DVD Review: Bergman’s angst ‘Cries’ on Blu-ray

Following the poor reception of “The Touch,” his first English language film, Ingmar Bergman, one of the two or three towering figures in European film at the time, came roaring back with “Cries and Whispers,” which is solidly in the existential/emotional angst mode of his best work. (It received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, extremely rare for a foreign film back then.)

The plot is simple: In turn-of-the-century Sweden, a wealthy woman (Harriet Andersson) is dying of cancer. Her two sisters (Liv Ullmann, Ingrid Thulin) have arrived to be with her, but the only real comfort she receives is from the housemaid (Kari Sylwan). Memories and long-simmering conflicts bubble up, particularly when the sister briefly rises from the dead. (Yes, technically this is a zombie film.)

Both image and soundtrack are excellent, with the reds far richer than on Criterion’s 2001 DVD. The one major extra from that edition — and hourlong interview with Bergman and his longtime friend and collaborator Erland Josephson — is repeated here. Also repeated is — believe it or not — an optional audio track with the dubbed English version.

Criterion adds quite a bit more this time. There is a seven-minute 2003 interview with Bergman that serves as an introduction to the movie. Critic Peter Cowie provides an informative narration to accompany 34 minutes of silent home movie footage from the production. He also shows up for a recent jolly interview with Harriet Andersson. Finally, there is a 12-minute “video essay” by filmmaker : : kogonada, which deftly analyzes the movie’s thematic structure.

Cries and Whispers (Criterion, Blu-ray, $39.95; DVD, $29.95)

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).