Posted Thu Jun 20, 2013 at 09:40 AM PDT by Tom Landy
Criterion will be bringing a set of three Ingrid Bergman films directed by Roberto Rossellini to Blu-ray at the end of September.
In an early announcement to retailers, the Criterion Collection will proudly present '3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman' on Blu-ray on September 24.
In the late 1940s, the incandescent Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman found herself so moved by the revolutionary neorealist films of Roberto Rossellini that she sent the director a letter, introducing herself and offering her talents. The resulting collaboration produced a series of films that are works of both sociopolitical concern and metaphysical melodrama, each starring Bergman as a woman experiencing physical dislocation and psychic torment in postwar Italy. It also famously led to a scandalous affair and eventual marriage between filmmaker and star, and the focus on their personal lives in the press unfortunately overshadowed the extraordinary films they made together. 'Stromboli,' 'Europe ’51,' and 'Journey to Italy' are intensely personal portraits that reveal the director at his most emotional and the glamorous actor at her most anguished, and that capture them and the world around them in transition.
The 3-Disc Blu-ray set will feature 1080p video, uncompressed monaural soundtracks, and supplements include: Archival television introductions by director Roberto Rossellini to all three films; Audio commentary for Journey to Italy featuring scholar Laura Mulvey; Rossellini Through His Own Eyes, a 1992 documentary on the filmmaker’s approach to cinema, featuring archival interviews with Rossellini and actor Ingrid Bergman; New visual essays about Rossellini by scholars Tag Gallagher and James Quandt; Rossellini Under the Volcano, a 1998 documentary that returns to the island of Stromboli fifty years after the making of Stromboli; New interview with critic Adriano Aprà about each of the films; New interview with Fiorella Mariani, Rossellini’s niece, featuring home movies shot by Bergman; New interview with film historian Elena Degrada about the different versions of Europe ’51; New interviews with Isabella Rossellini and Ingrid Rossellini, daughters of Rossellini and Bergman; Ingrid Bergman Remembered, a 1996 documentary on the actor’s life, narrated by her daughter Pia Lindstrom; My Dad Is 100 Years Old, a 2005 short film, directed by Guy Maddin and starring Isabella Rossellini; The Chicken, a 1952 short film by Roberto Rossellini, starring Bergman; A Short Visit with the Rossellini Family, a six-minute film shot on Capri while the family was there during the production of Journey to Italy; and a booklet featuring essays by critics Richard Brody, Fred Camper, Dina Iordanova, and Paul Thomas; letters exchanged by Rossellini and Bergman; “Why I Directed Stromboli,” a 1950 article by Rossellini; a 1954 interview with Rossellini conducted by Eric Rohmer and François Truffaut for Cahiers du cinéma; and excerpts from a 1965 interview with Rossellini conducted by Aprà and Maurizio Ponzi for Filmcritica.
Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $79.95.
You can find the latest specs for '3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under September 24.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.