By Raymond Benson

The Criterion Collection has upgraded its 2006 DVD release of Ingmar Bergman’s classic Oscar-winning drama, The Virgin Spring, to Blu-ray, and the results are, naturally, spectacular.

The film won Bergman his first of three Best Foreign Language Film Academy Awards, and it can certainly be ranked among the Swedish filmmaker’s best works. Known as a “rape and revenge tale,” the picture was so influential that it was the inspiration for Wes Craven’s first horror-exploitation movie from 1972, The Last House on the Left. Craven took the basic plotline, updated it, and turned it into a gory (and some would say, sickening) fright fest.

Bergman’s film is easier to take, but one can imagine how harrowing it might have been in 1960. As a departure for the auteur, Bergman did not write the screenplay himself. The script was adapted by Ulla Isaksson from a Swedish medieval ballad/legend called “Töres döttrar I Wänge” (“Töre’s daughters in Vänge”). Like The Seventh Seal before it, the story is set during the Dark Ages. It’s the only other instance in which Bergman accurately and convincingly depicts this historical period on film. This time, his visual collaborator is the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who presents the stark, sharp black and white imagery with crystal clarity.

The story concerns Christian Töre (Max von Sydow) and his family—his wife, Märeta (Birgitta Välberg), his teenage daughter Karin (Birgitta Pettersson), the disturbed, unwed and pregnant servant Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), and other household helpers. One morning, the virginal, innocent, and naïve Karin sets off on horseback, accompanied by Ingeri, to deliver candles to a church some miles away. After a frightening, chance encounter with a one-eyed man, Ingeri separates from Karin, who soldiers on with the candles. She comes upon a motely trio of creepy herdsmen—all brothers—with whom she offers to share her lunch. The older two assault Karin, rape, and murder her. The younger brother, who appears to be around twelve, watches in horror. Ingeri, hidden in the forest, also witnesses the crime.

Later, the herdsmen encounter Christian and his family, who are naturally worried about Karin because she didn’t return home. To reveal what happens next would of course be a spoiler—just know that Christian must make a hard decision and summon a strength from within that he didn’t know he had.

It’s all powerful stuff, and Bergman handles it with harsh realism and surprising sensitivity. The assault scene is brief, breathtakingly shocking, and surely something that jolted audiences at the time. Pettersson delivers a particularly courageous performance, and the actress’ work is the heart of the movie. The rest of the cast, especially von Sydow, Lindblom, and Välberg, are also excellent.

Particularly interesting is that the film can be interpreted as either a deeply religious or an anti-religious one. Christianity is often a subject matter in Bergman’s oeuvre, and his disdain for organized religion is usually palpable. In this case, however, when the titular “virgin spring” appears in the picture, it just might represent an acknowledgment of a higher power. It’s up to the viewer to decide.

Once again, the filmmaker recreates on what was surely a very low budget a medieval world that is totally believable. The attention to detail is striking—P. A. Lundgren’s production design and Marik Vos’ costume designs bring The Virgin Spring to life (the latter was nominated for an Academy Award).

Criterion’s new 2K digital restoration looks gorgeous and is an improvement over the earlier DVD release. It comes with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack and an audio commentary from 2005 by Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene. The 2006 supplements are ported over: 2005 interviews with actors Lindblom and Pettersson, a terrific introduction by director Ang Lee (who claims it was the first art film he ever saw), and an interesting audio recording of a 1975 American Film Institute seminar by Bergman—in English! There is an alternate English-dubbed soundtrack, but for my money Bergman films should always be viewed in the original language. The booklet sports an essay by film scholar Peter Cowie, reflections on the film by screenwriter Isaksson, and the text of the original ballad upon which the picture is based.

Among the many masterpieces that Ingmar Bergman made, The Virgin Spring is a shining gem. Don’t miss it.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON