Rent The Emigrants / The New Land (1972)
4.0 of 5 from 66 ratings
6h 33min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
This monumental mid-nineteenth-century epic from Jan Troell charts, over the course of two films, a Swedish farming family's voyage to America and their efforts to put down roots in this beautiful but forbidding new world. Movie legends Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann give remarkably authentic performances as Karl Oskar and Kristina, a couple who meet with one physical and emotional trial after another on their arduous journey. The precise, minute detail with which Troell depicts their story - which is also that of countless other people who sought better lives across the Atlantic - is a wonder to behold. Engrossing at every step of the way, the duo of 'The Emigrants' and 'The New Land' makes for perhaps the greatest screen drama about the settling of America. - Actors:
- Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Sven-Olof Bern, Aina Alfredsson, Allan Edwall, Monica Zetterlund, Pierre Lindstedt, Hans Alfredson, Ulla Smidje, Eva-Lena Zetterlund, Gustaf Färingborg, Åke Fridell, Agneta Prytz, Halvar Björk, Arnold Alfredsson, Bror Englund, Tom C. Fouts, Peter Høimark, Erik Johansson
- Directors:
- Jan Troell
- Producers:
- Bengt Forslund
- Writers:
- Bengt Forslund, Jan Troell, Vilhelm Moberg
- Aka:
- Utvandrarna / Nybyggarna
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- 21 Reasons to Love... Ingmar Bergman: Part 2, Oscar Nominations Competition 2023, Remembering: Max von Sydow
- Countries:
- Sweden
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 10/10/2016
- Run Time:
- 393 minutes
- Languages:
- Swedish LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New introduction by theater and film critic John Simon
- New conversation between film scholar Peter Cowie and director Jan Troell
- New interview with actor Liv Ullmann
- To Paint with Pictures, an hour-long documentary from 2005 on the making of the films, featuring archival footage as well as interviews with Troell, Ullmann, producer and coscreenwriter Bengt Forslund, actor Eddie Axberg, and composer Georg Oddner
- Trailers
- An essay by critic Terrence Rafferty
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the following:
- The Emigrants (1971) - Disc 2:
- This disc includes the following:
- The New Land (1972)
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Reviews (1) of The Emigrants / The New Land
Absorbing saga, but not the full story - The Emigrants / The New Land review by TE
The early section of this epic portrayal of Swedish emigration to America in the mid-19th century gets a little bogged down in its depiction of life in a rural Swedish community. However, the film hits its stride once the central family hit the road and cross the Atlantic.
The second disc offers an excellent portrayal of the hardships, dangers and drudgery that these early settlers faced.
The film is propelled by reliable performances from Max Von Sydow as the patriarch, and from Liv Ullman as the baby-machine mother. However, it is Eddie Axberg who really stands out as the restless, troubled brother.
The film does give a rather one-sided view of the clashes with the native Americans that erupted in the Minnesota area in 1862. There is no real questioning of the way that the Swedish families seize land for themselves. The film was made 50 years ago and I suspect that a contemporary director would adopt a much more nuanced approach to this issue.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.