Years ago when I first saw THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT I'd read that it was loosely based on the 1960 Ingmar Bergman film THE VIRGIN SPRING. For one reason or another I'd never been able to see that movie though so just how loosely I never knew. That was one of the sad things about there being no video at one time and later that video stores didn't carry many films considered "art films" in small towns. So when I saw Criterion was releasing the film I was anxious to finely have the opportunity to see it.The movie features Max Von Sydow as Christian Per Töre, a landowner in medieval Sweden who has converted to Christianity with his wife Märeta (Birgitta Valberg). They have a young daughter named Karin who we see early on is indulged being the apple of her father's eye. Living in the same house is Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), a peasant serf of the family who resents them and has a reputation that has left her pregnant. With a holy day coming Karin is assigned the task of taking candles to the nearby church. Anxious to go she dresses in her finest clothes and asks that Ingeri accompany her. With hate in her eyes Ingeri goes along until they reach a stream before entering the nearby forest. Afraid for some reason she remains behind with the man who owns mill at the stream. When he attempts to assault her she runs after the long gone Karin.As she makes her way through the forest Karin comes across three herdsmen, brothers, and offers to share her lunch with them. They lead her to a field and as lunch progresses she senses danger from the three. Before she can escape them they're on her and rape her. When she tries to run afterward, one clubs her to death. As this all happens Ingeri watches from the wood, never helping. The men steal the fine clothes Karin was wearing and leave her behind in the woods. Back at the homestead Christian and his wife worry about their young daughter when she doesn't return, but not overly so. She's stayed in town before. As it grows dark the three herdsmen show at the house completely unaware that this is the home of Karin. They're invited in and provided a meal and shelter with the potential of work. During the night however Märeta finds her daughter's clothing among their things. Ingeri returns and tells them what happened. Events are set in motion from that point that will forever change them all.Most people will have already known the story of this film with it being over 50 years old now but I decided not to reveal the final portion of the film. That's difficult to do because some of the most striking images are contained there. If you watch the film on the Criterion edition you'll see what I mean and also hear in the extras some of the things I can't quite refer to here.The story is stark and brutal but there's no other way to depict what occurs. That this much was shown (though no real skin makes it to the screen) in 1960 is stunning in itself. But the brutal act of rape is on display and the murder after while quick is also heightened by the way the body is ransacked and left totally exposed to the world. It's upsetting and yet at the same time not nearly as much so as later films depicting the same act have been. LAST HOUSE that I referenced earlier or even the rape in DEATH WISH are much more upsetting. But the naïve attitude of Karin and her soft beauty make it an unbearable act in this film. What comes later at the hands of a grieving father is equally disturbing and yet done in such a manner as to truly be considered artistic.The movie in its entirety itself is gorgeous. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist did an amazing job with the stark black and white photography shown here. This was the first film he did with Bergman and they collaborated on many more after. The clarity of the Criterion version here is amazing. As an example a scene early on of Ingeri that's backlit shows the fine strands of stray hair completely visible in the picture. And being shot in black and white actually helps the movie rather than hinder it. To be honest this is the first film by Bergman I've had the opportunity to watch. The only reason I can explain for that as someone who loves all things film is that I've never had access to any of his films, even taking classes in film. I'd always heard his films were somber affairs and judging from this one I couldn't argue that. I'd need to see more to believe or deny that. When he began making films of a more serious nature Woody Allen said that Bergman was a big influence on him. I can see that in some sense but again, without seeing more wouldn't begin to say that's correct or not.Criterion has offered the film here with the respect that it deserves beginning with a 2k digital restoration of the film that as I said earlier is amazing. In addition to that they've included several extras worthy of mention. Those include an audio commentary by Bergman scholar Birgitta Steene, an introduction by Ang Lee from 2005 describing the influence the film had on him, an audio recording of a 1975 American Film Institute seminar by Bergman, an alternate English dubbed soundtrack for those who don't favor subtitles and a booklet featuring essays by film scholar Peter Cowie and screenwriter Ulla Isaksson and the medieval ballad on which the film is based.Criterion has done a bang up job on this release and it's nice knowing that such a copy exists for those who wish to explore the movie and the films of Bergman. This will be edition that fans will want to add to their collection. Film students would bode well to pick this up too. And movie lovers might want to give this a watch to discover Bergman.

