Ingmar Bergman is the Oscar-winning Swedish auteur who helped bring international cinema into the American art houses with his stark, brooding dramas. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Bergman started off as a screenwriter before moving into directing. His early hits “Summer with Monika” (1953), “Sawdust and Tinsel” (1953) and “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955) helped make him a favorite amongst American audiences hungry for world cinema.
He hit his stride in 1957 with a pair of noteworthy titles: “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal.” Both films dealt with the absence of God and the inevitability of mortality — the former concerning an aging professor (Victor Sjostrom) coming to terms with his life, the latter focusing on a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) playing a game of chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot...
Born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Bergman started off as a screenwriter before moving into directing. His early hits “Summer with Monika” (1953), “Sawdust and Tinsel” (1953) and “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955) helped make him a favorite amongst American audiences hungry for world cinema.
He hit his stride in 1957 with a pair of noteworthy titles: “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal.” Both films dealt with the absence of God and the inevitability of mortality — the former concerning an aging professor (Victor Sjostrom) coming to terms with his life, the latter focusing on a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) playing a game of chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot...
- 7/8/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The cover of Time magazine once proclaimed Liv Ullmann “Hollywood’s new Nordic star,” a designation that never sat well with the Norwegian actress. She was a committed performer, starring in some of Ingmar Bergman’s greatest films of the Sixties and Seventies. She was an accomplished director, with a résumé that includes the Bergman-scripted 2000 gem Faithless. She became a vocal humanitarian, traveling to hardscrabble parts of the world as a Unicef ambassador. But a star? “I never became a star,” Ullmann tells Rolling Stone in a recent interview to...
- 6/24/2023
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Actress Carrie Coon joins Josh and Joe to discuss the Best of what she’s been watching during the pandemic.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Nest (2020)
Gone Girl (2014)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Sabrina (1954)
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Opening Night (1977)
Husbands (1971)
Too Late Blues (1961)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Faces (1968)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Gloria (1980)
Mephisto (1981)
The Cremator (1969)
Zama (2017)
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)
Wanda (1970)
Blue Collar (1978)
The Lunchbox (2013)
63 Up (2019)
To Sleep With Anger (1990)
Killer of Sheep (1978)
The Glass Shield (1994)
My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)
Cutter’s Way (1981)
Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
The Magician (1958)
The Silence (1963)
The Magic Flute (1975)
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Virgin Spring (1963)
Summer with Monika (1953)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Black Girl (1966)
Fat Girl (2001)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Parasite (2019)
Jesus of Montreal (1989)
Other Notable Items...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Nest (2020)
Gone Girl (2014)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Sabrina (1954)
The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Opening Night (1977)
Husbands (1971)
Too Late Blues (1961)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Faces (1968)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Gloria (1980)
Mephisto (1981)
The Cremator (1969)
Zama (2017)
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)
Wanda (1970)
Blue Collar (1978)
The Lunchbox (2013)
63 Up (2019)
To Sleep With Anger (1990)
Killer of Sheep (1978)
The Glass Shield (1994)
My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)
Cutter’s Way (1981)
Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
The Magician (1958)
The Silence (1963)
The Magic Flute (1975)
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Virgin Spring (1963)
Summer with Monika (1953)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Black Girl (1966)
Fat Girl (2001)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Parasite (2019)
Jesus of Montreal (1989)
Other Notable Items...
- 11/17/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Ingmar Bergman would’ve celebrated his 101st birthday on July 14, 2019. The Oscar-winning Swedish auteur helped bring international cinema into the American art houses with his stark, brooding dramas. But how many of his titles remain classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Bergman started off as a screenwriter before moving into directing. His early hits “Summer with Monika” (1953), “Sawdust and Tinsel” (1953) and “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955) helped make him a favorite amongst American audiences hungry for world cinema.
SEEOscar Best Director Gallery: Every Winner In Academy Award History
He hit his stride in 1957 with a pair of noteworthy titles: “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal.” Both films dealt with the absence of God and the inevitability of mortality — the former concerning an aging professor (Victor Sjostrom) coming to terms with his life,...
Born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Bergman started off as a screenwriter before moving into directing. His early hits “Summer with Monika” (1953), “Sawdust and Tinsel” (1953) and “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955) helped make him a favorite amongst American audiences hungry for world cinema.
SEEOscar Best Director Gallery: Every Winner In Academy Award History
He hit his stride in 1957 with a pair of noteworthy titles: “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal.” Both films dealt with the absence of God and the inevitability of mortality — the former concerning an aging professor (Victor Sjostrom) coming to terms with his life,...
- 7/14/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Tomorrow is the centenary of the birth of one of cinema’s greatest directors, Ingmar Bergman, and to celebrate, The Criterion Collection has announced of their most expansive releases ever. This November, they will release Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, a 39-film box set comprising nearly all of his work, including 18 films never before released by Criterion. Curated akin to a film festival, the set features Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Films, with many double features in between. The set also features 11 introductions and over five hours of interviews with the director himself, six making-of documentaries, a 248-page book, and much more.
As we await for its November 20 release, check out an overview from Criterion below, as well as the box art, the trailer, and the full list of films, in curated order. One can also see much more about each release and the special features on the official site.
With the...
As we await for its November 20 release, check out an overview from Criterion below, as well as the box art, the trailer, and the full list of films, in curated order. One can also see much more about each release and the special features on the official site.
With the...
- 7/13/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
July 14 marks the 100th birthday of writer-director Ingmar Bergman, whom Variety declared on Nov. 24, 1954, to be “Sweden’s top director.” Within three years, Bergman went beyond that: He was recognized as one of the top filmmakers in the entire world, thanks to the 1957 duo of “The Seventh Seal” and “Wild Strawberries.” A year later, Carl Dymling, president of Sweden’s leading production unit Svensk Filmindustri, told Variety that “Seventh Seal” marked a new era in moviemaking: “Bergman uses the film much as an author does his book. As a rule, one can’t afford to be too explicit about one’s own feelings in making a picture. But Bergman does it.” The director made global stars of Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow and inspired young filmmakers around the world for decades with his tales of existential crisis, the tenderness and brutality between individuals, and the pleasures and insanity of sex.
