Eureka Entertainment are making Noir fans excited about ‘Noirvember’. Recently they announced Fritz Lang’s masterpiece Scarlet Street will get a 4K release, now they will release Stockholm After Dark on Blu-ray.
This is a collection of five rarely seen Swedish classics of crime, mystery and noir spanning 1938–1953, including two films starring Ingrid Bergman. The Blu-ray restorations looks great, undertaken by the Swedish Film Institute, available as part of The Masters of Cinema Series.
From the late 1930s onwards, Sweden became a prolific producer of crime films increasingly characterised by the noir style that eventually found popularity all over the world in the post-war period. They featured some of Sweden’s most recognisable stars in the likes of Ingrid Bergman and Eva Henning, and were made with the involvement of some of its greatest writers and directors, including Hasse Ekman, Gustaf Molander and even Ingmar Bergman. Five standout examples of Swedish noir are collected here: A Woman’s Face, June Night, While the Door was Locked, While the City Sleeps and Hidden in the Fog.
In A Woman’s Face, Ingrid Bergman stars as a disfigured blackmailer whose facial scarring has led her to become embittered and violent – until she is given an opportunity to change her ways. In June Night, Bergman plays a woman who is shot by her lover and, following a trial, flees to Stockholm in the hope of starting a new life. Directed by Hasse Ekman (Girl with Hyacinths), While the Door Was Locked follows the residents of a single apartment block over one fateful night – a night that will end in tragedy. Based on a story concept by Ingmar Bergman, While the City Sleeps profiles a psychopathic young criminal as his gang of teen delinquents begins to fall apart. Finally, Hidden in the Fog stars Eva Henning as a woman suspected of murdering her husband.
Sweden’s classic crime films bear all the hallmarks of film noir – expressionistic cinematography, chiaroscuro lighting, femme fatales, cops, criminals and doomed romance – but blend them with a distinctly Scandinavian sensibility, exploring their fascinating social and sexual themes with an unusual frankness.
Check out the releases official Trailer…
LIMITED EDITION THREE-DISC BLU-RAY BOXED SET SPECIAL FEATURES:
Limited Edition Hardbound Slipcase and interior packaging featuring new artwork by Mute | Limited Edition 60-page book featuring a new extended introduction to the Swedish crime film by film scholar Fredrik Gustafsson and new notes on all five films in this set by film noir expert Barry Forshaw | Hidden in the Fog presented from a 4K restoration by the Swedish Film Institute | A Woman’s Face, June Night, While the Door was Locked and While the City Sleeps presented from 2K restorations by the Swedish Film Institute | Original Swedish mono soundtracks for all five films | Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release | New audio commentary on A Woman’s Face by noir expert Imogen Sara Smith, author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City | New audio commentary on While the Door was Locked by crime cinema expert Sergio Angelini, host of the Tipping My Fedora podcast | New audio commentary on Hidden in the Fog by film historian David Kalat | A Woman’s Case – new interview on the early career of Ingrid Bergman with film historian and critic Pamela Hutchinson | Stockholm Stories – new video essay on the depiction of the city in Swedish noir by film critic and author Mikaela Kindblom, director of the Filmstaden Foundation | The Bad Die Young – new video essay on While the City Sleeps and juvenile delinquency in world noir by crime cinema expert Sergio Angelini | Cat Across the Road (Gunnar Skoglund, 1937) – short focused on filmmaking at Gamla Filmstaden in Stockholm, featuring an early appearance by Ingrid Bergman | Rhythm of a City (Arne Sucksdorff, 1947) – expressionist short depicting a day in 1940s Stockholm and winner of the 1949 Academy Award for Best Short Subject | All extras subject to change
1938, 1940, 1946, 1950, 1953 | 468 mins | SWEDEN | 1.37:1 OAR | FILM NOIR/CRIME/DRAMA/ THRILLER | Region B| TBC
Stockholm After Dark: Swedish Noir will be released on 4K UHD /Blu-ray as part of The Masters Of Cinema series on 23rd November. [Amazon / Eureka Video].
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