User Reviews

This is a comedy in a more Shakespearean way than what an American would see as comedy. This drama/play begins in Hell where Satan is upset because he has a sty in his eye. It seems that if one were to get a virgin to allow herself to be despoiled before marriage, the eye would be cured. So the Devil sends the great lover, Don Juan, to perform just the task. He has been in Hell for over 300 years and embraces the challenge. He takes with him his Sancho Panza like character, and they invite themselves into the home of a vicar who has the lovely daughter and a hypochondriac wife who is hiding from the world. While Don Juan goes after the daughter, Pablo, the other guy goes after the wife. He has also been getting ready for as long as his master. They are accompanied by a demon who is sort of their chaperon since Pablo has been told not to mess around. What is interesting is that Don Juan is able to start making inroads immediately into the young woman who is ready to marry in a few days. What happens is a kind of commentary on faithfulness, adventure, religion, and any number of subjects. What is also interesting is how this invasion shows the cracks in the foundation and invites the characters to figure out how to deal with them. There are also a few slams made against the idea of heaven and hell and God and Satan. This is a really interesting film and probably good because Bergman can't turn off his talent.

Beelzebub has a sty on is eye, not really sure what it might signify, but he's discovered a virgin who he wants to tempt, so he's recruited Don Juan, to make an attempt. Diablo has a sty on his eye, an irritant that he wants to rectify, along with Pablo, Don Juan will seduce, the innocent maiden he plans to defuse. Lucifer has a sty on his eye, it lessens the effect and demystifies, perhaps clouds his perspective of what can be done, with respect to diminishing Britt-Marie's future fun. Satan has a sty on his eye, it's really starting to dissatisfy, as inversely proportional to what he intends, his cunning ploy pays almost no dividends.

I admire Ingmar Bergman, Sweden's greatest director, hugely. His films are incredibly well made and thought-provoking, as well as on the most part superbly directed and acted complete with memorable images. The Devil's Eye is not one of his best, it does get off to a slow start, the ending does feel rather weak and there are a few scenes that feel a little too talky. However, it is still worth watching, even if not up to the standards set by The Seventh Seal, Fanny and Alexander, Wild Strawberries, Cries and Whispers, Persona and The Virgin Spring a "lesser" from one of cinema's most influential directors is still better than some directors when at their best. The Devil's Eye is not the most stunning visually of Bergman's films, but it is still skillfully made and has nothing that comes across as cheap. The music is simple, but hauntingly beautiful at the same time. The story is atypical Bergman, with a structure that is very like it was set out as a play but it is also wonderfully ironic, while the script on the most part is funny with a couple of thoughtful moments. Bergman's direction may not show him on his best form but still shows a director who knows what he's doing and what he wants. The performances are fine, Bibbi Andersson does give a strong performance, Nils Poppe is very funny and Jarl Kulle displays a lot of verve as the playboy released from Hell sort of character. Gunner Bjornstrand is good to see, though he has been better. Overall, worth watching, funny and interesting. Just not one of Bergman's crowning jewels. 7/10 Bethany Cox

For a long time unavailable on DVD, this 2007 Tartan release finally addresses that, but is it worth it?

Like most, I love classic Bergman and find anything else by him interesting, at the very least. Coming just after the heavy and emotionally draining making of his The Virgin Spring, in 1960, the DVD blurb tells us that the director needed to 'tell a joke' - this resulting oddity revealing a waspish comedic streak from someone known as a deep, complex and often depressive writer and director.

It launched Bibbi Anderson, who would become Bergman's famous face in his massive hits Persona and Wild Strawberries. In The Devil's Eye, she plays the virgin Britt-Marie, daughter of a cleric. At age 20, the Devil has decided she's ripe for de-flowering, but she's promised to a boring but reliable older man. Taking the form of Don Juan, the infamous Lothario of legend, the devil attempts to seduce her. Who will win? Heaven, or Hell, or indeed, both?

From the very outset, with its odd introduction and even odder harpsichord note, this one is set to be a comedy. It's very theatrical; caricatures and grotesques mix with the ordinary, mirrors and imaginative sets convey hell. Period detail rubs shoulders with 20th century Scandinavian domesticity. One can see many possible influences, all moulded in a vast cooking pot and quite a strange mixture is the result.

I'm sure one could look into it all a lot deeper than I did - one of the greatest things about Bergman is that most of his films can be watched at a differing angle and a whole new aspect is highlighted, helped enormously by his intelligent and often poetic dialogue. Watching late at night when concentration levels were ebbing, I took it as it was presented - amusing, satirical, with sexual references, a wit and with a big sparkle in this Devil's Eye.

