The BFI has announced the first release in a four volume Blu-ray collection celebrating the work of the great Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007). Ingmar Bergman: Volume 1, available from 19 July 2021, features eight early Bergman films made from 1946-1950; the first time these films will be available on Blu-ray in the UK.

This beautiful box set is the first of four volumes that will encompass 32 films from the filmmaker’s illustrious career. Ingmar Bergman: Volume 2 is slated for release in autumn 2021, together with standalone Blu-ray presentations of several milestone titles from the Bergman canon. Volume 3 and Volume 4 will follow in 2022. The forthcoming sets will includes films such as The Seventh Seal (1957), Persona (1966), Wild Strawberries (1957), Fanny and Alexander (1982) and Cries and Whispers (1972).

Presented across five discs, Ingmar Bergman: Volume One features 2K restorations of his debut film, Crisis (1946), Music in Darkness (1948), Port of Call (1948), Prison (1949) (his first film with his own screenplay), Three Strange Loves (1949) and To Joy (1950), alongside the Bergman-scripted Torment (1944) and Eva (1948).

Including initial partnerships with regular collaborators (such as cinematographer Gunnar Fischer and actor Birger Malmsten), these early works exhibit Bergman’s burgeoning talents as a screenwriter and director, introducing themes and tones that he would continue to develop over more than 50 years of acclaimed, enduring and influential filmmaking.

You can pre-order Ingmar Bergman: Volume 1 directly from the BFI shop here for £54.99.