- 6/22/2018
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Above: 1960 Us first release one sheet for A Lesson in Love (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1954).Starting on February 7, The Best Show in Town may well be Film Forum’s Centennial Retrospective of the gargantuan six-decade oeuvre of Ingmar Bergman. 47 films over five weeks, 40 of them brand new digital restorations. Usually in these circumstances I gather as many posters as I can find from a filmmaker's career, but collecting posters for all of Bergman’s work would be a monumental task. And so I’ve decided to cut to the chase and select my ten favorite posters for his films.Most American posters for Bergman’s films—especially those from the 60s and 70s—are unusually wordy and quote-heavy, relying on critical acclaim to sell the latest product from the master. But, as much a visual stylist as a cerebral provocateur, Bergman has inspired many poster artists to great heights over the years.
- 2/2/2018
- MUBI
Any list of the greatest foreign directors currently working today has to include Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The directors first rose to prominence in the mid 1990s with efforts like “The Promise” and “Rosetta,” and they’ve continued to excel in the 21st century with titles such as “The Kid With A Bike” and “Two Days One Night,” which earned Marion Cotillard a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Read MoreThe Dardenne Brothers’ Next Film Will Be a Terrorism Drama
The directors will be back in U.S. theaters with the release of “The Unknown Girl” on September 8, which is a long time coming considering the film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. While you continue to wait for their new movie, the brothers have provided their definitive list of 79 movies from the 20th century that you must see. La Cinetek published the list in full and is hosting many...
Read MoreThe Dardenne Brothers’ Next Film Will Be a Terrorism Drama
The directors will be back in U.S. theaters with the release of “The Unknown Girl” on September 8, which is a long time coming considering the film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. While you continue to wait for their new movie, the brothers have provided their definitive list of 79 movies from the 20th century that you must see. La Cinetek published the list in full and is hosting many...
- 8/7/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Mubi is showing the retrospective The Inner Demons of Ingmar Bergman from June 8 - August 28, 2017 in the United Kingdom.I've told this brief story of how I fell under the spell of cinema so many times I've become brazen to it. At eighteen years, in February 1993, I found Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers (dubbed) at the video store. As Woody Allen spoke of the Swede in hushed tones, I decided I should try a film. Ninety minutes later I sat stunned and spellbound, not sure what to do or think, but surely sure I must be onto something. Cinematic rapture still has a psychical aspect for me, the torque the sedentary body goes through while coping with the images before it. I can always tell how good a film is if my armpits smell after. The body doesn't lie. Ingmar Bergman is an easy crush—one writer I know...
- 6/20/2017
- MUBI
Aaron, Arik Devens, Scott Nye and Travis Trudell dig into the June Criterion announcements, Ingmar Bergman on FilmStruck, Canoa: A Shameful Memory, Werner Herzog versus Klaus Kinski, Iranian Cinema, and plenty of other topics including the latest news from Criterion and FilmStruck.
Episode Notes
1:50 – June Announcements
34:00 – Ingmar Bergman
43:00 – Canoa: A Shameful Memory
49:00 – Criterion Coming Soon & Misc News Items
53:00 – Short Takes (Burden of Dreams, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The House is Black, For Heaven’s Sake)
1:04:00 – FilmStruck
Episode Links Criterion – Ugetsu Criterion – They Live by Night Criterion – The Marseilles Trilogy Criterion – The Lodger Criterion – Straw Dogs Scott Reviews Ingmar Bergman’s The Devil’s Eye CriterionCast 173 – Ingmar Bergman’s Summer Interlude CriterionCast 174 – Ingmar Bergman’s Summer with Monika CriterionCast 175 – Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night A History of Jazz Podcast Arik Reviews Canoa: A Shameful Memory Albert Brooks Tweet about Lost in America...
Episode Notes
1:50 – June Announcements
34:00 – Ingmar Bergman
43:00 – Canoa: A Shameful Memory
49:00 – Criterion Coming Soon & Misc News Items
53:00 – Short Takes (Burden of Dreams, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The House is Black, For Heaven’s Sake)
1:04:00 – FilmStruck
Episode Links Criterion – Ugetsu Criterion – They Live by Night Criterion – The Marseilles Trilogy Criterion – The Lodger Criterion – Straw Dogs Scott Reviews Ingmar Bergman’s The Devil’s Eye CriterionCast 173 – Ingmar Bergman’s Summer Interlude CriterionCast 174 – Ingmar Bergman’s Summer with Monika CriterionCast 175 – Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night A History of Jazz Podcast Arik Reviews Canoa: A Shameful Memory Albert Brooks Tweet about Lost in America...
- 3/20/2017
- by Aaron West
- CriterionCast
We won’t see “Isle of Dogs” until sometime next year, but there are still plenty of Wes Anderson movies to rewatch in the meantime. Vimeo user Candice Drouet has put together a brief video detailing some of the idiosyncratic writer/director’s influences. Avail yourself of it below.
Read More: Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ Crowdfunding Campaign Raises Over $250k for Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation
A number of scenes from Anderson’s films are shown side-by-side with their influences: A train sequence from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” bears a strong resemblance to one in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps,” for instance, while a sequence that finds Willem Dafoe riding a motorcycle in goggles was clearly inspired by “Lawrence of Arabia.”
Read More: ‘Isle of Dogs’ Plot Details Revealed as Fox Searchlight Picks Up Wes Anderson’s Film for 2018 Release
Also featured: “Torn Curtain,” “Vertigo,” “The Red Shoes,...
Read More: Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ Crowdfunding Campaign Raises Over $250k for Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation
A number of scenes from Anderson’s films are shown side-by-side with their influences: A train sequence from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” bears a strong resemblance to one in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps,” for instance, while a sequence that finds Willem Dafoe riding a motorcycle in goggles was clearly inspired by “Lawrence of Arabia.”
Read More: ‘Isle of Dogs’ Plot Details Revealed as Fox Searchlight Picks Up Wes Anderson’s Film for 2018 Release
Also featured: “Torn Curtain,” “Vertigo,” “The Red Shoes,...
- 2/20/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
This time on the podcast, Scott is joined by David Blakeslee, Trevor Berrett, and Arik Devens to discuss Ingmar Bergman’s Summer with Monika.
About the film:
Inspired by the earthy eroticism of Harriet Andersson, in the first of her many roles for him, Ingmar Bergman had a major international breakthrough with this sensual and ultimately ravaging tale of young love. A girl (Andersson) and boy (Lars Ekborg) from working-class families in Stockholm run away from home to spend a secluded, romantic summer at the beach, far from parents and responsibilities. Inevitably, it is not long before the pair are forced to return to reality. The version initially released in the U.S. was reedited by its distributor into something more salacious, but the original Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), presented here, is a work of stunning maturity and one of Bergman’s most important films.