To answer my question - yes, it is good, but oddly, so un-Bergman like (though some scenes in Fanny & Alexander, for example, share this mischief) I wouldn't say that this film is essential Bergman. For those who want all he did, then yes, obviously and maybe those who want to know more about his inner psyche. Those expecting a more formal classic, might be well put-off, it's the sort of 'what the hell is this?' that may well result in the 'stop' button on the remote being pressed.

The transfer quality is excellent though the subtitles appear slightly smaller and more 'European' than on other Tartan Bergman's I have.

The screenplay is the most interesting element of this film: it presents an original tale with some bits of humour along the way. It is a bit too verbose and talkative now and again, which is very distracting from what is happening on screen, but it very amusing whenever it is amusing. The movie is filmed in a play-like fashion, separated into three acts, and narrated in part. This makes the film feel more like a play, and it does limit Bergman to how much skill he can show as a director. There are still nevertheless some well set up shots, in particular in relation to framing, lightness and darkness. The ending is a tad weak, but the bulk of the film is oddly engaging - atypical and yet still admirable Bergman.

A woman's chastity gives the Devil sty in his eye, so he sends Don Juan back to Earth from Hell to seduce her, but the modern-day woman finds his old-fashioned charm amusing rather than irresistible.No masterpiece but funny and Nils Poppe has some really funny scenes.

Rating:4/5

Full disclosure - I tend to like movies with the devil in them. I also love brooding characters, and weighty questions about life and love, and this film has all of the above.

The premise is that in keeping with an Irish proverb, the Devil has a stye on his eye because a woman is about to be married, but is still a virgin. In this case, she's the daughter of a vicar. He sends Don Juan and his sidekick back to earth along with a demon to oversee them, with the mission of deflowering her before the wedding. Things get complicated when Don Juan quickly develops real feelings for her, and his sidekick falls for and begins seducing her mother.

Don Juan is brooding, hating both God and the Devil equally for the morality game they play. On the one hand he boldly says "the lack of principles is my principle, vice my virtue, debauchery my asceticism, godlessness my religion." On the other hand, he betrays real sadness when he says "Those capable of love are very few. Their suffering has no limit. I am told they are mirrors which reflect God, and make life easier for us wretches in the dark." Such brilliant dialog is Bergman at his best.

The vicar's wife is a complicated character as well – wondering about her husband's love, whether he would be sorry if she died, and telling him that life "is like a comedy – you see me in one part, others see me in another. No one sees my real self", as she seriously ponders whether to sleep with the sidekick. Such a poignant scene, especially as the vicar is a paragon of virtue, desperately wanting to understand her, saying he'll still love her if she sleeps with another, and later overcoming the demon's temptation to try to catch her in the act.

So both women, mother and daughter, are faced with the temptation of adultery – one just before her marriage, and the other in middle-age. Both are swayed by pent-up passion, sweet words, and pity – but their feelings and actions are far from simple. Will love be enough to shield them from temptation, even when it truly touches their hearts? I won't spoil it.

In addition to all of that, I loved the little touches in the movie, including the ministers in hell advising Don Juan on the art of seduction, the demon morphing into a black cat, and the punishment of Don Juan in hell which consisted of nightly dreams of rendezvous with sensuous women, only to be woken up before he could get his satisfaction ("the performance is over, Don Juan"). One of his later punishments is somewhat shocking given the movie was made in 1960 – he's forced to listen to a demon gives a play by play description of the sounds the one woman he cares about is making while having sex, starting with her panting and ending in an orgasm so violent she's weeping tears of joy. My goodness.

Playful, weighty, sacrilegious, creative, well cast, and well filmed – 'The Devil's Eye' may not be Bergman's best movie but it's quite good. I think it's unfair to knock it down based on his other classics – imagine if it was made by someone else! But no, with all of the elements we see here, this is distinctive Bergman.

Down in Hell, devilishly wicked Stig Jarrel (as Satan) has acquired a sty in his eye. According to an old Irish proverb, "A woman's chastity is a sty in the devil's eye." This painful condition is attributed to a 20-year-old woman on Earth who has decided to remain a virgin until her upcoming wedding night. Satan surmises, we are told (by a helpful on-screen host), that if he can get pretty Bibi Andersson (as Britt-Marie) to sinfully deflower, the Devil will be relieved of his sty. Enter and exit debonair Jarl Kulle (as Don Juan). The legendary lover is serving time in Hell, naturally. His punishment consists of endless seductions without the climactic ending. You may see where this is going...

