By DAVID KRAUS
In June the Library of Congress obtained videocassettes of 10 classic Norwegian films, a Norwegian newsreel and four modern Icelandic films. These motion pictures, the very first from the two countries in the Library's collection, were acquired by Robert Roth of the Education, Sports and Recreation Team in the Social Sciences Cataloging Division, at the request of the European Division and the Motion Picture, Braodcasting and Recorded Sound Division.
Originally produced between 1938 and 1975, the Norwegian films were recently released on videocassette in the series Norske Klassikere (Norwegian Classics). Almost every genre is represented in the small collection acquired by the Library. Among them is "Eli Sjursdotter" (1938), the first historical film made in Norway; the madcap mystery "Den forsvunde pþlsemaker" ("The Sausage-Maker Vanishes"), made in the early years of the German occupation of Norway and featuring the comedy team of Juster and Diesen, a Norwegian version of Laurel and Hardy; and "Ti gutter of en gjente" ("Ten Boys and a Girl" (1944), the first Norwegian children's film.
The other films obtained were: "Doden er et Kjortegn" ("Death Is a Caress") (1949), "Kontakt" ("Contact") (1955), "De dodes tjern" ("Dead Man's Lake") (1958), "Ung flukt" ("Young Escape") (1959), "Stov på hjernen" ("Dust on the Brain") (1959), "Himmel & helvete" ("Heaven & Hell") (1969) and "Min Marion" ("My Marion") (1975).
In "Ung flukt" the Library acquired a memorable film in Norwegian cinema. It was in this drama of young love that Liv Ullmann made her film debut. In her autobiography, Changing, Ms. Ullmann wrote of the film: "At the premiere of my first film, "Young Escape," one of my great-uncles went to the director of the Oslo Cinemas and asked if anything could be done to stop its being shown. In the film I bathed naked in a forest lake and the Ullmann behind was clearly visible for all to see. The film was reported to the police by a certain Pastor Moll, who made a habit of reporting nakedness whenever he encountered it -- whether in sculpture or in a newspaper account of a naked dancer. Family scandal. Grandma ran into difficulties at her old people's home, because she had invited all the ladies in the corridor to the premiere. Things did not improve for her when I sent a poem to a magazine, signing her name, and they returned it to her with a note saying it was too erotic."
Shown at the cinema with many of the feature films mentioned above was "Filmavisen" ("The Film News"), a counterpart of our own "Movietone News." Now available on videocassette, this weekly newsreel was an important source of national and international news until television came to Norway. LC acquired one volume of the series.
The Icelandic films obtained were "Ótlaginn" ("The Outlaw") (1981); the musical comedy "Meþ allt hreinu" ("On Top") (1982), which has been seen by 40 percent of the population of Iceland; "Skammdegi" ("Winter Days" (1985), a psychological thriller; and "Sódóma Reykjavík," a Cannes Film Festival entry.
David Kraus is assistant chief of the European Division.