Subscribe to the...
About the film:
Inspired by the earthy eroticism of Harriet Andersson, in the first of her many roles for him, Ingmar Bergman had a major international breakthrough with this sensual and ultimately ravaging tale of young love. A girl (Andersson) and boy (Lars Ekborg) from working-class families in Stockholm run away from home to spend a secluded, romantic summer at the beach, far from parents and responsibilities. Inevitably, it is not long before the pair are forced to return to reality. The version initially released in the U.S. was reedited by its distributor into something more salacious, but the original Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), presented here, is a work of stunning maturity and one of Bergman’s most important films.
Subscribe to the...
- 7/25/2016
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
Dailies is a round-up of essential film writing, news bits, videos, and other highlights from across the Internet. If you’d like to submit a piece for consideration, get in touch with us in the comments below or on Twitter at @TheFilmStage.
Pedro Costa tells Grasshopper Film his 10 favorite films of the last 10 years.
Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jodie Foster, and Paul Schrader give an oral history of Taxi Driver at THR:
We had one screening at the studio in a small screening room for some friends, and then it was shown to the studio. I don’t recall what my friends said, but people were kind of perplexed. I believe it was the next day that the studio saw it and there was a smiling kind of reaction that was very brief. Then I heard word that they were concerned that women wouldn’t like the film. Then,...
Pedro Costa tells Grasshopper Film his 10 favorite films of the last 10 years.
Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jodie Foster, and Paul Schrader give an oral history of Taxi Driver at THR:
We had one screening at the studio in a small screening room for some friends, and then it was shown to the studio. I don’t recall what my friends said, but people were kind of perplexed. I believe it was the next day that the studio saw it and there was a smiling kind of reaction that was very brief. Then I heard word that they were concerned that women wouldn’t like the film. Then,...
- 4/11/2016
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
La Dolce Vita
Directed by Federico Fellini
Written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Italy, 1960
Right from the start of Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita, we know we’re in for something different, something exciting, something audacious. Fellini’s choice of initial imagery announces immediately that this is a film about the contradictions of modern life. First, we get a helicopter carrying a large statue of Christ over Rome. It’s a powerful image with extensive connotations. This holy figure stands as the traditional and the sacred, and is slightly vulgarized in its absurdity here. But it moves on, and what follows further illustrates that things have changed: out with Christ, in with Marcello (Rubini in the film, Mastroianni in real life). He and his “photo reporters,” now known because of this film as paparazzi, take time away from their coverage of the transport to...
Directed by Federico Fellini
Written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Italy, 1960
Right from the start of Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita, we know we’re in for something different, something exciting, something audacious. Fellini’s choice of initial imagery announces immediately that this is a film about the contradictions of modern life. First, we get a helicopter carrying a large statue of Christ over Rome. It’s a powerful image with extensive connotations. This holy figure stands as the traditional and the sacred, and is slightly vulgarized in its absurdity here. But it moves on, and what follows further illustrates that things have changed: out with Christ, in with Marcello (Rubini in the film, Mastroianni in real life). He and his “photo reporters,” now known because of this film as paparazzi, take time away from their coverage of the transport to...
- 10/28/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
I've made no secret when it comes to my love for the work of Federico Fellini's films, especially his classic La Dolce Vita, which was the first entry in my Best Movies section earlier this year. For the longest time I've owned the Koch Lorber, 2-Disc DVD edition of La Dolce Vita, continuously awaiting the day Criterion would be given the chance to add it to their esteemed collection with a transfer the film most definitely deserved. I speculated as to whether it would finally happen once Paramount had been granted exclusive rights last June and lo and behold, it is finally here and the result is exactly what fans of this film have been waiting for with visuals and sound so rich it will be almost as if you are seeing it for the first time. When it comes to the film itself, I'll point you to my...
- 10/16/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
★★★★☆ Centring on one long, hot summer in the lives of two Bratislavan youths as they fall in and out of love, The Sun in a Net (1963) is a sensual, intimate tale of young romance and family dysfunction, set against the backdrop of an eclipse. A triumph of the Czech New Wave, Štefan Uher's second feature is as formally innovative and thematically provocative as you would expect from the movement, and Uher's close analysis of the hard realities of everyday socialism under the regime are cleverly disguised under poetic metaphor. It remains a gem of Slovak cinema, comparable even with Bergman's Summer with Monika (1953).
A teenage photographer, nicknamed Fayolo (Marián Bielik), and his young girlfriend Bela (Jana Beláková) pass the summer sunbathing to the sounds of the radio and indulging in shallow, existential chatter. When their relationship runs into trouble, Fayolo joins a summer work collective and pursues a relationship with...
A teenage photographer, nicknamed Fayolo (Marián Bielik), and his young girlfriend Bela (Jana Beláková) pass the summer sunbathing to the sounds of the radio and indulging in shallow, existential chatter. When their relationship runs into trouble, Fayolo joins a summer work collective and pursues a relationship with...
- 8/13/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.
- 6/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.
- 6/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Time Out has put its heart on its sleeve and shouted its Brief Encounter infatuation from the rooftops. Will you join them in their lovebombing of the 68-year-old classic? Or have your tastes in romantic movies moved on?
Sam played it again, now it's our turn to plug in the turntable and petition you once more for your top romance films of all time. The peg? Time Out's 100 Most Romantic Films of all Time poll, which has been announced today, and which names Brief Encounter as the title most likely to get your heart a-flutter.
But by our reckoning, the Time Out folk are cruising for a bruising; when we came to the same conclusion three years ago, the readers felt we'd done them wrong, and suggested Casablanca was Mr Right when it came to romantic movies.
Do you feel the same? Has your taste for gin joints endured over the past three years?...
Sam played it again, now it's our turn to plug in the turntable and petition you once more for your top romance films of all time. The peg? Time Out's 100 Most Romantic Films of all Time poll, which has been announced today, and which names Brief Encounter as the title most likely to get your heart a-flutter.
But by our reckoning, the Time Out folk are cruising for a bruising; when we came to the same conclusion three years ago, the readers felt we'd done them wrong, and suggested Casablanca was Mr Right when it came to romantic movies.
