#579: SJÖSTRÖM, Victor: The Phantom Carriage (1921)

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SJÖSTRÖM, Victor (Sweden)
The Phantom Carriage [1921]
Spine #579
Blu-ray


The last person to die on New Year's Eve before the clock strikes twelve is doomed to take the reins of Death's chariot and work tirelessly collecting fresh souls for the next year. So says the legend that drives The Phantom Carriage (Kärkarlen), directed by the father of Swedish cinema, Victor Sjöström. The story, based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf, concerns an alcoholic, abusive ne'er-do-well (Sjöström himself) who is shown the error of his ways, and the pure-of-heart Salvation Army sister who believes in his redemption. This exraordinarily rich and innovative silent classic (which inspired Ingmar Bergman to make movies) is a Dickensian ghost story and a deeply moving morality tale, as well as a showcase for groundbreaking special effects.

106 minutes
Tinted Color
Silent
Swedish Intertitles
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writers


Based on the novel Körkarlen by Selma Lagerlöf.
Victor Sjöström was 42 when he wrote and directed The Phantom Carriage.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-page booklet featuring an essay by screenwriter and filmmaker Paul Mayersberg.

Commentary

Featuring film historian Casper Tybjerg.

Two scores

One by Swedish composer Matti Bye and the other by the experimental duo KTL.
Interview

With Ingmar Bergman, excerpted from the 1981 documentary Victor Sjöström: A Portrait, by Gösta Werner.
The Bergman Connection

An original visual essay by film historian and Bergman scholar Peter Cowie on the film’s influence on Bergman.
Footage

Of the construction of the Råsunda studio where The Phantom Carriage was the inaugural production.
Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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