THE VIRGIN SPRING (JUNGFRUKALLAN) (1959) B/W 88 m dir: Ingmar Bergman

w/Max von Sydow, Brigitta Pettersson, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Axel Duberg, Tor Isedal, Ove Porath, Allan Edwall, Gudrun Brost, Oscar Ljung

From The Movie Guide: "The Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar awarded to THE VIRGIN SPRING was director Ingmar Bergman's first Academy Award, and the film still numbers among the director's classics. The story takes place in 13th-century Sweden, as Christianity and folklore vie for dominance in the popular belief. ... THE VIRGIN SPRING is based on a medieval ballad, and is full of the folk-tale oppositions (a good sister and a bad one) and motifs (the tell-tale gown, the trio of shepherds) so beloved by Bergman (the film is also true to its origins in its extreme violence). As always, those with little affinity for Bergman's preoccupations will find the film overlong and overdone. Most, however, will be rewarded by the depth of the director's moral and religious questioning, the emotional power of the story and acting, the haunting and symbolic imagery, and the excellent black-and-white photography of Sven Nykvist. Nominated by the Academy for Best Costume Design."