Do you feel the same? Has your taste for gin joints endured over the past three years?...
- 4/23/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Just when you thought there couldn't be anymore deals this year Amazon goes and lowers their prices on several of their Criterion Blu-ray titles, many of which are priced at $17.99 including personal must owns such as Seven Samurai, Stagecoach, 12 Angry Men, Diabolique, The Thin Red Line, The Wages Of Fear, The Great Dictator, The Night of the Hunter, Rashomon, 8 1/2, Last Year at Marienbad and a major favorite of mine... Breathless. There are even some titles available for preorder such as Terry Gilliam's Brazil and Christopher Nolan's Following along with recently released titles such as Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, David Fincher's The Game and Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. I have broken the titles up into a few categories below based on my personal taste so sort through and give 'em a look and see if you can save a little money on some titles you've been wanting to add to your collection.
- 11/25/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
It's that time of year and Barnes and Noble is selling Criterion Collection titles at 50% off (shop here). The problem is, what do you buy? Well, hopefully I can help you with that as I believe there are certain titles from Criterion that are absolute must owns for any cinemaphile and taking into account you are considering buying Criterion Collection titles in the first place, I'm certainly talking to you. So, with that said, let's dive in as I'll give you what I consider to be the top 15 must own Criterion Blu-ray titles as well as a few alternate considerations here and there. 15.) The Thin Red Line Why Should You Buy It? What else is there to expect other than an absolutely gorgeous film from Terrence Malick and that's exactly what you get from The Thin Red Line, but on top of the film you also get a wealth of special features,...
- 7/11/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Even if the term wasn't coined until the last decade, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl has been with us for centuries, perplexing the imaginations of indie boys and canon authors alike. It may be a fixture of the male psyche to yearn for things it can never truly possess or understand, or it may simply be easier to write for characters whose actions make no logical sense. Whatever the case may be, their origin lays more in male fear and distrust of women than in outdated clothing and Bob Dylan appreciation, and that is reflected in Summer with Monika. Even if the film is pretty sober when it comes to the realities of young love, its simultaneous affection and disgust for its titular character betray it as a point of inspiration for the Zooey Deschanels of the world.
Read more...
Read more...
- 6/12/2012
- by Anders Nelson
- JustPressPlay.net
Ingmar Bergman was not known for being a particularly lighthearted or funny fellow, but it turns out he was not always as dark and brooding as his movies may have lead us to believe. As part of the DVD release package of Summer with Monika, the Criterion Collection has included a translated conversation, first published in the Swedish publication Filmnyheter, in which Bergman interviews himself about his movie. And it’s really funny!
You can check out the entire playful dialogue (or should it be monologue?) at the Criterion Current.
What was it like making Monika?
I didn’t make Monika. [Source novel author and coscreenwriter Per Anders] Fogelström bred her in me and then, like an elephant, I was pregnant for three years, and last summer she was born with a big ballyhoo. Today, she is a beautiful and naughty child. I hope she will cause an emotional uproar and all sorts of reactions. I shall...
You can check out the entire playful dialogue (or should it be monologue?) at the Criterion Current.
What was it like making Monika?
I didn’t make Monika. [Source novel author and coscreenwriter Per Anders] Fogelström bred her in me and then, like an elephant, I was pregnant for three years, and last summer she was born with a big ballyhoo. Today, she is a beautiful and naughty child. I hope she will cause an emotional uproar and all sorts of reactions. I shall...
- 6/7/2012
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
By Allen Gardner
Harold And Maude (Criterion) Hal Ashby’s masterpiece of black humor centers on a wealthy young man (Bud Cort) who’s obsessed with death and the septuagenarian (Ruth Gordon) with whom he finds true love. As unabashedly romantic as it is quirky, with Cat Stevens supplying one of the great film scores of all-time. Fine support from Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, and Ellen Geer. Fine screenplay by Colin Higgins. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson, producer Charles Mulvehill; Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and Higgins; Interview with Cat Stevens. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.
In Darkness (Sony) Agnieszka Holland’s Ww II epic tells the true story of a sewer worker and petty thief in Nazi-occupied Poland who single-handedly helped hide a group of Jews in the city’s labyrinthine sewer system for the duration of the war.
Harold And Maude (Criterion) Hal Ashby’s masterpiece of black humor centers on a wealthy young man (Bud Cort) who’s obsessed with death and the septuagenarian (Ruth Gordon) with whom he finds true love. As unabashedly romantic as it is quirky, with Cat Stevens supplying one of the great film scores of all-time. Fine support from Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, and Ellen Geer. Fine screenplay by Colin Higgins. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson, producer Charles Mulvehill; Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and Higgins; Interview with Cat Stevens. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.
In Darkness (Sony) Agnieszka Holland’s Ww II epic tells the true story of a sewer worker and petty thief in Nazi-occupied Poland who single-handedly helped hide a group of Jews in the city’s labyrinthine sewer system for the duration of the war.
- 6/5/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
In a reprint of his 1958 review of Ingmar Bergman's Summer with Monika, Jean-Luc Godard wrote of the scene captured above (and previewed to the right) saying, "One must see Summer with Monika, if only for the extraordinary minutes when Harriet Andersson, about to sleep with a guy she has left once before, stares fixedly into the camera, her laughing eyes clouded with distress, and calls on the viewer to witness her self-loathing at involuntarily choosing hell over heaven. It is the saddest shot in the history of cinema." The full review is included in the 28-page booklet accompanying Criterion's new Blu-ray release of the film along with an essay by Laura Hubner (read it in full right here) whose interpretation of the shot reads as follows: The static shot of Monika's face is scandalously close up, and she looks steadfastly at us, breaking the cinematic illusion, as the screen darkens around her.
- 6/1/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
#613 Summer Interlude (dir. Ingmar Bergman) 1951 // #614 Summer With Monika (dir. Ingmar Bergman) 1953 “Old age means ugliness. How lucky, Bergman murmurs to us, how lucky that the cinema exists to store up beauty.” - Jean-Luc Godard The Films (84/100): It is spectacularly strange to find a Superman reference in a film by Ingmar Bergman. Hearing someone mention the Man of Steel in 1951’s Summer Interlude makes for a jarring moment, like a (sadly hypothetical) allusion to Wam! in a late-era Tarkovsky movie -- the years line up, but it’s hard to believe that such things could ever co-exist. Superman had been an emerging global icon since Action Comics #1 dropped in 1938, but Bergman’s films, at least for a...
