This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

The contrast between the idyllic fairy tale-like setting of Ingmar Bergman's 13th century revenge story and its blunt violence (as shocking as the same year's Psycho and Peeping Tom) recalls the graphic resolutions of the original Brothers Grimm tales. The inadvertent influence Bergman's had on the rape-revenge and, indirectly, slasher genres reminds that those later films are essentially contemporary versions of Red Riding Hood. Bergman's artistry and unsparing vision of humanity are on full display here - the way that the character who commits the central act of violence looks disorientied, almost as if he were sleepwalking, as he raises the murder weapon is particularly haunting. I must admit, though, that I couldn't help imagining what The Virgin Spring would be like if it featured folk songs and bumbling cops.

I'm a reluctant Bergman fan at best, often finding his austerity a bit hard to relate to, but there was no problem here. The tale of a sunny, somewhat spoiled girl being raped and killed by three woodland wanderers is certainly ugly, and Bergman doesn't sugarcoat anything - if anything, I was aghast at how explicit the film is for 1960. Yet depravity is balanced by the foibled humanity that Bergman infuses into nearly every frame - and the framing and cinematography is never ugly, even when what it's capturing is. In fact, I haven't seen a film as downright beautiful as this for a long time. It's a juxtaposition that only adds to the film's great power, ensuring it will stick with me for a very long time.

You do not fuck with Max von Sydow! He exorcises demons! I think he can handle a trio of imbred pagan hillbillies. All joking aside, this film is a masterpiece. I’ve seen the remake of Last House on the Left but have yet to see Craven’s version. I’ll have to check it out soon to see how it compares to The Virgin Spring.

The Virgin Spring is in the vain of The Seventh Seal and Smiles Of A Summer Night w the theatrical flare very present.

many have dealt with loss of innocence but none have gone as far as BERGMAN did.
it is truly a fairy tale but it is not the kind you would tell a child, it is a dark, raw and rough tale.
it is as much a tale of a boy and a girl losing their innocence to a wild world but also a story of revenge and the guilt that follows.
BERGMAN being the man he is never forgets to paint the movie with many shades of religious beliefs and the irony that comes with it.
liked it but not loved it and somehow i never was caught by the wonders on screen.

A bleak, atmospheric revenge tale, The Virgin Spring is another great work from the master. Max Von Sydow puts in one of the greatest performances ever, supported by a strong story and some chilling dialogues. This movie has the power to shock even today, so it is very hard to imagine what it was like back then. Kudos.

Powerful, emotive, thwart with tension, stunning imagery, lots of symbolic questioning of religion, plus a excellent performance from Max Von Sydow.

Call it a masterpiece is doing an understatement. That one scene when Von Sydow is with his back turning to us it's just the most powerful scene in whole movie where Bergman tries to establish a reflexive distance between us and the character and its dilemma. The lack of emotion it's a way to not feel connected and be able to think without being conditioned by any cinematography trick such as the reverse shot.

Brilliant film. Heartbreaking, with fantastic acting and a tense final act. So good.

Haunting and gorgeous and brutal, but with a more optimistic and simplistic outlook than Seventh Seal, and so less to my tastes.

Wow, devastating, powerful film and just about perfect. Max von Sydow...once again, fantastic.

Bergman's early films always appeal to my head more than my heart, and this one is no exception.

Edit: I just rewatched Wild Strawberries as well and it is certainly the exception to my above rule.