Pelle the Conqueror
Picture: B- Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: A-
Director Bille August
began his directing career doing more TV projects, until his 1987 film, Pelle
the Conqueror. The film takes place
at the tail end of the 19th century as Swedish emigrants are trying
to inhabit the Danish island of Bornholm.
The emigrants are in search of a better life as Lasse Karlsson (Max Von
Sydow) and his son Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) find that the conditions are even
harsher, especially the working conditions.
They are forced to work on a farm and through their trials and
tribulations; they find a deeper meaning to their relationship.
This would be one of
Sydow’s best performances, earning him an Oscar nomination for his role. August has made a fair amount of films since
such as House of the Spirits (1993) and the strange, but effective Smilla’s
Sense of Snow (1997). The
combination of an effective story, fine acting, and responsible directing turn
this painful story into an engaging 2-˝ hour experience. The story often echoes the same experiences
that emigrants went through coming into the United States and still go through
to this day, but their stories remain untold.
Even when a film like Scorsese’s Gangs of New York attempted to
fill in the missing stories, many blew the film over as another overly violent
escapade for the director.
Anchor Bay has issued Pelle
onto DVD with a 1.66 X 1 anamorphic transfer, which shows off some of the
intimate cinematography created by August regular, Jorgen Perrson. Although the DVD looks closer to 1.78 X 1,
some of the colors are muted. This DVD
demonstrates adequate detail, despite some softness. The Danish Dolby 2.0 and English Dolby 2.0 are essentially
identical. Most of the soundtrack is
comprised of dialogue and music, which is produced here just fine, even with
the limitations of its stereo.
There are absolutely no
extras here except the trailer, which is average. Pelle the Conqueror was a film that was well received,
especially after winning at Cannes, but has been reduced to a half-known film
since then. With a mediocre DVD, that
might be the case for some time, but hopefully Anchor Bay will revisit this
film down the line.
- Nate Goss