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- 6/1/2012
- by David Ehrlich
- Movies.com
For many filmmakers, the art of crafting a feature film is a very singular act: Get in, get out, change up cast and crew for the next feature, repeat. But with each great filmmaker comes a great collaborator. Spielberg with John Williams, Lars von Trier with Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Kubrick with novels are just a few examples of how filmmaking is truly a team sport. However, there may be very few more successful and worthwhile collaborations than director Ingmar Bergman and his long time director of photography, Gunnar Fischer.
Read more on Blu-ray Review: Summer With Monika (The Criterion Collection)...
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- 5/31/2012
- by Joshua Brunsting
- GordonandtheWhale
By Raymond Benson
The red carpet label Criterion Collection has continued its mining of classic foreign language films by releasing for the first time in the U.S. two pictures that first brought famed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman some attention. Summer Interlude (1951) and Summer with Monika (1953) are both fairly commercial love stories but with a slightly dark flair which only Bergman can produce. Both films are highly erotic (especially Monika) for the time, and these titles contributed to the notion in America that Sweden made sexy movies.
In fact, Summer with Monika was first released in the U.S. as a sexploitation film in 1956 by the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest showman,” Kroger Babb, an exhibitor/producer who specialized in low budget sleaze thinly disguised as “educational material for adults.” Babb re-cut Summer with Monika, added a dubbed English language soundtrack that had little to do with Bergman’s original, laid on a jazzy,...
The red carpet label Criterion Collection has continued its mining of classic foreign language films by releasing for the first time in the U.S. two pictures that first brought famed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman some attention. Summer Interlude (1951) and Summer with Monika (1953) are both fairly commercial love stories but with a slightly dark flair which only Bergman can produce. Both films are highly erotic (especially Monika) for the time, and these titles contributed to the notion in America that Sweden made sexy movies.
In fact, Summer with Monika was first released in the U.S. as a sexploitation film in 1956 by the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest showman,” Kroger Babb, an exhibitor/producer who specialized in low budget sleaze thinly disguised as “educational material for adults.” Babb re-cut Summer with Monika, added a dubbed English language soundtrack that had little to do with Bergman’s original, laid on a jazzy,...
- 5/30/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Reviewer: Philip Tatler IV
Ratings (out of five):
Summer Interlude *** 1/2
Summer with Monika **** 1/2
Watching Ingmar Bergman’s Summer Interlude and Summer With Monika back-to-back has somewhat conflated the two films in my head. The films explore young love during the titular season and both are set in the wind-swept dreamland of Stockholm’s outer archipelago. However, there’s a sharp line that divides the Bergman of Interlude from the Bergman of Monika. Only two years (and one other film – 1952’s Secrets of Women) separate Bergman’s two Summers but it’s clear that that period represented a major shift in the august filmmaker’s sensibilities.
Ratings (out of five):
Summer Interlude *** 1/2
Summer with Monika **** 1/2
Watching Ingmar Bergman’s Summer Interlude and Summer With Monika back-to-back has somewhat conflated the two films in my head. The films explore young love during the titular season and both are set in the wind-swept dreamland of Stockholm’s outer archipelago. However, there’s a sharp line that divides the Bergman of Interlude from the Bergman of Monika. Only two years (and one other film – 1952’s Secrets of Women) separate Bergman’s two Summers but it’s clear that that period represented a major shift in the august filmmaker’s sensibilities.
- 5/29/2012
- by weezy
- GreenCine
Some directors are visual specialists. Look at Spielberg and his use of the close-up, known as the "Spielberg Face." Some are philosophers. Kubrick may be the best of that bunch. Some are aggressively provocative antagonists. No director is more polarizing than Godard. However, one director built his career on blending stark visuals with deep intellectual musing and the occasional religious provocation, wrapping it all up into a single canon that may very well be the deepest collection of films to ever be made by one filmmaker.
Read more on Blu-ray Review: Summer Interlude (The Criterion Collection)...
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- 5/29/2012
- by Joshua Brunsting
- GordonandtheWhale
This week on The Video Score, some of last year's most critically acclaimed art house films finally hit video, in addition to two all-time classics from one of the greats.
Check out our rundown of this week's best releases below!
Pick of the Week
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" (2011)
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Cast: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Story:
A tormented mother grapples with feelings of accountability and intense grief after her troubled 15-year-old son commits an act of violence that shakes their community to its very core.
On the Disc:
Oscilloscope has packed this disc full of need-to-watch features including a behind-the-scenes documentary, an interview with the source novel's author, and a highlight of Tilda Swinton from the Telluride Film Festival.
Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Metacritic: 68
Where to get it
Amazon: Blu-ray - $26.24, DVD - $22.49
Apple: Digital Download - $14.99 (HD: $19.99) Digital Rental - $3.99 (HD: $4.99)
Netflix Instant: Not...
Check out our rundown of this week's best releases below!
Pick of the Week
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" (2011)
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Cast: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Story:
A tormented mother grapples with feelings of accountability and intense grief after her troubled 15-year-old son commits an act of violence that shakes their community to its very core.
On the Disc:
Oscilloscope has packed this disc full of need-to-watch features including a behind-the-scenes documentary, an interview with the source novel's author, and a highlight of Tilda Swinton from the Telluride Film Festival.
Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Metacritic: 68
Where to get it
Amazon: Blu-ray - $26.24, DVD - $22.49
Apple: Digital Download - $14.99 (HD: $19.99) Digital Rental - $3.99 (HD: $4.99)
Netflix Instant: Not...
- 5/29/2012
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
There are no major blockbusters hitting DVD or Blu-ray this week, which means it's a good chance to catch a handful of interesting smaller films that you may have missed in theatres. The highest profile releases are the Amanda Seyfriend thriller Gone and Man on a Ledge starring Sam Worthington; although I can't speak for those, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Seann William Scott hockey comedy Goon and the overlooked drama We Need to Talk About Kevin starring Tilda Swinton. Other interesting indie films include Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus and, from the director of The Last Exorcism, A Necessary Death. Criterion is also putting out Ingmar Bergman's Summer Interlude and Summer with Monika, and as for TV on DVD, the fourth season of True Blood arrives in stores today. Will you be buying or renting anything this week? Check out the full list of releases after the jump. Amazon.
