They don't get any better than this 1987 Foreign Film Academy Award-winning masterpiece, written and directed by Bille August. Lasse Karlsson (Max von Sydow) flees an impoverished Sweden with his young son Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) in hopes of finding a better life in Denmark, but instead the aged widower ends up sentencing them both to years of hard labor under the dictatorial hand of a brutal farm manager. Featuring heart-wrenching performances from both Sydow (Best Actor Oscar nominee) and Hvenegaard, who, through the worst, manage to keep their hopes and love alive, and a flawless mastering by Anchor Bay, which captures every nuance of Jörgen Persson's (The House of Spirits) extraordinary lensing, this one gets our highest recommendation. Editor's Choice. (S. C. Sickles)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—May 30, 2017—Film Movement, 150 min., in Danish & Swedish w/English subtitles, PG-13, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1987's Pelle the Conqueror features a great transfer and a 2.0 stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie, and an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty. Bottom line: this foreign classic is luminous on Blu-ray.]
Pelle the Conqueror
Anchor Bay, 138 min., in Danish w/ English subtitles and dubbed, PG-13, $29.98 Vol. 16, Issue 4
Pelle the Conqueror
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