The New Land

"From "The Emigrants" dream, come the settlers struggle to survive..."

1972 3h 22m SV

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 110

DramaWesternHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Swedish immigrant family struggles to adapt to their new life on the American frontier during the second half of the 19th century amidst civil war, native uprising and the lure of gold in California.

“From "The Emigrants" dream, come the settlers struggle to survive...”

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Cast

Max von Sydow
Karl Oskar
Liv Ullmann
Kristina
Eddie Axberg
Robert
Pierre Lindstedt
Arvid
Allan Edwall
Danjel
Monica Zetterlund
Ulrika
Hans Alfredson
Jonas Petter
Agneta Prytz
Fina-Kajsa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jan Troell
Writers: Bengt Forslund, Jan Troell
Languages: English, Swedish
Countries: Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 202 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Swedish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Emigrants Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jan Troell, shot by Jan Troell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bengt Ernryd. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jan Troell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jan Troell directs. Jan Troell behind the camera. Bengt Ernryd scores. Jan Troell cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in English, Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 202 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Swedish.
4Part of the "The Emigrants Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Jan Troell, shot by Jan Troell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bengt Ernryd. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jan Troell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "From "The Emigrants" dream, come the settlers struggle to survive...".
10IMDB entry: tt0069035 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jan Troell
Original score: Bengt Ernryd
Editing: Jan Troell
Production design: P.A. Lundgren
Costume design: Ulla-Britt Söderlund
Makeup / hair: Cecilia Drott
Sound: Berndt Frithiof
Runtime: 202 min · 3h 22m
Status: Released
Original language: SV
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The New Land (1972)

Awards

National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Emigrants Collection

This monumental mid-nineteenth-century epic from Jan Troell charts, over the course of two films, a Swedish farming family’s voyage to America and their efforts to put down roots in this beautiful but forbidding new world. Movie legends Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, respectively portray Karl Oskar and Kristina, a couple who meet with one physical and emotional trial after another on their arduous journey. The precise, minute detail with which Troell depicts the couple’s story—which is also that of countless other people who sought better lives across the Atlantic—is a wonder to behold. Engrossing at every step of the way, the duo of The Emigrants and The New Land makes for perhaps the greatest screen drama about the settling of America. The film series is based on a series of four novels by the Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg. The novels are The Emigrants (1949), Unto a Good Land (1952), The Settlers (1956), and The Last Letter Home (1959).