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Tartan Video
Posted: February 1st, 2008.
The Phantom Carriage: Legend has it that whoever is the last person to die on New Year’s Eve will bedestined to drive the Phantom Carriage, collecting dead souls for a year. When a drunkard is found at the strokeof midnight, the victim of a vicious fight, he is forced to relive his past to see how he and those around himhave been destroyed by his selfish and destructive ways.
Directed by pioneering Swedish film-maker Victor Sjöström, The Phantom Carriage is arguably the most influentialand enduring horror film of all time. Powerful acting and groundbreaking trick photography lend it anotherworldly atmosphere not since matched in modern cinema. Cited as being one of Ingmar Bergman’s primaryinspirations, The Phantom Carriage depicted death as a physical and industrious presence, something later echoedin The Seventh Seal. From the novel by SELMA LAGERLÖF.
The Image Makers: Set in the 1920s at the Swedish film studios, the great silent director Victor Sjöströmis nearing completion of The Phantom Carriage, a cinematic adaptation of a popular novel, and has invited thebook’s authoress, along with the film’s leading actress, to look at some early scenes. But, when both womenclaim to know the story and the characters best, a psychological battle arises which threatens to destabilisethe whole project. A tribute to his mentor and to the film which inspired him to become a film-maker, Bergman’sdrama features a mesmerising performance by one of Sweden’s greatest theatre actresses, Anita Björk.
An emotional storm of a film, with a style and rhythm quite unlike that of his other films (described by Bergmanas ‘TV Theatre’) The Image Makers was the great director’s penultimate work for the screen.
Extras: Also includes 4-page booklet with David Thompson Film Notes.
This DVD is released on February 11th for £24.99, but can be pre-ordered on Amazon.co.uk by clickingon the above link for £14.98 at the time of posting this press release.
News page content input by Dominic Robinson, 2008.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.