Cheap Hour of the Wolf (Video) (Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann) (Ingmar Bergman) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hour of the Wolf

The "Hour" Of Truth!
Why someone would refer to this film as one of Ingmar Bergman's "lesser" films totally suprises me. I find it to be one of the directors most harrowing,& powerful films! "Hour of the Wolf" from the very first scene tries to set itself up as a true story. And from that very moment we are in a way left senseless,for what's real and what isn't. How can we judge? I have never seen a movie that has been able to suspend our rational senses the way this film does. There are many memorable moments in this film. I'm constantly reminded of a dream sequence which deals with Max von Sydow (Johan Borg) and a small boy by a stream. I think it's one of the most powerful scenes I've ever seen only to be rivalled by the "Russian roulette" scene in "The Deer Hunter" and the final moments in "The Exorcist". I don't want to reveal what happens in the scene, but, I was truly unable to take my eyes off the screen. I'm pretty sure my chin was on the ground as well. It's such a strong scene.
Bergman has been known by some to be very sparing with music. He likes to have the characters emotions speak to us, not have some song create the mood that the actors are unable to achieve. But, in this movie, the music really helps certain scenes, this is not to say that the acting is poor by Sydow & Ullman. It most certainly is not! The cinematography by Sven Nykvist is wonderful as well, then again, I can't think of a movie he filmmed that wasn't wonderful. "Cries and Whispers", "Shame", "Fanny & Alexander"....ect.
The ONLY bad thing I can say about this film is, it's too short! At 1 hour and 28 minutes. Liv Ullman and Sydow are supported by a wonderful cast including Erland Josephson, Gertrud Fridh and the beautiful Ingrid Thulin, a Bergman regular as well. "Hour of the Wolf" is a strong film that really could be described as a series of nightmares that showcase the acting talents in the film. And that by no means makes this a "lesser" film by Bergman. A film of deep meaning that should be enjoyed by all.

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One of his best
A famous painter, Johan (Max von Sydow), and his wife (Liv Ullmann) arrive on a small island where Johan plans to recollect his thoughts and find himself in his painting. He suffers from insomnia and bad nerves, and his nights are spent waiting in horror for the magical hour before dawn, the hour of the wolf, when a flood of memories, anxieties, and regrets transcend thoughts and appear as demonic apparitions which threaten to consume him. Johan's wife, Alma, must help him overcome his dangerous obsessions with his ghosts before the manifestations become too real, and its too late...

The Magician and Hour of the Wolf are my two favorite Bergman movies -- the reason being the flaws of these films only make them stronger by serving the point. In the Magician its an artist's fear of having his cheap trickery exposed for what it is, and his inability to make "pure" art. The fact that Bergman had to sell the film as an "erotic comedy" with a silly subplot doesn't make the film weaker: it just reinforces it with irony.

In the same way, the Hour of the Wolf was clearly made by a nervous and overworked artist: at this point the critics were out for blood with Bergman, ready to declare his career over and his movies indulgent exercises in his popular image. Bergman himself was having a rough time, with a theatre and a film career exhausting him and his marriage falling to pieces. But for Hour of the Wolf, any resignation, nervousness, or indulgence merely serves to strengthen the film's message. Hour of the Wolf is a desperate film, and because of that, I think its in this film that Bergman comes closest to his own artistic vision: That place where dreams, memories, and anxieties come together and become indistinguishible (something he would have a harder time conveying in films like Face to Face).

The film is beautifully made, with Sven Nykvist collaborating as usual. Bergman and his cohort were cutting close to perfect in craft around this period. The flood of images is overwhelming. Some favorite scenes: Johan struggling with a small boy while fishing, the dinner party (the pressure!), and of course, the famous "Magic Flute" scene, with the small puppet moving almost imperceptibly as a real man. And that prevalent Bergman talking point, Mozart, and the chorus' breathless chanting: "Pamin-na still lives." (lit. "Love still lives")

An emotional and personal film, one of his best.

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MGM keep ruining movies!!
Why, MGM!? After CORRECTING the aspect ratio from 1.66:1, they've made the same mistake with "Hour of the Wolf" and "Shame" as they did with "Persona"; they've presented the movies in aspect ratio 1.33:1 instead of the original aspect ratio 1.37:1!! 11.5% of the image of "Persona" is missing, so naturally that is the case with these films as well. These are great movies that should not be messed with in this unprofessional manner. MGM have no respect for this art. Incidentally, "Persona" is available in its original aspect ratio on "Tartan" (region-free DVD) through amazon.co.uk. These movies were not intended to be watched this way, but if you are curious about these fine Bergman classics, don't own a VCR, and have a lot of money to spare, go ahead and support MGM's economy.