To wit, Don Juan is sent to Earth where he'll hopefully seduce Ms. Andersson and relieve both himself and the Devil...

Ingmar Bergman begins the comedy with clever direction and settings in Hell. Imagine an old Shakespearian play, with no curtain or audience. The set-up is intriguing and initial trip to Earth heightens anticipation. Then, the story becomes unexpectedly dull. More quaint than clever, Andersson's romantic situation is the main disappointment. Saving the trip is Mr. Kulle's servant Sture Lagerwall (as Pablo), by going after pastor's wife Gertrud Fridh (as Renata). You have to wonder why Richard Burton, a great lover of the Faustian sort, did not re-make the original play as an English language film. Either he couldn't obtain the rights or felt Elizabeth might be unconvincing as the virgin.

******* The Devil's Eye/Djävulens öga (10/17/60) Ingmar Bergman ~ Jarl Kulle, Bibi Andersson, Stig Jarrel, Sture Lagerwall

A clever comedy; Satan permits Don Juan a leave of absence from hell to cure a sty in the Devil's eye which is caused by the virginity of a young earthly woman. It's a very funny movie - without being intentionally "stupid." It has a very theatrical feel, but tastefully so, and brings everything needed from Jarl Kulle as Don Juan. Nils Poppe (known best as "Jof" from "The Seventh Seal") and Bibi Andersson also contribute with an additional display of their usually skillful performances. The plot is light, but brilliant, and will probably shock regular Bergman fans. For some reason "Smiles of a Summer Night" is talked about as Bergman's "best" or even "only" comedy, but although I really like that film too, and have watched over forty of his movies, and must say that this is the funniest by a long shot. A highly enjoyable, but sadly underrated (possibly misunderstood) movie. At the time of my writing this, Djävulens Öga is not yet a DVD item in the US or the UK.

In order to get cured from a sty in his eye, the devil (Stiq Järrel) sends Don Juan (Jarl Kulle), his servant Pablo (Sture Lagerwall) and his worst devil to earth to seduce Britt-Marie (Bibi Andersson), the virgin daughter of a vicar (Nils Poppe) and makes she loses her chastity. This unusual Ingmar Bergman's movie is a slow and very theatrical comedy spoken in English, divided in three acts and with use of many chords in harpsichord. Bibi Andersson is very beautiful as the twenty-two years old woman who caused the sty in the devil's eye. The story is ironic and funny, with great direction and performance of the cast, an Ingmar Bergman's trademark. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): 'O Olho do Diabo' ('The Devil's Eye')

Obs: On 06 March 2005, I received the following remark from an IMDb User: "Please note that the original language for the movie "Djävulens öga" is Swedish and not English as you say in your comment. I realise that you saw a dubbed version, but the casual reader will think that it's in English when they read your comment. "

It's funny, so to speak, that Bergman's most touted dark drama has its wealth of light and even comedic moments, and vice-versa in the case of Devil's Eye. For the much-touted movie I mean The Seventh Seal, where we get much ado about the existence of God or lack thereof and Death looming large, but it's also got its share of laughs and unintentional witty dialog. It's a major work and without much argument the quintessential work of the filmmaker.

On the other hand, we get The Devil's Eye, which is more of a minor work, done by Bergman, admittedly, as a work-for-hire project in order to direct the Virgin Spring that same year. It's a comedy, as we're told right from the get-go by the 'narrator' of the story Gunnar Bjornstrand about the old 'sty in the eye' proverb where Satan will deflower a virgin to get rid of it (in this case he sends Don Juan, whose been spending 300 years in a loop of the same failed courtship in hell with his compadre Pablo, to do it for him on a Nordic girl about to get married). And yet this comedy of sorts, which is filled with sly moments and turns of performances that are uncharacteristically campy for a Bergman film, also has some dark connotations about infidelity and desire and love in the face of evil. It might be a minor work, but it's probably one of the director's strongest and most underrated.

In fact, I'd wager that Bergman put more work into this than he'd even care to cop to: the design of hell itself is ingenious, akin to the No Exit set with Satan in a suit and cool but firm demeanor played by Stig Jarrel, and a constant flame burning behind his quaint book-room setting, and his servants being prissy-looking chaps out of some French royal palace. Bergman also casts this really wonderfully, with Don Juan played by Daniel Craig-look-alike Jarl Kulle with his suave demeanor but sad interior coming out some of the time, and Nils Poppe (who also played the cheery Virgin-Mary hallucinator Jof in Seventh Seal) as the aloof Parson whose daughter is to marry/possibly be seduced.

