Customer Reviews

The Outlaw and His Wife / Victor Sjostrom (Double Feature)

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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most silent films, damaged by the course of the time, exist in different versions of different running time, but when a DVD is released is supossed to be the most complete version existing (for instance, the Flicker Alley DVD of "La roue").

Well, this is not the case with the Kino "The outlaw and his wife" (price: 27 $ !). This is a very truncated version and shouldn't have been released in such conditions. Its running time is only 70 min., when nowadays exists a version of 105 min. that I have seen four or five years ago in the Madrid Filmoteca and in the french TV channel Arte.

The truncated Kino DVD version is, I suppose, the existing in the Kino shelves and released in VHS many years ago. That's very bad !

Not to speak of the nasty tinted of "Terje Vigen" in the companion DVD, that destroys the range of grey light and shadow of the original.

This is the film that gave the Swedish film industry international recognition in 1917, and after nearly a century it's still easy to see why. The main attraction of this film is surely the scenery - the tundra of northern Scandinavia - which creates the rugged setting for this story about life in 19th century Iceland. I found the unusual colour tinting (often shades of pinkish-purple) actually highlights the scenery and gives those images a haunting beauty and special atmosphere. Together with an unusual orchestral score, which also includes some Scandinavian folk tunes, I found myself transported to the time and place that Victor Sjoestroem had in mind. Sjoestroem is probably best remembered for directing "The Wind" with Lillian Gish, which also places emphasis on the environment and its effects on people. In this earlier film, Sjoestroem directed and played the lead role of a petty thief hiding from the law, eventually escaping with his new wife -who sacrifices wealth and comfort for him - to live in the raw beauty of the wild mountains.

On a slightly negative note however, "The Outlaw and His Wife" is not the easiest silent film to watch. Most intertitles are lengthy or involved and are shown a bit too briefly, so you have to read quickly! Some indoor scenes are quite dark, and some parts appear jerky or disconnected, so it requires a little extra attention to follow and appreciate the story more fully. It's worth the effort though, in my opinion, for the overall atmosphere and the mood it leaves behind.

It is a cliche that Victor Sjostrom's films dramatise the conflict between nature and society, but his treatment is less simplistic than might be first apparent. For instance, in 'The Outlaw and his Wife', society may be ruled by a brutal, land-grabbing bailiff, who whips servants for losing a sheep; but it is also a place rich in pageantry, costume and rite, where communities can express themselves.

Likewise, nature might be a site of freedom for social outcasts, a sustaining idyll for lovers, and an awe-inspiring backdrop; but it also overflows in the lonely vagrant who nearly rapes his friend's wife, or the cliffs and snows that can kill.

Throughout, Sjostrom shifts impressively between registers - nature as a real force, and as a symbolic backdrop; plot as both social depiction and spiritual journey - while retaining the familiar pleasures of the action genre.

It is most appropriate and also timely that Kino International has released this DVD together with its partner DVD, "A Man There Was/Ingeborg Holm" to showcase the talents and most famous works by one of Sweden's greatest directors of early cinema: Victor Sjostrom, or Seastom, as we was known in America. "The Outlaw and His Wife" has been called a masterpiece of Swedish silent cinema, and among other outstanding features it shows that Sjostrom's skills as director and also actor had already reached great heights in the year 1918. Even after 90 years, this film still packs a punch and leaves an impression, especially due to the spectacular wild and rugged landscapes of far northern Scandinavia. Already before this landmark film, Sjostrom had developed his style of using the outdoors as a backdrop for his characters and their plight, and with famed photographer Julius Jaenzon capturing the untamed beauty and power of the natural elements, audiences must have been doubly impressed. In fact, Sjostrom's reputation led to an invitation from Hollywood in the 1920s which resulted in one of his most famous American productions, "The Wind", starring Lillian Gish. As master of outdoor cinematography, Sjostrom was the perfect choice for combining intense emotional drama with fierce outdoor elements, and "The Outlaw and His Wife" is another fine example of this style. On the run for a petty crime wrought by severe and unjust circumstances, the outlaw, played by Sjostrom himself, finds respite for a while when he is employed by a widow on a remote rural property. When recognized and forced to flee, the widow chooses to go with him as his wife, resulting in a rough, isolated existence in stunningly beautiful surroundings. The newly composed orchestral score for this film features tunes and sounds which may be unfamiliar to some viewers because they contain elements of Scandinavian folk music, which nevertheless seem to be perfectly fitting to this story and setting.

