The Saga of Gosta Berling
| The Saga of Gosta Berling | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Mauritz Stiller |
| Screenplay by | Mauritz Stiller Ragnar Hyltén-Cavallius |
| Based on |
Gösta Berlings Saga by Selma Lagerlöf |
| Starring |
Lars Hanson Greta Garbo |
| Cinematography | Julius Jaenzon |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | AB Svenska Biografteaterns Filmbyrå |
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Release date
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10 March 1924 |
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Running time
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86 minutes (Part I) 80 minutes (Part II) 183 minutes |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language |
Silent film Swedish intertitles |
The Saga of Gosta Berling (Swedish: Gösta Berlings saga) is a 1924 Swedish romantic drama film directed by Mauritz Stiller and released by AB Svensk Filmindustri, starring Lars Hanson, Gerda Lundequist and Greta Garbo in her native break-out role on film. The film is based on the 1891 debut novel of the same name by the Swedish author and Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf. It is also known as Gosta Berling's Saga, The Story of Gosta Berling and The Atonement of Gosta Berling.
The priest Gosta Berling gets fired because of his inappropriate life style. He entertains a wealthy lady who in return supports him. Following a variety of occurrences he teams up with former duchess Dohna. Together they start over.
The film was originally released as two parts in Sweden, Gösta Berlings saga del I on 10 March 1924, and Gösta Berlings saga del II seven days later. The two-part version was also used in Finland and Norway, but for the rest of the world a shorter, one part export version was made.
In 1927 the film was recut, shortening it by almost half the running time. This is the version that was archived for the future. In 1933 a sound version was released theatrically in , with the intertext cut out, along with additional cutting and altered chronology for some of the scenes.
Twenty years later most of the missing material was discovered, and a restored version with new intertext was again released in theatres. This version has since had new parts added throughout the years as they have been found, but about 450 meters of film from the original cut is still missing. In 2005, the film was given a new score by pianist and silent film music composer Matti Bye.
In 2006, the film was released for the first time on DVD by Kino International with the support of the Swedish Film Institute. The new release includes English subtitles, the new music score by Matti Bye, and restoration of the film to a length of 185 minutes. A Swedish DVD followed in 2007.
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Wikipedia