The film was shot on 16mm reversal, and acquired from the director in the late 80’s. From the original positive material an inter-mediate negative was made and a new print was struck in 1988. The film is included in the unique collection of films and manuscripts donated by Ingmar Bergman to The Bergman Foundation in 2002. These fourteen minutes give us a fascinating look behind-the-scenes on the shooting of one of Bergman’s classics. In this unique film, never screened in public before, there are shots of cast and crew between takes, and from the shooting of scenes that were included in Smultronstället. Some of the material was shot in colour, and as always it is thrilling to see familiar places, actors and costumes in a new light as it were. In the latter half of the film there is a lot of footage of the ageing Victor Sjöström, chatting with his fellow actors and preparing himself for the next take, and you can sense the respect and admiration that Bergman held for his older colleague and the director of his favourite film, Körkarlen. The film ends with footage from the shooting of the nightmare sequence in Smultronstället, with the familiar images of Bergman’s phantom chariot being pulled by two horses. Smultronstället was to be Sjöström’s final appearance in film, and he died in January, 1960.

Jon Wengström