Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
by Ingmar Bergman
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Actor: Erland Josephson, Georg Rydeberg, Gertrud Fridh, Liv Ullmann, Max von SydowDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Cinematographer: Sven Nykvist
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Editor: Ulla Ryghe
Producer: Lars-Owe Carlberg
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Swedish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Published: 2004-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
DVD Review: MOST EXQUISITE HORROR FILM EVER
Summary: 5 Stars
Here, I'll be directing my comments at the more adventurous of my fellow laymen.
Forget the "art-house" tags that Bergman's work has been saddled with, forget that anyone considers him a genius or deep.
This film on it's own is simply the eeriest most mind warping descent into madness ever committed to celluloid. Forget Kubrick's "The Shining", when violence finally rears it's ugly head in this movie it is shocking and horrifying.
But the trip towards the delirious final act is what makes this film so exquisite. On the first viewing you will take things as they are shown, as concrete reality - that is until Von Sydow's character's perception cannot possibly stand up to scrutiny and all hell breaks loose. A second viewing will reveal the extent to which the "apparitions" have invaded our protagonists lives. Listen carefully to Ullman's and Von Sydow's conversations - Bergman sets things up very early on in the most uncontrived and mundane manner.
Those viewers that are already familiar with Japanese "ghost" stories will probably be the most comfortable and delighted with what Bergman presents here. The "ghosts" are entirely malevolent and the way Bergman allows them to oh-so-subtley begin driving wedges between Von Sydow and Ullman is true genius. In spite of the films fantastic elements the tale rings true to human nature and consequence, and Bergman makes the most of some 'Lovecraftian' restraint involving the finale.
If this film were not hamstrung by the "artsy" reputation of it's director it surely would claim the top spot in any list of best horror films. The tale unwinds deliberately, the characters are sympathetic, and the visuals are rich and eerie - they get under one's skin.
I feel that the enjoyment of Bergman's films has been curtailed by the popular impression that his films only will appeal to connoiseurs and snobs much as Orson Welles films have been regarded, that his work has been claimed by a certain variety of critics. It is bad enough that mainstream theatres in the USA have historically had little interest in his movies, but it further degrades matters when even well-meaning or seemingly complimentary tags like "art-house" are applied today to Bergman's films.
In short, the term "auteur" at first seems like a compliment but in the long term shunts those directors films into a little corner of reality that has little to do with the rest of the world. They become judged against themselves, often harshly and eventually degraded. In the end, these director's movies are shown only in community theatres, on TCM in the wee hours, or appear in self contained boxsets on store's top-shelves. Worse, random searches for genre films do not turn up these movies because they are sequestered critically based on the reputation of their directors - and it's a crime.
I say this with impunity because only recently, after 41 years, have I become aware of this particluar film and that because I accidentally caught "Persona" on TCM by chance. Thoroughly impressed, I found the MGM Bergman boxset on sale and the rest has been a pleasure, but I might never have had the opportunity due to the manner in which Bergman's films are regarded and labeled.
No director works in a vacuum, nor do they release their films into one. While it is wonderful when they surpass their previous works in quality, it is magnificient when they make a movie that towers above others in tone, depth, and richness.
It is in this fashion that "Hour of the Wolf" deserves to be viewed: not as one of the least of Bergman's "children", but as the "Enfant Terrible" of the horror genre.
I cannot recommend this film enough. If you have previously enjoyed "Eraserhead", "Videodrome", "The Mouth of Madness", the original Japanese version of "The Ring", "Night of the Living Dead", "Ugetsu" or the 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" then you will want to inspect this - as late at night as possible... in the Vargtimmen.
Description of Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen)
The delicate, dangerous line between genius and insanity is brilliantly plumbed in this haunting film from Ingmar Bergman that's "a dazzling flow of surrealism, expressionism and full-blooded Gothic horror" (The Observer). Haunted by demons past and present, artist Johan Borg (Max von Sydow) fights a losing battle to retain his sanity and maintain his artistic prowess. His wife Alma (Liv Ullmann), desperate to help him, finds herself starting to share his hallucinations. But as Johan's mind continues to unravel, Alma is forced to choose between her love and her life.Bestsellers in DVD
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