- 5/29/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
We Need to Talk About Kevin I placed this one #4 on my top ten of 2011 and it is one worth owning and I'm glad people can finally see it, even if you won't be able to enjoy it on the big screen where its effect is even that much greater. If you'd like to read my review from last year's Cannes Film Festival where it completely blew me away click here.
Summer Interlude and Summer with Monika
(Criterion Collection) I am going to have a review for these two early Bergman films shortly. I just finished watching the special features on Summer with Monika last night and, in a perfect world, will have a review for you later today.
As for the films, being a huge Bergman fan I loved watching them both. Neither deal much with Bergman's always fascinating exploration of religion, but his constant focus on life, death and love is felt.
Summer Interlude and Summer with Monika
(Criterion Collection) I am going to have a review for these two early Bergman films shortly. I just finished watching the special features on Summer with Monika last night and, in a perfect world, will have a review for you later today.
As for the films, being a huge Bergman fan I loved watching them both. Neither deal much with Bergman's always fascinating exploration of religion, but his constant focus on life, death and love is felt.
- 5/29/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
This week: Sam Worthington plays a prison escapee who orchestrates an intricate heist while clinging to the outside of a tall building in the appropriately titled action thriller "Man on a Ledge."
Also new this week are the Amanda Seyfried thriller "Gone," the hockey-themed comedy "Goon" (no relation), and Ralph Fiennes' adaptation of Shakespeare's "Corionalus."
'Man on a Ledge'
Box Office: $19 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 31% Rotten
Storyline: An ex-cop (Sam Worthington) escapes from prison to prove his innocence and steal the $40 million diamond he was accused of swiping from a ruthless businessman (Ed Harris). With the world watching, he jumpstarts the heist from a precarious ledge of the Roosevelt Hotel as a disgraced negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down and his brother (Jamie Bell) races against time to get the diamond.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain an odd feature: Banks giving funny commentary on the trailer.
Also new this week are the Amanda Seyfried thriller "Gone," the hockey-themed comedy "Goon" (no relation), and Ralph Fiennes' adaptation of Shakespeare's "Corionalus."
'Man on a Ledge'
Box Office: $19 million
Rotten Tomatoes: 31% Rotten
Storyline: An ex-cop (Sam Worthington) escapes from prison to prove his innocence and steal the $40 million diamond he was accused of swiping from a ruthless businessman (Ed Harris). With the world watching, he jumpstarts the heist from a precarious ledge of the Roosevelt Hotel as a disgraced negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down and his brother (Jamie Bell) races against time to get the diamond.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain an odd feature: Banks giving funny commentary on the trailer.
- 5/28/2012
- by Robert DeSalvo
- NextMovie
Moviefone's New Release Pick of the Week "We Need to Talk About Kevin" What's It About? Tilda Swinton stars as the mother of Kevin (Ezra Miller), a disturbed young man who commits a violent Columbine-like school massacre. The film chronicles Kevin's upbringing and attempts to answer whether his mother's parenting is at fault. See It Because: While it's not an easy movie to watch -- lesser films would have laid on the Lifetime TV movie melodrama or tried to wrap it up with a simple answer -- "Kevin" is buoyed by a fantastic set of performances from mother and son. Swinton's chameleon-like ability to convey any character makes her one of the best actors working today, and the 19-year-old Miller deserves all of the critical kudos for his creepy breakout performance. Watch an Exclusive Clip from "We Need to Talk About Kevin" - (Also Available on Redbox | Amazon Instant Video...
- 5/25/2012
- by Eric Larnick
- Moviefone
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: May 29, 2012
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Criterion
Birger Malmsten gets familiar with Maj-Britt Nilsson in Bergman's Summer Interlude.
The 1951 drama-romance Summer Interlude, Swedish master Ingmar Bergman’s (Summer with Monika) tenth film, touches on many of the themes that would define the rest of his legendary career—isolation, performance and the inescapability of the past.
In one of the director’s great early female roles, Maj-Britt Nilsson (To Joy) portrays Marie, an accomplished ballet dancer haunted by her tragic youthful affair with a shy, handsome student (Birger Malmsten, Thirst). Her memories of the rocky shores of Stockholm’s outer archipelago mingle with scenes from her gloomy present, most of them set in the dark backstage environs of the theater where she works.
When interviewed years later, Bergman said that he considered this classic reverie on life and death to be a creative turning point in his career.
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Criterion
Birger Malmsten gets familiar with Maj-Britt Nilsson in Bergman's Summer Interlude.
The 1951 drama-romance Summer Interlude, Swedish master Ingmar Bergman’s (Summer with Monika) tenth film, touches on many of the themes that would define the rest of his legendary career—isolation, performance and the inescapability of the past.
In one of the director’s great early female roles, Maj-Britt Nilsson (To Joy) portrays Marie, an accomplished ballet dancer haunted by her tragic youthful affair with a shy, handsome student (Birger Malmsten, Thirst). Her memories of the rocky shores of Stockholm’s outer archipelago mingle with scenes from her gloomy present, most of them set in the dark backstage environs of the theater where she works.
When interviewed years later, Bergman said that he considered this classic reverie on life and death to be a creative turning point in his career.
- 3/16/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: May 22, 2012
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg are young and in love in Bergman's 1953 Summer with Monika.
Inspired by the earthy eroticism of his muse Harriet Andersson (Smiles of a Summer Night), in the first of her many film roles for him, Ingmar Bergman (Face to Face) had a major international breakthrough with his 1953 drama-romance Summer with Monika.
Set in Stockholm, the sensual tale of young love tells of a girl (Andersson) and boy (Lars Ekborg, The Magician) from working-class families who run away from home to spend a secluded, romantic summer at the beach, far from parents and responsibilities. Inevitably, it’s not long before the pair is forced to return to reality.
The version of the classic film originally released in the U.S. was re-edited by its distributor into notably more salacious kind of film, but the original Summer with Monika...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg are young and in love in Bergman's 1953 Summer with Monika.
Inspired by the earthy eroticism of his muse Harriet Andersson (Smiles of a Summer Night), in the first of her many film roles for him, Ingmar Bergman (Face to Face) had a major international breakthrough with his 1953 drama-romance Summer with Monika.
