Not Bergman’s Finest Hour

Hour of the Wolf

Let me start by saying, I am a Bergman fan. Outside of Hollywood there were very few people making fantasy based films on the international scene prior to the 1970s.

Hour of the Wolf, however is not a film I’d rank among Bergman’s best. Yes, there are elements of the supernatural, and the brooding atmosphere we’ve come to expect from the master storyteller, but this is Bergman as influenced by those he originally influenced.
It seems to be a film similar to the works of the French New Wave directors of the time, as well as Frederico Fellini (especially similar to Fellini’s Satyricon, even though it predates that work by a year).

Hour of the Wolf seems very unfocused, and derivative of the experimental cinema of the 1960s that was taking place all around the world, and less distinctively a signature Bergman work. Which is all to say that the film isn’t bad – even lesser Bergman works are worth your time – just be sure to watch 'The Seventh Seal' or 'The Virgin Spring' first.