Being an atheist, I have always found it challenging to review a religious movie, because I worry that my criticism will be more about religion than about the movie. This difficulty is compounded if it is not clear what the attitude of those who produced the movie is toward that religion, whether they intended the movie to be a criticism of religion or a defense of it. In other words, it is not clear to me whether "The Virgin Spring" looks upon the simple faith of some fourteenth century peasants in the same way that parents will smile at their child's belief in Santa Claus, or whether the movie actually shares that faith in God and encourages us to do likewise.Anyway, as I said, there is this fourteenth century family of Swedish peasants headed by Töre. His daughter is Karin, who is a blonde virgin. Well, her body may be pure, but her soul is not. She is lazy, vain, and spoiled, smug in the fact that she is so cute and adorable that she can do as she pleases. She has a foster sister, Ingeri, who is a brunette, a bastard soon to give birth to a bastard of her own. The two of them set out for church to do something or other, and on the way it turns out that the other night Karin was flirting with the man that got Ingeri pregnant. Though there is no hope that he will marry Ingeri, yet Karin's dalliance with him infuriates Ingeri. Just to rub it in, Karin taunts Ingeri for no longer being a virgin, while gloating over the way she will someday be married in all her virginal purity. She really made my flesh crawl.They get separated, and soon after Karin comes upon three goat herders that rape and murder her. They strip her body of her beautiful clothes. Later, they ask for lodging at Töre's house, not realizing he is Karin's father. That night, they present Karin's clothing to her mother as a gift, saying it belonged to their sister. She tells Töre about it. He asks Ingeri what she knows, and she admits that she witnessed the rape and murder and feels guilty because she wanted Karin to get her comeuppance. Töre then murders the three goat herders, one of whom was just a boy, who had nothing to do with what happened to Karin. Then Töre feels guilty for having committed murder. The whole family goes out to where Karin's body lies dead. When they find her, Töre raises the ancient problem of evil, asking why God let this happen and then let him commit murder, while at the same time saying that he begs God's forgiveness.Now, this is what I was talking about. Are we supposed to approve of Töre's attitude or should we be disgusted? I mean, I'm disgusted. In fact, it is even a little disgusting that he had to wait until his daughter was raped and murdered before questioning how an all-powerful, loving God could let this happen. After all, God has been standing by and letting girls get raped and murdered for centuries, and it is only now, when his daughter is a victim, that he takes exception to God's indifference. So, am I being disgusted with the movie or with the religion that this movie is premised upon?It gets worse. Töre promises to build a church on the spot where Karin died, in hopes of being worthy of God's forgiveness. Then, when they lift up her body, water begins to gush from the ground where she lay, becoming a spring. The family treats the water as if it is a miracle, a replenishing gift from God. That's right. Karin's rape and murder have been worth it, because now we are going to get a church with a little spring nearby. Perhaps I should point out that there is no shortage of water in that area, the family having crossed a large stream on their way to get to Karin, so it is not as though the spring will bring needed water to a parched region. It's just more water.Here we go again. I don't know whether we are supposed to regard that spring as a real miracle or not. If it is a miracle, then we have to wonder: as long as God was willing to perform a miracle, why didn't he miraculously save Karin instead? If it is not a miracle, are we supposed to despise or admire the family for thinking it is one?I give up. I'll have to let someone who actually believes in God tell me what I am supposed to make of this movie.

"The Virgin Spring" is in my opinion one of the greatest Period Dramas ever made and the greatest Swedish movie ever. Beautifully shot, paced and directed it is bound to haunt anyone watching it for days. It is the second and last movie Bergman made which was set in the middle ages, and for me at least appears to be a sign of Bergman reaching closure in his struggles with his questions of life, death and the after world. Human life was cheap in the middle ages but if "The Seventh Seal" represented a positive view of mans ultimate demise, "The Virgin Spring" offers nothing but darkness. In "The Seventh Seal" no one was safe from death but in the end death came firstly to those who wanted to die (the Knights, The Blacksmith and his wife) and life to those who wanted to live (the Actors.) It was not logical but supposedly just.In "The Virgin Spring" the same premise is turned on its head. In any movie from the same period, the character of Ingeri would have been doomed. She is ugly, crude, pregnant and she is in league with a Pagan god. Usually she would have been destroyed by the force she had conjured. But this does not happen. Instead death comes to the beautiful, virginal and Christian Karin, without any reason or explanation at all. God is silent. "The Virgin Spring" is proof of what a virtuosic director Bergman was. The classic theatrical feeling of his movies is mixed with elements of Thriller, Horror, Western and Japanese "Jidai Geki". The final fight between Töre and the sheep herders is not your typical Swashbuckling, Errol Flynn fencing match. Töre wakes them up because he wants it to be a fair fight but other than that it is pure murder. Unfortunately in my opinion, Bergamn never reached this level of greatness again, more or less completely abandoning period drama. But "The Virgin Spring" stands as one of the finest moments in Swedish cinema ever.

My favorite of the pre 1960 Bergman films, this has (once again) amazing photography by Sven Nykvest. It also boasts one of Max Von Sydow's most powerful performances - which is saying a lot. Set in a medieval world like 'The Seventh Seal', but here the questions of guilt, god, right and wrong are simpler and less symbolic, and to me ring truer and more emotional. Not that the film doesn't have it's fair share of symbolism. This is still Bergman. But those symbolic gestures feel more a part of a larger story. instead of the point. Some of the supporting performances aren't quite up to Von Sydow's and a couple of key moments felt a bit contrived, but this is a very tense, intense, disturbing and emotional look at one family from another time dealing with issues that are still all too familiar. Indeed there's almost a feeling of horror film about it at moments, and it is, amazingly, sighted as the uncredited basis for Wes Craven's 'The Last House on the Left'!