Search - The Serpent's Egg on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1977 DVD Release: 02/10/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 9 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Drama, Psychological Drama, Political Drama

The Serpent's Egg, or Das Schlangenei is director Ingmar Bergman's second English language production (The Touch was his first). It is, however, his first completely non-Swedish production, made after his voluntary self-exile from Sweden over taxation issues. Set in Berlin in the early 1920s, it explores the fear and despair the city evokes in Manuela and Abel Rosenberg (Liv Ullmann and David Carradine), two Jewish trapeze artists. The suicide of Manuela's husband (Abel's brother), has stranded them in Berlin. Berlin is shown to already possess the sinister elements of cruelty and anti-Semitism which laid the groundwork for the later Nazi takeover. A series of misadventures gets them sent to a medical clinic for treatment. However, the clinic is actually a site for Nazi-type "racial" experiments on humans, which generally either madden or kill the subjects. Das Schlangenei was savaged by the critics for its improbable-seeming story and more particularly, for casting David Carradine (best known for his earlier appearances in the Kung Fu U.S. television series) in a crucial role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Liv Ullmann - Manuela Rosenberg
David Carradine - Abel Rosenberg
Gert Fröbe - Inspector Bauer
Heinz Bennent - Dr. Hans Vergerus
James Whitmore - The Priest

Ingmar Bergman's disturbing drama The Serpent's Egg gets its best DVD release yet on this disc from MGM/UA. The film is presented in a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by leading man David Carradine, a pair of featurettes, and a still photo gallery. This disc is recommended to all Bergman enthusiasts. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide