Another beautiful, unsettling entry in Bergman's most experimental stretch, and sharing Persona's source material. Together again with the great Sven Nykvist, he turns a host of unearthly sequences, but they sometimes only feel like that: sequences. The premises just aren't quite up to the task of supporting all of them at once. It's still fascinating, even if I did go in expecting werewolves and got Fellini's "Vampyr".

David Lynch favourite Bergman film! The story isn't as firmly composed as some of his other work, but the depiction of a mental state like paranoia, jealousy or lust, doesn't have to be as tightly structured - and in this film the fluid narrative combined with the striking visual style, makes the film impeccable.

Somewhat uncoordinated but effectively creepy. The acting carries it over the rough parts, and while very slow it remains engaging the entire time. I shouldn't even have to mention the cinematography and direction at this point, it's Bergman. The hellish dinner scene is memorable, but the climax is a bit flat. Unique.

Well, eventually you get a few nightmares after watching. A brilliant film, nevertheless.

84.375

Bergman's film about how artists view the world and their loved ones, and vice-versa. Ullmann and von Sydow's interactions are breathtaking, but the film becomes more and more ponderous and uncentered as it proceeds.

Inconsistent; sometimes it's brilliantly haunting (the "minute scene is excellent) and other times it's comical (the dreamy ending). Each scene is great, but overall it doesn't come together as a film.

A bit murky thematically. It seems like Bergman wants us to consider the fact that this is a film and that what we are seeing is a representation of a horror film rather than an actual genre piece. There are some great visuals here though and several bizarre moments that frame the madness of the protagonist. I feel the film relies a bit too much on grotesque human behavior to cause revulsion more than actual horror or fear though.

Magnific.

While emotionally impactful, the film is stifled by its structure, which explicates the themes and events either too heavy-handedly or too subtly. The end result of these oscillations is something of a mess that has moments where the viewer is enraptured in a sort of awe of Bergman's directorial decisions and moments of complete disinterest. However, the astounding cast and beautiful camera-work keeps the whole thing glued together.

Bergman: "Hour of the Wolf is seen by some as a regression after Persona. Persona [...] gave me the courage to keep on searching along unknown paths. [...] Hour of the Wolf [contains] a consciously formal and thematic disintegration. [...] Hour of the Wolf is important since it is an attempt to encircle a hard-to-locate set of problems and get inside them. I dared take a few steps, but I didn't go the whole way. Hour of the Wolf is not a regression but an unsteady step in the right direction."

"Bergman's second very abstract and somewhat surreal movie is challenging but feels incomplete and flawed no matter how hard you think about it... Bergman seems to touch on themes of subjective reality, schizophrenia, art, deep connections between man and wife, horror elements like a bird man and a woman who pulls off her face, and social drama, but that's all he seems to do with them: touch lightly."

Must rewatch ASAP.

A fascinating, beautiful and disturbing piece of Gothic horror that has many extraordinary moments that for me didn't always gel together very well. Even in a horror film Bergman's obsession with the human face is as affecting as always.

this is massive! i'm sure david lynch has a pedestal for this at home.

I'm not sure why Hour of the Wolf is ousted as "Bergman's horror movie" because while a great work in its own right, it shares much in common with surreal elements seen in Persona, Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal. The narrative is fractured, the photography is ambitious and Sydow, Ullmann and Josephson are all great, as usual. I particularly liked two of Sydow's monologues: one about the compulsion of artists and another about the humiliating nature of childhood.

#755

Rich, unbearably tense, masterful horror and surrealism at it's finest. Existential symbolism is flowing in each and every beautiful line.

Surreal Bergman with beautiful photography and an eerie atmosphere

I didn't know much about this going in and at first I was trying my hardest to follow the story. It wasn't until about thirty minutes in that I understood what the film was going for and realized I needed to just let go and let Bergman take me where he may. Much like Lynch's Eraserhead, Hour of the Wolf is an exercise in creepy atmosphere and strangeness that you just need to lose yourself in. The result is an oddly satisfying and unsettling experience. I can't wait to watch it again.

good creepy berg,man