Set in Stockholm, the sensual tale of young love tells of a girl (Andersson) and boy (Lars Ekborg, The Magician) from working-class families who run away from home to spend a secluded, romantic summer at the beach, far from parents and responsibilities. Inevitably, it’s not long before the pair is forced to return to reality.
The version of the classic film originally released in the U.S. was re-edited by its distributor into notably more salacious kind of film, but the original Summer with Monika...
- 3/14/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Photos from John Carter, The Raven, Snow White and the Huntsman, Project X, The Amazing Spider-Man, and set photos of Jaden Smith shooting After Earth along with Van Damme shooting Welcome to the Jungle.
Posters for Wrath of the Titans, Marley, Lockout, and John Carter, the second season of Game of Thrones, and the novelisation of Snow White and the Huntsman.
"Liam Neeson is reportedly being lined up to play Lyndon B. Johnson in Lee Daniels' "The Butler", joining a cast that potentially includes John Cusack, Hugh Jackman, Mila Kunis and David Oyelowo…" (full details)
"Cirque du Soleil will deliver a one-time-only performance at the 84th Academy Awards, one that will feature the largest Cirque cast ever assembled for a single act and accompanied by music by Danny Elfman…" (full details)
"'Star Trek' actor Chris Pine is being subjected to a lawsuit by his former talent agency...
Posters for Wrath of the Titans, Marley, Lockout, and John Carter, the second season of Game of Thrones, and the novelisation of Snow White and the Huntsman.
"Liam Neeson is reportedly being lined up to play Lyndon B. Johnson in Lee Daniels' "The Butler", joining a cast that potentially includes John Cusack, Hugh Jackman, Mila Kunis and David Oyelowo…" (full details)
"Cirque du Soleil will deliver a one-time-only performance at the 84th Academy Awards, one that will feature the largest Cirque cast ever assembled for a single act and accompanied by music by Danny Elfman…" (full details)
"'Star Trek' actor Chris Pine is being subjected to a lawsuit by his former talent agency...
- 2/17/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Dubbed “The Most Absurd Hollywood Movie Ever?”, the fantastic and trippy Spike Jonze fantasy film “Being John Malkovich” gets the headline Criterion Blu-ray treatment in May, packed full with some delightful extras.
Though I must say usually Criterion are absurdly spot on with their selection cover choice for each month but the Malkovich set isn’t the artwork I would have chosen. Sure it’s a fun idea but damnit I want my Being John Malkovich Blu-ray to be full of Malkovich’s in dresses and make-up.
Artwork is below;
Being John Malkovich’s Criterion Blu-ray comes with selective scene audio commentary from Michel Gondry (who had nothing to do with the movie except he is friends of writer Charlie Kaufman), two documentaries by collaborator Lance Bangs, two films-within-the film and a conversation between John Malkovich and humorist John Hodgman.
Sadly there’s no new Spike Jonze DVD commentary to add,...
Though I must say usually Criterion are absurdly spot on with their selection cover choice for each month but the Malkovich set isn’t the artwork I would have chosen. Sure it’s a fun idea but damnit I want my Being John Malkovich Blu-ray to be full of Malkovich’s in dresses and make-up.
Artwork is below;
Being John Malkovich’s Criterion Blu-ray comes with selective scene audio commentary from Michel Gondry (who had nothing to do with the movie except he is friends of writer Charlie Kaufman), two documentaries by collaborator Lance Bangs, two films-within-the film and a conversation between John Malkovich and humorist John Hodgman.
Sadly there’s no new Spike Jonze DVD commentary to add,...
- 2/17/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Cinematographer who brought a sensuous style to 12 of Ingmar Bergman's films
The Swedish cinematographer Gunnar Fischer, who has died aged 100, could be said to have created the "look" of Ingmar Bergman's films, crystallised in three of the director's masterpieces: Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries (both 1957). From Port of Call (1948) to The Devil's Eye (1960), 12 films in all, Fischer was able to make visible Bergman's visions.
He was born in Ljungby, in southern Sweden. After spending three years in the Swedish navy as a chef, he attended the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm, where he studied with the celebrated decorative artist Otte Sköld. He had an apprenticeship in cinematography at Svensk Filmindustri (Sf), the country's leading production company. His mentor there was the cinematographer Julius Jaenzon, who worked with the two great masters of Swedish silent cinema, Victor Sjöström and Mauritz Stiller. This...
The Swedish cinematographer Gunnar Fischer, who has died aged 100, could be said to have created the "look" of Ingmar Bergman's films, crystallised in three of the director's masterpieces: Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries (both 1957). From Port of Call (1948) to The Devil's Eye (1960), 12 films in all, Fischer was able to make visible Bergman's visions.
He was born in Ljungby, in southern Sweden. After spending three years in the Swedish navy as a chef, he attended the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm, where he studied with the celebrated decorative artist Otte Sköld. He had an apprenticeship in cinematography at Svensk Filmindustri (Sf), the country's leading production company. His mentor there was the cinematographer Julius Jaenzon, who worked with the two great masters of Swedish silent cinema, Victor Sjöström and Mauritz Stiller. This...
- 6/14/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Updated.
"Gunnar Fischer, a cinematographer whose use of stark lighting and sharp focus lent mood and psychological depth to a dozen of Ingmar Bergman's early films, including The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, died on Saturday in Stockholm," reports William Grimes for the New York Times. "He was 100."
"He is widely recognized as the first cinematographer to capture with unparalleled beauty the cruelty, sensuality and selfishness that often collided in the same scene among Bergman's anguished characters." Adam Bernstein: "Fischer's great skill was in monochrome,' or black and white, film historian and Bergman scholar Peter Cowie told The Washington Post in 2008. 'He gave Bergman's films that unique expressionistic look, with their brilliant contrasts in every gradation of black and white.' He translated Bergman's themes of emotional isolation, sexual anguish and fear of death into unforgettable images: cold Scandinavian sunlight sparkling off water in Summer Interlude (1951) and...
"Gunnar Fischer, a cinematographer whose use of stark lighting and sharp focus lent mood and psychological depth to a dozen of Ingmar Bergman's early films, including The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, died on Saturday in Stockholm," reports William Grimes for the New York Times. "He was 100."
