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The Magician (1958) 1/10
This has to be Bergman at his worst. This isn't a movie, it's a thin-skinned artist having a temper tantrum.
Bibi Andersson's performance, along with most of the women here, was awful.
I don't recall any reviewer giving such low marks on The Magician, so I wonder what I (and others) see in this film that you don't.
If my memory is not mistaken, The Macigian on VHS tape was the first Bergman film I rented and watched in 1989. It was this film that converted me into a Bergman aficionado (although I was aware of Bergman's reputation and The Seventh Seal prior to 1989).
I continue to have fondness for The Magician ... and immunity against exaggerated/theatrical performances. 
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Posted: |
Jul 15, 2017 - 12:36 PM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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I am fine with and often enjoy "exaggerated/theatrical performances", it's just that I felt that the ones in The Magician were poor, and from the Bergman stock company, that pains me to admit that, and even more so to give it a 1/10 rating, which I don't believe I have ever done before.
The comedic material didn't work for me, the pacing was excruciating--particularly the scenes with the servants--and there was precious little of interest in the dialogue. Plus, that painfully burlesque ending was just BAD with the goofy music. Ingrid Thulin was completely wasted, as was Von Sydow (who clearly borrowed Gunnar Björnstrand's facial hair from Smiles of a Summer Night).
The one bit I DID chuckle aloud at was when the police chief's wife was raking him over the coals about their children, etc. Plus, Gunnar Fischer's lighting was the best I've ever seen it look, so there's that on the plus side.
I promise to give The Magician another viewing, but could you comment on what it was about the film that made you enjoy it so much? Is there something I've missed and should keep my eye on the next time I see it?
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CASABLANCA
of course
NOTORIOUS
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
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THE SERPENT'S EGG
just kidding!
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THE SERPENT'S EGG
just kidding!
An awesome movie actually. An honest-to-God two-fisted action paranoid thriller from Bergman!
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I promise to give The Magician another viewing, but could you comment on what it was about the film that made you enjoy it so much? Is there something I've missed and should keep my eye on the next time I see it?
The Macigian integrates several of Bergman's long-time thematic preoccupations, such as 1) mysticism coming to terms with progressive thoughts or 2) vagabond lifestyles of those in the entertainment profession. Adding comedy with a period setting, and many of the Bergman checklist items can be ticked with The Magician.
The mute mezmer protagonist foreshadows the silence of Liv Ullmann in Persona ... plus there's the gender-bending role of Thulin.
Set within the Industrial Revolution, The Magician is, I think, one of the best (along with "The Borderland" episode from The Outer Limits) stories to debate science vs. mysticism.
We learn later that the silent mezmer is a sham ... begging donations for his performance.
However, his 'show' continues to have unexplained phenomena.
If von Sydow truly has a 'power', he can't earn a living off it except by exploiting it for carnival-like titillation.
This ties the film to another Bergman staple: the lives of circus entertainers & the artifice of the acting profession.
With ending of The Magician, Bergman implies that he as film director is of the same ilk as his mezmer character - and the audience gets the rugs pulled from under its collective feet to dish out our just desserts (as Gunnar Björnstrand's Doctor had gotten).
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THE SERPENT'S EGG
just kidding!
An awesome movie actually. An honest-to-God two-fisted action paranoid thriller from Bergman!
you forgot to add "just kidding" to your post
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Posted: |
Jul 24, 2019 - 5:22 AM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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I promise to give The Magician another viewing, but could you comment on what it was about the film that made you enjoy it so much? Is there something I've missed and should keep my eye on the next time I see it?
The Macigian integrates several of Bergman's long-time thematic preoccupations, such as 1) mysticism coming to terms with progressive thoughts or 2) vagabond lifestyles of those in the entertainment profession. Adding comedy with a period setting, and many of the Bergman checklist items can be ticked with The Magician.
With ending of The Magician, Bergman implies that he as film director is of the same ilk as his mezmer character - and the audience gets the rugs pulled from under its collective feet to dish out our just desserts (as Gunnar Björnstrand's Doctor had gotten).
Okay, it's two years later.
When I first saw The Magician, I must have been out of my head or just suffering from Bergman Overload. Watching the film again recently, and it's a 7.5/10, and quite delightful. I'm overwhelmed by the world Bergman created.
Funny how one's mood can affect one's perception of a film (paraphrased from an episode of Kung Fu, I believe  ) as the scenes I despised the first time around have become my favorite. In The Magician, it's the interaction between Tubal and Sofia Garp. Their sexual attraction for one another is played with equal amounts of comedy and tension. My earlier assessment of Bibi Andersson's performance couldn't have been more inaccurate. I was essentially binge watching the films two years ago, and one simply must not ever do that.
The first ten minutes of this film are tremedously good; the viewer is immersed in that 1846 world.
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