Product Details

• Actors: Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow, Lars Passgård
• Directors: Ingmar Bergman
• Writers: Ingmar Bergman
• Producers: Allan Ekelund
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Homevision
• VHS Release Date: June 16, 2000
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303107346
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,585 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Ingmar Bergman's gloomy but incisive 1961 classic about a woman's descent into madness--and the inability of her family to mitigate her pain with love--is still a stunning work. Harriet Andersson plays Karin, a psychiatric patient newly released from a hospital and staying in the island home where she found some measure of security in childhood. Instead of getting on her feet, however, Karin begins disintegrating after realizing she no longer loves her physician husband (Max von Sydow) and is being rather coldly observed by her writer father (Gunnar Bjornstrand), whose distant fascination with her plight is recorded in his daily journal. Hearing voices, believing God to be a spider, and pursuing an incestuous relationship with her brother, Karin slips into an inexorable decline, objectively witnessed by those too emotionally frozen to help. The first of Bergman's trilogy on themes of faith and isolation (the other entries being Winter Light and The Silence), Through a Glass Darkly finds the legendary Swedish filmmaker at an artistic and philosophical peak. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

The Oscar®-winning first film of Bergman's religious trilogy poetically studies one family's search for God in a time of crisis. Harriet Andersson is remarkable as Karin, a young woman who finds little respite from her schizophrenia when she vacations with her husband, father, and adolescent brother.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THROUGH a GLASS, DARKLY, March 7, 2000

By 

Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through a Glass Darkly [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Through a Glass, Darkly" is Ingmar Bergman's pensive chronicle of a young woman's descent into the maelstrom of schizophrenia. This four character study is set on a secluded island off the coast of Sweden, where Karin (Harriet Andersson), upon having just been released from a mental hospital, is brought by her husband, Martin (Max von Sydow). They are joined there by her father, David (Gunnar Bjornstrand), a novelist, and her brother, Minus (Lars Passgard). Karin has reached a pivotal juncture in her life, facing the uncertainties inherent in the nature of her illness. Doctors have advised Martin that she is occupying a middle ground between two worlds, and that the next few days may be crucial in determining the outcome. Will she emerge in the light, or succumb to the darkness of the voices that beckon her from within. Through Bergman's eyes we observe the effects of Karin's situation on each of her loved ones, and how differently each one of them strive to cope with and understand her elusive affliction. This is one of Bergman's finest works, the first of his "Faith" trilogy (followed by "Winter Light" and "The Silence"). "Through a Glass, Darkly" is an absorbing, evocative, and sometimes intense drama that should not be missed. An Oscar winner for Best Foreigh Film of 1961, it firmly establishes Ingmar Bergman as one of Cinema's greatest directors.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautiful, disturbing film, January 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Through a Glass Darkly [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Emotionally wrenching mid-period Bergman is also beautifully shot and acted, especially by Harriet Andersson and Max Von Sydow. One of the more accessible of Bergman's movies, should be seen by every film buff.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, January 15, 2007

By 

Steven Hellerstedt "SH" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Through a Glass Darkly (DVD)

Watched this one the day after I watched George Romero's latest zombie gore-fest, `Land of the Dead.' There's no contest which is the most horrifying - THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, hands down. Don't get me wrong. `Land of the Dead' is a good, smart, entertaining movie, but Romero's flesh foraging stenchers can't begin to approach the emotional weight director Ingmar Bergman throws at you.

The plot is gossamer thin and its outline is brief. Novelist papa (Gunnar Björnstrand) is back, briefly, from overseas. His daughter (Harriet Andersson) is back from a mental institution, enjoying a brittle spell of sanity. Her husband (Max von Sydow) is devoted and doting. Her brother (Lars Passgård) is in many ways her best friend and one true confidante. As is true with most Bergman movies, not a lot happens Out There - it the subtle shifting of characters and relationships, the stuff happening In Here (tapping head and heart) that count.

It helps that Andersson is electrifying in the lead role, while the rest of the cast ably keeps pace with her. The pivot point in this movie is a terrible secret that's revealed, and the effect it has on the family. That's the horrifying stuff, the point when we feel Andersson pulling away as she attempts to process what she's learned. Heartbreaking stuff.

It's always tempting to write about what a movie means - stuff you crib off on-disc special features, commentary tracks, or a book or magazine article - but that fails with Bergman. It means what the viewer - you - decides it means. It doesn't seem right to artificially narrow a reader's focus by saying THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is, say, a religious allegory. Watch it - I'm serious, WATCH IT - and decide for yourself. A masterwork like this shouldn't be constrained by some stranger's interpretation.

Confession - I'm an action-movie fan. `Land of the Dead' is a lot more my speed than THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY. For some reason I can't account for I drag my heels when invited to watch a Bergman film - too depressing, too slow, too cerebral, distracting subtitles, what have you. I've gone away from every one of his movies I've seen stunned by their beauty and insight. This one is no exception. Highest recommendation.