DVD Review: Ingrid Bergman in Sweden

Ingrid Bergman was one of the most luminous of all Hollywood actresses, racking up an impressive number of credits, including Casablanca (1942), The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) and Notorious (1946), plus seven Oscar nominations, and three Oscars, for Gaslight (1944), Anastasia (1956), and Murder on the Orient Express (1974). She also went on to make memorable films with Roberto Rossellini and Ingmar Bergman (no relation).

But before all this, she began her acting career in her native Sweden. These were fairly ordinary, sometimes even turgid dramas, but Bergman absolutely shines in them, leaving little doubt that the camera loved her with a passion reserved for an elite few. In one of them, June Night (1940), the rest of the female characters spend the bulk of the film trying to keep their boyfriends from laying eyes on her.

Now Kino has released a three-disc box set, with three early Bergman films: Intermezzo (1936, Gustaf Molander), A Woman's Face (1938, Gustaf Molander), and June Night (Per Lindberg). None other than producer David O. Selznick saw Intermezzo and was inspired to bring Bergman to Hollywood, where her first film was an English-language remake. Kino's box set contains no extras.

Buy Ingrid Bergman in Sweden on DVD here