Laila

Post news stories and home video release announcements here.
User avatar
Rollo Treadway
Posts: 899
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:32 pm
Location: Norway

Post by Rollo Treadway » Fri May 27, 2011 6:22 am

I can't wait to get my hands on this film, which I saw on TV about 40 years ago.

Meanwhile, for those whose appetite has been whetted by Laila, there are a few other titles available from the Norwegian Film Institute, all with English subs:

Markens Grøde (Growth of the Soil), 1921, based on the novel by Knut Hamsun. While I enjoyed this one very much, the main interest lies more in the drama, acting and landscapes than cinematic artistry.

Brudeferden i Hardanger (The Bridal Party of Hardanger), 1926. My favorite of the bunch, a family saga of wrongs committed and revenged, set against a gorgeous backdrop of valleys and fjords. This one was apparently a big hit among the Norwegian-American community, and indeed may have been produced with that audience primarily in mind. The DVD presents two different restorations, run at different speeds and with different scores.

Here's a clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMI7kka42wI

Bergenstoget plyndret inatt (aka Schneeschuhbanditen), 1928.
All in all the weakest of the bunch, this German-Norwegian co-production based on a light satirical crime novel has its points (including, once again, some magnificent landscapes), but left me somewhat cold, and the awful piano score doesn't help. Fans of Dr Mabuse der Spieler may note that two of its cast, Paul Richter and Aud Egede-Nissen (who was Norway's "International" star of the 20s) also appear in this one.

Also available is Norway's first talkie feature, Den store barnedåpen (The Big Christening), 1931, a funny social melodrama/satire of life among the working class. Both picture and sound are very well restored.

The online store of the NFI is not as user-friendly as it could be, customers from abroad are required to order per e-mail:

http://www.filmbutikken.no/

The above releases contain no information about region-coding, so I assume they're all-region — but you may want to make sure before ordering!

Post Reply