Bergman also gets some laughs and some surprisingly tender scenes between the Parson's wife Renata and Pablo and the Demon put on assignment by Satan to keep watch on Pablo only to end up in 'Satan's Closet' that the Parson has set up for just such an occasion. It's clever on top of this that the intended goals are reversed in the scope of Britt-Marie (Bibi Andersson) and his mother Renata in terms of their seductions and falling from graces. There's a lot of devilish (some pun intended) fun to be had I wouldn't want to reveal, but suffice to say that Bergman has his cake and eats it too: he crafts a pleasurably stylish picture loaded with his intriguing and occasionally deep conversations about love and the nature of Heaven and Hell and Satan and God. It may be 'light' material, but in its own limitations it's so much more satisfying than one expects.

this film gets off to a very slow start and some aspects of the production are pretty cheesy... the period costumes and some of the sets and the manner of conveying that we are in "hell" when we are there, are not exactly stunning.... also Bibi's husband to be is said to be 25 and he looks about 40.

but do stick with it because it does become really really funny and there are a lot of great lines I have to have at least 10 lines in my comment so I'll praise Bibi's acting... also the other woman, who plays her mother... and I"ll say the film is also very sweet.

Bergman fans will not be disappointed in the lightness cause there is plenty of heaviness too in the scenes between the maiden and DJ

After thinking about this film awhile it hit me a lot harder what's seems to be being said. In a sense some people seem to have grace such that even sin can't touch them, even sinning can't touch them, because of how they do it, somehow skirting the devil, while they don't by any means have to become angels themselves. wow!

There are many films about the devil. For example "Faust" (1927, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau), "The devil and Daniel Webster" (1941, William Dieterle), "La beauté du diable" (1950, Rene Clair, another adaptation of the Faust story) and from a more recent date "The devils advocate" (1997, Taylor Hackford).

In these films the devil promises different things (youth, girls, money, success), but in the end he manages to corrupt his victims.

In "The devil's eye" however it is the mortal human who wins. When a young woman is about to enter marriage as a virgin, the devil begrudges heaven the success of a pure wedding. Don Juan is sent to earth to seduce the woman before she marries. Don Juan doesn't succeed. On the contrary he returns to hell madly in love.

The story has some originality, but the film proves above all that Bergman and comedy is not a happy combination. In the same year Bergman made another movie about a virging who's virginity's is threatened, but this time not by a smooth operator like Don Juan but by some rough vagabonds ("The virgin spring"). This film is more down to earth, rough, shocking and ... interesting.

Ingmar Bergman thought "The Virgin Spring" would not be very successful, so he persuaded the producer (the financial backer) that a comedy would take care of any losses. Alas, "The Devil's Eye" is that comedy.

Unfortunately Bergman can't keep his thoughts about the human condition out of his comedies, or at least this one. I suspect another issue is that something is lost in comedy when having to rely on English subtitles.

Satan (Stig Järrel) decides to send the long-dead Don Juan (Jarl Kulle) back to earth to seduce the virgin daughter, Britt-Marie (Bibi Andersson) of a somewhat dim-witted vicar (Nils Poppe). A side story is the effort of Don Juan's servant, Pablo (Sture Lagerwall) to seduce the vicar's wife, Renata (Gertrud Fridh).

The play has its funny moments, but becomes more serious as it goes on. Not Bergman's best work.

A minor fantasy comedy by Bergman made between two important films ("The Virgin Spring" and "Through a Glass Darkly") by imposition of the producers. It deals with the character of "Don Juan", the libertine who seduces women, who is sent from hell to seduces a virgin but falls in love with her. It's well done, but nothing special, and with too much dialogue.

I liked this movie a lot--more than many of the dreadfully serious Bergman films.

The movie is staged like a play--complete with a narrator and acts. The story begins in Hell. It seems the devil is in a funk, as he's got a sty. Why? Apparently, there is a virginal woman whose decency is causing the devil great agony, so he sends his favorite Lothario, Don Juan, to despoil this virgin and this make the sty go away! Really weird stuff, huh?! Well, the tongue in cheek style makes this a pretty funny comedy. Not GREAT comedy, but very good AND so weird and unusual, it's worth a look.