"He is widely recognized as the first cinematographer to capture with unparalleled beauty the cruelty, sensuality and selfishness that often collided in the same scene among Bergman's anguished characters." Adam Bernstein: "Fischer's great skill was in monochrome,' or black and white, film historian and Bergman scholar Peter Cowie told The Washington Post in 2008. 'He gave Bergman's films that unique expressionistic look, with their brilliant contrasts in every gradation of black and white.' He translated Bergman's themes of emotional isolation, sexual anguish and fear of death into unforgettable images: cold Scandinavian sunlight sparkling off water in Summer Interlude (1951) and...
- 6/14/2011
- MUBI
Sad news tonight folks. Longtime Ingmar Bergman collaborator, Gunnar Fischer, has passed away earlier today at the ripe old age of 100. I just saw the Masters Of Cinema twitter feed posting a link to this Swedish web site (HD.se), announcing that he had died earlier today in Sweden.
From the translated story:
Gunnar Fischer out of time
The photographer and film director Gunnar Fischer died on Saturday, 100 years old.
Stockholm. He worked closely with Ingmar Bergman in the 50′s in classic films such as Summer with Monika, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and The Magician.
- He passed away in the afternoon. This fall, he would have turned 101 years, says his son and cinematographer Jens Fischer said.
Gunnar Fischer was employed by the Swedish Film Industry 1935-1970 and the 1970-75 Svt.
Fischer‘s cinematography is well represented in the Criterion Collection. You can find him working with Bergman early...
From the translated story:
Gunnar Fischer out of time
The photographer and film director Gunnar Fischer died on Saturday, 100 years old.
Stockholm. He worked closely with Ingmar Bergman in the 50′s in classic films such as Summer with Monika, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and The Magician.
- He passed away in the afternoon. This fall, he would have turned 101 years, says his son and cinematographer Jens Fischer said.
Gunnar Fischer was employed by the Swedish Film Industry 1935-1970 and the 1970-75 Svt.
Fischer‘s cinematography is well represented in the Criterion Collection. You can find him working with Bergman early...
- 6/12/2011
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
This past Monday, February 14, David F. Friedman passed away at the age of 87. As a producer and distributor, Friedman certainly left his mark on the history of cinema, ranging from classical exploitation in the 1940s, the European import boom of the ’50s, the nudies and slashers of the ’60s, and the modern exploitation era of the ’70s. He’ll forever be one of the greatest champions of fun, excessive cinema, a true legend in the “give-the-people-what-they-want” tradition, back when that actually meant something.
Friedman’s first major foray into the exploitation world came from working with Kroger Babb after World War II. Babb was one of the great classical exploitation kingpins, and he brought Friedman on to work on publicity and distribution for his roadshow titles. Among dozens of others, Friedman helped Babb peddle Mom And Dad, the sex-hygiene film that was among the top 10 highest grossing films of both the 1940s and the 1950s.
Friedman’s first major foray into the exploitation world came from working with Kroger Babb after World War II. Babb was one of the great classical exploitation kingpins, and he brought Friedman on to work on publicity and distribution for his roadshow titles. Among dozens of others, Friedman helped Babb peddle Mom And Dad, the sex-hygiene film that was among the top 10 highest grossing films of both the 1940s and the 1950s.
- 2/18/2011
- by Daniel Metz
- OriginalAlamo.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
By Raymond Benson
Once again The Criterion Collection digs into master director Ingmar Bergman’s vault and brings us his exquisite, enigmatic film from 1958, The Magician (originally titled The Face in the UK; in fact, the Swedish title, Ansiktet, means “Face”).
Set sometime in the 1800s, the story concerns a traveling magic and medicine show called “Vogler’s Magnetic Health Theater.” The troupe consists of Vogler (Max von Sydow), the mute magician of the picture’s title, his “ward,” Mr. Aman (Ingrid Thulin in disguise, although it’s no surprise that the character is a woman), Tubal (Ake Fridell), who acts as manager/spokesman, and the inscrutable Granny (Naima Wifstrand), an old witch who dabbles in love potions. Picked up along the road is an alcoholic actor, Spegel (Bengt Ekerot, who was memorable as Death in The Seventh Seal).
Before the company...
By Raymond Benson
Once again The Criterion Collection digs into master director Ingmar Bergman’s vault and brings us his exquisite, enigmatic film from 1958, The Magician (originally titled The Face in the UK; in fact, the Swedish title, Ansiktet, means “Face”).
Set sometime in the 1800s, the story concerns a traveling magic and medicine show called “Vogler’s Magnetic Health Theater.” The troupe consists of Vogler (Max von Sydow), the mute magician of the picture’s title, his “ward,” Mr. Aman (Ingrid Thulin in disguise, although it’s no surprise that the character is a woman), Tubal (Ake Fridell), who acts as manager/spokesman, and the inscrutable Granny (Naima Wifstrand), an old witch who dabbles in love potions. Picked up along the road is an alcoholic actor, Spegel (Bengt Ekerot, who was memorable as Death in The Seventh Seal).
Before the company...
- 10/19/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The 39th annual Festival du Nouveau Cinema is set to run in Montreal on Oct 13-24. But, within the overall, massive festival is the Fnc Lab, the avant-garde and experimental section that will be having screenings and live film performances every night on Oct. 14-22.
This year, the Fnc Lab is showcasing two retrospectives; plus, a short film program of strictly 16mm films, films from the Korean Jeonju Digital Project, four feature-length projects and several special one-of-a-kind performances.
The retrospectives are of two key American women experimental filmmakers. First, in conjunction with the Double Negative Collective, the fest presents a career overview of Chick Strand, the eminent ethnographic filmmaker who sadly passed away last year at the age of 77.
Then, there’s also a retrospective of playful avant-garde filmmaker Marie Losier, who is well known for her collaborations with and film portraits of key underground figures like George Kuchar, Tony Conrad and Genesis P-Orridge.
This year, the Fnc Lab is showcasing two retrospectives; plus, a short film program of strictly 16mm films, films from the Korean Jeonju Digital Project, four feature-length projects and several special one-of-a-kind performances.
The retrospectives are of two key American women experimental filmmakers. First, in conjunction with the Double Negative Collective, the fest presents a career overview of Chick Strand, the eminent ethnographic filmmaker who sadly passed away last year at the age of 77.
Then, there’s also a retrospective of playful avant-garde filmmaker Marie Losier, who is well known for her collaborations with and film portraits of key underground figures like George Kuchar, Tony Conrad and Genesis P-Orridge.
- 10/6/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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