Hour of the Wolf (1968)
"Vargtimmen" (original title)

While vacationing on a remote Scandanavian island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has a emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gertrud Fridh

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Max von Sydow	...	Johan Borg
Liv Ullmann	...	Alma Borg
Gertrud Fridh	...	Corinne von Merkens
Georg Rydeberg	...	Lindhorst, archivist
Erland Josephson	...	Baron von Merkens
Naima Wifstrand	...	Old Lady with Hat
Ulf Johansson	...	Therapist Heerbrand
Gudrun Brost	...	Gamla Fru von Merkens
Bertil Anderberg	...	Ernst von Merkens
Ingrid Thulin	...	Veronica Vogler

Storyline

An artist in crisis is haunted by nightmares from the past in Ingmar Bergman's only horror film, which takes place on a windy island. During "the hour of the wolf" - between midnight and dawn - he tells his wife about his most painful memories.

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Plot Keywords:

island | nightmare | artist | pregnant woman | homosexual subtext | 

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Taglines:

"The Hour of the Wolf" is the hour between night and dawn. It is the hour when most people die. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their deepest fear, when ghosts and demons are most powerful.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish Norwegian

Release Date:

9 April 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hour of the Wolf

Filming Locations:

Hovs Hallar - Naturreservat, Skåne län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 99 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ingmar Bergman originally penned the script in 1964 under the title "The Cannibals". A serious bout of pneumonia led him to reconsider the project whilst lying in hospital; he deemed it to be potentially too expensive in concept and execution. Bergman revised the script idea into a more low budget piece to accompany Persona.

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Quotes

Baron von Merkens: Now you are yourself, but not yourself; an ideal state for a meeting between lovers.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.33 (2005)

User Reviews

"The hour when ghosts and demons are most powerful"

"Hour of the Wolf" (1968) is one of my favorite Bergman's films. I place it close to "Persona" to which it is a perfect matching piece. This impressive and disturbing movie about the loss of sanity by a tormented artist is another magnificent work of Ingmar Bergman, the closest to the horror genre he ever directed with his regular actors, Max von Sydow who is amazing as Johan and his Muse Liv Ullmann who is equally compelling as Alma, Jonah's wife. The film takes place on an isolated, windy island where Johan and pregnant Alma moved in hope for Johan to work on his paintings and where he is haunted by nightmares from the past that may or may not be just his dreams. They come to torture him during The Hour of the Wolf which Bergman describes as "the hour between night and dawn. It is the hour when most people die, when sleep is deepest, when nightmares are more real. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their deepest fear, when ghosts and demons are most powerful. The Hour of the Wolf is also the hour when most children are born."

Bergman has always been obsessed and fascinated by the inner demons that imagination can create and like no other filmmaker has explored the deepest mysteries of human soul and mind.

Surrealistic, Gothic and dark horror film, with its magnificent black and white cinematography provided by Bergman's long time friend and collaborator, Sven Nykvist, "The Hour of the Wolf" is a frightening view of the mind of a mad person.

It's been mentioned in more than one comment and I agree that David Lynch might have seen "Hour of the Wolf" more than once and was influenced by it when working on his own dark and surrealistic "Erazerhead".

9.5/10