The Virgin Spring
(1960)
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The Virgin Spring
(1960)
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| Max von Sydow | ... | ||
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Birgitta Valberg | ... |
Märeta
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Gunnel Lindblom | ... | |
| Birgitta Pettersson | ... |
Karin
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Axel Düberg | ... |
Thin Herdsman
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Tor Isedal | ... |
Mute Herdsman
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Allan Edwall | ... |
Beggar
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Ove Porath | ... |
Boy
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Axel Slangus | ... |
Bridge Keeper
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Gudrun Brost | ... |
Frida
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Oscar Ljung | ... |
Simon
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Tor Borong | ... |
Farm-hand
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Leif Forstenberg | ... |
Farm-hand
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Set in beautiful 14th century Sweden, it is the sombre, powerful fable of wealthy land-owning parents whose daughter, a young virgin, is brutally raped and murdered by goat herders after her half sister has invoked a pagan curse. By a bizarre twist of fate, the murderers ask for food and shelter from the dead girl's parents, who, discovering the truth about their erstwhile lodgers, exact a chilling revenge. Written by L.H. Wong <as9401k56@ntuvax.ntu.ac.sg>
A powerhouse piece of filmmaking from one of the all-time great directors. This 14th-century exploration of good and evil, morality and chaos, love and revenge is pretty much a faultless viewing experience and one which retains its ability to shock and provoke thought in the viewer even today. I can only imagine what it would have been like to see this on first release.
The story is deceptively simple and yet filled with harrowing imagery. The assault in the woods is difficult to watch, even in these jaded times, and of course Bergman wrings the maximum tension out of it right from the very beginning. The second half is, perhaps, even more tense, with the expectation of impending violence and the strong, subtle filmmaking techniques (think: lots of lurking shadow, religious iconography, haunted faces). The excellent use of black and white photography reminded me of Kurosawa's work on RASHOMON. Max von Sydow holds it all together as the brusque father and family man, but he heads a cast who can do no wrong.
Wes Craven went for a lurid, contemporary remake in LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but despite the graphic nature of Craven's film I don't think it holds a candle to this one.