By the way, isn't Don Juan's sidekick about the most devilish character you've ever seen? Watch it, turn off your brain and have fun.

This one is usually billed as a rare Ingmar Bergman comedy, but it's too cerebral, melancholy and, well, serious, for a comedy. Scenographically impressive, with many inventive moments, but too often bogs down in talk. Probably a minor entry in Bergman's filmography. **1/2 out of 4.

Or don't. It is up to you. And up to the characters in this Bergman movie. While it could be quite heavy (and it has some weight in its dialog) it is pretty light and has quite some comedic moments. Which is a really good contrast to the story that is being told. Of course this is not a comedy. Anything but that, considering the themes it is portraying, but it plays with the heavy stuff.

I did watch quite a few Bergman movies at the Berlin Internationl Film Festival this year and I can say that some movies are quite hard to get. But I think this is one of Bergmans more accessible movies. Still not your usual stuff, but worth your time. One of his most underrated movies/comedies I guess. But then again, people(fans) might have expected something different

Once again The Man with the Umbrella is reproduced, Bergman intervenes in the narrative through a third force, breaking the fourth wall several times in the plot, the story itself becoming a story of overstatement, of demons, of angels that can't help but become a form of torture each time they gaze at the audience.

I'm very surprised that this is not included in that religious trilogy, which is also a relatively very religious work by Bergman after The Seventh Seal, where true love can only liberate people under the kidnapping of ethics and morality.

Bergman's religious themes always give people a color with a question mark, compared to the previous parts of this one is very easy to understand, but also commonplace!

The most funniest and crazy movie by the master Bergman

The Devil's Eye sets itself up as a movie in which a narrator shows a play to the audience, with a bit of commentary between acts. Some viewers may not like the structure, but it paves the way for a comedy with a very Shakespearean feel. The settings - particularly in Hell - have the feel of actors and props entering and exiting the stage, and even aspects of the acting tend towards the more exaggerated actions and expressions of the theater.

Once you've settled into this unusual presentation for a movie, the execution is quite enjoyable. The dialogue is witty and often funny, the characters are enjoyable to watch - particularly the Vicar - and the narrative arc unfolds efficiently without being boring or too sappy.

Overall, it was a pleasant surprise to watch. Having seen a number of other Bergman movies, I went into this "Bergman comedy" with some trepidation, but he made a winner with this odd little film.

By all accounts, Ingmar Bergman was a jovial and fun guy. In interviews, he's always smiling and happy. He was married five times and had affairs with most of his attractive female actresses. That doesn't seem like the kind of guy who made exclusively dour explorations of existential spaces, and he didn't. Most of what he's known for is stuff like The Seventh Seal and Winter Light, but he also had his share of lighter fare. I've always known, and loved, his rendition of The Magic Flute, but he did much beyond that.

The Devil's Eye was released in the same year as The Virgin Spring, but it feels like it's from a different era. The devil, you see, has a sty in his eye because there's a virgin on Earth who is about to be married still chaste. So, what does he do? He sends Hell's greatest weapon against chastity, Don Juan, out of his endless torment of unrequited sensuality to Earth to end this unbearable condition.

Farce and comedy run through the whole picture. Pablo, Don Juan's faithful servant, seduces a vicar's wife. The Devil, wanting to keep an eye on Don Juan's progress, sends one of his demons to observe. The demon is a trickster who whispers into people's ears, turns into a cat, and gets trapped in the vicar's cupboard when the vicar tricks him in on a search for gin.

Being an Ingmar Bergman film, though, the movie doesn't completely embrace the comedic elements. The scenes between the girl and Don Juan explore desire, commitment, and fidelity. They're filmed just as intimately as anything in The Silence Trilogy.

One might imagine that having such different tones might lead to something inconsistent, but Bergman actually manages between them deftly. There are no jarring shifts because he eases from one feeling into the next. It helps that the farce never gets too farcical and the drama never gets too dramatic.

The film is punctuated by a few moments of Gunnar Björnstrand speaking directly to the audience. He's easily the most outright funny element of the movie as he drily introduces elements, like the structure of Hell or reads stage direction from the script blithely.

It's really a quite enjoyable film that got hidden under the avalanche of more serious films that Bergman was producing around the time.

An old theme, the devil plotting against people , but also funny in that things don't always turn out the way it seems they should. Also very funny, for a Swedish movie.

Not peak Bergman, but well worth watching. His only comedy, excepting parts of Fanny and Alexander.