I just completed my "Ingmar Bergman Marathon"! Over the past three weeks, my wife and I watched 11 classic films from the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (born 1918).
It started off about three weeks ago when I rented "Wild Strawberries" on a whim. I had first seen it in 1970. After thoroughly enjoying it, we decided to re-immerse ourselves in Bergman. These are the films we watched: (the ones with the * are ones I had seen before in the early 1970s)
Smiles of A Summer Night* (1955)
The Seventh Seal (1957)*
Wild Strawberries (1958)*
Virgin Spring (1960)
Through A Glass Darkly (1961)*
Winter Light (1962)*
The Silence (1963)
Persona (1966)
The Passion of Anna (1969)*
Cries and Whispers (1972)*
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)*
As I watched them, I couldn't help but compare my feelings about these films to the feelings I had when I first watched them over thirty-five years ago. Back then, I was a student in my early twenties trying to open my mind up to the big issues of life. At that time, these films helped do just that. Today, I'm in my late fifties and have had my own life experience, and these films helped to put that in perspective.
When I first saw "The Seventh Seal," "Wild Strawberries," and "Winter Light," I was entranced, delighted and provoked by the big metaphysical issues Bergman confronted and explored. Plus Bergman's writing is outstanding. These three films still stand up well today, and rightly deserve to be called "Classics."
When I saw "The Passion of Anna" and "Cries and Whispers" in theatrical release in the early 1970s, I was amazed by their ideas, boldness, and subject matter. When I saw them again, I was less impressed. The late 1960s and early 1970s were a confusing time, and Bergman's own confusion comes out clearly — especially in "The Passion of Anna." Now that I've had my own taste of life (business, marriage, fatherhood, death of loved ones, etc.), I scratched my head over some of the decisions his characters made. These films, nonetheless, are still provocative and worth seeing.
What's especially enjoyable about Bergman is he presents us with consistent glimpses into his evolving vision of God, man's place in the world, love, human relationships, and fear. I use the word "consistent" because Bergman uses the same film technicians and actors repeatedly. In a way, it's comforting to see Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, and Gunnar Bjornstrand, and then Liv Ullman, and Erland Josephson adopt different roles in his work. I use the word "evolving" because Bergman moved from a religious/metaphysical orientation to an existential one.
Bergman, along with Kubrick, Kurosawa, and Fellini, is one of the six or seven greatest directors of the second half of the twentieth century. Watching eleven of his films in a short period was fun, personally revealing, and above all inspiring!
If you haven't seen a Bergman film in a while, check one out. Criterion has done a fine job of bringing the films to the DVD format and adding special features and commentaries. The so-called "Trilogy" from the early 1960s — "Through A Glass Darkly," "Winter Light," and "The Silence" — is not a bad place to begin.
What are your favorite Bergman films?
I haven't seen a Bergman film in decades... probably the late 70's. I did see a copy of "the seventh seal" in my local video store... except it was on video not dvd... & i no longer have a video player... I'll have to keep looking
Thanks for reminding me of these films
Posted by: michael bells | 29 January 2007 at 02:27 PM
Roger
My favorite Bergman film came after the 11 in your list: Fanny & Alexander. One of the ways I love any film is to "take the journey through the eyes" of one of the characters - more blandly called "character identification". I easily identify with young Alexander's torments, conquests and redemption. The dilemmas his mother (played by Liv Ullman) faces between her children and new husband -- are deeply inviting to empathize with. Having created a puppet troupe myself, the uncle with the marionettes seems like a kindred spirit -- seeking justice in an unfair world through theatrical tensions and resolutions. The mysterious connections with the spirit world (previous spooky suicide, haunting, voodoo curse, ghost) are balanced by an "action thriller" plot where grown-ups conspire to secretly extract Alexander from his stepfather's house. Alexander ends up tougher to face his adversaries -- without losing his innocence to connect with the divine. That paradoxical combination of tough/innocent traits has a spellbinding effect on me.
Posted by: Tom Haskins | 29 January 2007 at 03:52 PM
Michael: That's interesting that an appliance — in this case the VHS video player — that became a part of everyone's living room almost overnight in the 1980s has just about disappeared. I think we have only one left — as part of a DVD/VHS player — but it's on an old TV and I don't think I've ever watched tape on it.
Tom: Thanks for the recommendation. "Fanny & Alexander" is one of the few I haven't seen. I'll put it in my Netflix queue. "Autumn Sonata" is the most recent one I've seen, and that was ages ago when it came out in the theaters.
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 29 January 2007 at 07:36 PM
You mentioned Federico Fellini, and I couldn't help myself talking about him -- he was born in the same area as my parents although he ended up living most of his life in Rome.
In "Amarcord" he chronicled many of the situations and conversations of my mother's and father's youth -- and used dialect; which in that area sounds more like a separate language than Italian.
As for Bergman -- "Winter Light" would be a good start, I agree. Thank you for the inspiration.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | 29 January 2007 at 07:37 PM
I'm more of a Fellini fan than Bergman's - although - as you point out both geniuses of the medium.
Posted by: Phillip Marzella | 29 January 2007 at 08:28 PM
If you even have the chance go to Gotland, or better yet Faro, where Bergman filmed many of his classics. Spring or fall are the best times to get a Bergman-like feeling. Summer is simply beautiful. Bergman still lives on Faro. Don't try to find him.
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Posted by: BenP | 30 January 2007 at 04:39 PM
Valeria and Phillip: I've seen probably five Fellini films over the years. Probably time to do a Fellini marathon.
Robert: Thanks for the advice. I've heard Bergman's something of a recluse.
Ben: Good luck with your venture.
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