar Bergman Bids Farewell to Film, a 60-minute conversation between Bergman and Nils Petter Sundgren made for Swedish television in 1984
- Audio commentary on the theatrical version by film scholar Peter Cowie
- A Bergman Tapestry: Fanny and Alexander, a new documentary featuring exclusive interviews with cast and crew
- Rare introductions by Bergman to eleven of his films
- A selection of Bergman theatrical trailers
- Costume sketches and video footage of the models for the film’s sets
- Stills gallery
- Optional English-dubbed soundtrack on the theatrical version
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Plus: a booklet featuring new essays by novelist Rick Moody, documentarian and film historian Stig Björkman, and film scholar Paul Arthur