In order to appreciate this film better, the one-hour documentary "Victor Sjostrom" on this disc gives a brief overview of his career, mainly with rather lengthy excerpts from various films from 1912 to his last acting appearance in "Wild Strawberries" in 1957. It also features an interview with director Ingmar Bergman who was greatly inspired by Sjostrom, but interviews and narration are all in Swedish and at times some of the English subtitles are missing. A nice 4-page leaflet of good and easy to follow notes on Sjostrom's silent film career might fill in some blanks, and the extensive film footage in the documentary still says a lot without words about Sjostrom as both director and actor. Best bought with its partner DVD of two earlier Sjostrom films, but on its own "The Outlaw and His Wife" still stands as a beautiful and unforgettable classic of early cinema.

It has taken Kino International several years to make THE OUTLAW AND HIS WIFE available on DVD (the VHS version first appeared in 1989) but it has been worth the wait. Although it is essentially the same source material (the Swedish Film Institute's 1986 restoration) as the video, the picture is marginally sharper in detail and the contemporary modernistic score by Torbjorn Iwan Lindquist sounds a lot cleaner.

The 1918 film directed by and starring Victor Sjostrom (Seastrom in the U.S.) is a landmark not only of Swedish cinema but of world cinema as well. It tells the story of an ill fated couple forced to flee into the mountains to survive and of the tragedy that ultimately befalls them. Joining Sjostrom is actress Edith Estrahof who matches him for strength of performance and who would later become his wife (they fell in love with each other during the making of the film although both were already married). The use of natural locations, particularly the Scandinavian mountains and waterfalls, was outstanding and had already become a trademark of Sjostrom's Swedish films. He would eventually come to Hollywood where another outdoor drama THE WIND with Lillian Gish (1928) would become his American masterpiece.

Also on the disc is a 1981 documentary on Sjostrom and his films which is informative but rather dry although it contains an interview with Ingmar Bergman who was heavily influenced by Sjostrom and who repaid the debt by giving him the principal role in WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957). Kino released this jointly with the Sjostrom double bill A MAN THERE WAS/INGEBORG HOLM which is an even more important DVD.

Product was sent with 2 day priority service (extra postage paid for UPS Shipping) Keep Case arrived crushed, but CD was OK. Excellent silent film of the 19 teens.
Needs much better packing especially if one pays extra for two day shipping via UPS.
Five stars for the movie and one star for the ruin Keep Case packing by Amazon.

This VHS is taken from a recently restored print of famed Swedish silent film director Victor Sjostrom's "The Outlaw and His Wife." Widely considered to be a masterpiece when it was released (one critic referred to it as "the most beautiful film in the world") it's still a landmark - but it hasn't aged well. The acting (by Sjostrom and his wife) is very broad and theatrical and the melodrama's all pretty hammy. However, it is a beautifully shot film, utilizing the rugged Swedish mountain locations to great effect. The restoration job is great considering the film's age. Nice to look at if one can get past the film's faults and undeniably a nifty little curiousity. The plot: A man with a past (Sjostrom) arrives on a farm run by a very unattractive woman (played by his real-life wife) who he and everyone else nonetheless seems to think is very attractive. She likes Sjostrom, he likes her, her rival suitor finds out about Sjostrom's criminal past and Sjostrom and his wife become outlaws living high up on the mountains. After several years of peaceful living that produced a daughter they're found. Tragedy ensues.