Simon praised Bergman's films of the 1950s and the 1960s - his reviews of Bergman's 1970s work in "Something to Declare" charts what Simon considers Bergman's decline. Even the Swedish director's most highly celebrated works of this period - Cries and Whispers, The Magic Flute, Autumn Sonata - are not considered up to the level of Bergman's best, despite their good points. Simon tries to find virtues in the fascinatingly weird - but critically savaged - 1977 The Serpent's Egg, but has to admit that Bergman is out of his depth with the political and surreal aspects of its story.
I'll admit that I am hesitant to step out of that 1950s-'60s Bergman "zone" at the moment. Not because of one critic's opinion that those are lesser works, but because those Bergman films reward the viewer with repeated viewings. I'm aure the 1970s works would have me returning to those had I started out with those and worked back.
Having said that, I am looking forward to Fanny and Alexander. The Brits must still get a chuckle out of that title.
BTW, I could swear that when I was maybe 11 or so, a friend rented the VHS of The Serpent's Egg and we watched it. I guess I'll find out when I get to it...perhaps it will fire up the olde fading memory o' mine.
The Virgin Spring (1960), is the one Bergman film that I’m slowly--very slowly--starting to appreciate. It’s beautifully photographed, has good performances, and some truly affecting moments, Ove Porath, who plays the boy, gives an outstanding performance, and Max von Sydow is a titan of great acting and is magnificent in this film.
I gave The Virgin Spring a 3/10 the first time I watched it, and I wonder if its status has to do with the US, or the Motion Picture Academy finally catching on to Bergman in terms of recognizing his genius. This won Best Foreign Language Film, as did Through a Glass Darkly (1961), and while I appreciate the latter more now, I feel that the Oscars awarded Bergman for the "wrong" films. His better work preceded and succeeded these two films, but at least I no longer feel animosity towards these two efforts.
Started to watch Fanny and Alexander, but there was far too much Alexander and not any fanny!
Actually, it looks visually stunning though since it is a Christmas/winter film, I'm going to wait until the end of this year to watch the theatrical version first, and later the television version (all 320 minutes of it).
Bergman's early male protagonists are very "FSMer"-like in that beta, milquetoast kind of way, so the women are far more interesting to this viewer. It doesn't surprise me at all that the director quickly developed a reputation as a "women's picture" filmmaker.
Woody Allen has clearly been influnced by Bergman in nearly every way possible, right down to the simple black-and-white opening credits and distinctive font. Allen's own reputation for writing his female characters in a much more interesting way also comes through. Heck, both Bergman and Allen despise clear, sunny days as well!
My Blu-ray of The Seventh Seal--from the Bergman Cinema box set--freezes at the same place. However, it plays fine after wiping it down with a microfiber cloth. Strange. I will have to bring this issue up the next time Death and I resume our game of chess.
Speaking of The Seventh Seal, the scene in which Death saws down the tree as the hapless "Skat" tries negotiating and loopholes in order to get out of dying is a delightful slice of comedic brilliance.
In The Seventh Seal, battle-weary and spiritually-tortured knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) returns to plague-ridden, medievel Sweden. His arduous journey ends with his arriving home to Karin, who is just about the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
Talk about a woman worth coming home to!
Inga Landgré, who plays Karin, is the most beautiful woman to ever appear in an Ingmar Bergman film (Harriet Anderson is second). My reaction to seeing her was to gasp at how breathtakingly gorgeous she was.
Not only that, but the comportment of her performance is just as riveting to behold as her physical beauty.
Landgré also appeared in CRISIS (1946), Bergman's first film. The lovely Inga is 92 and still with us as of this writing. I hope she has written an autobiography, as her experiences working with Ingmar Bergman and in the Swedish film induatry must have netted at least a few worthwhile stories and some hard-won wisdom worth sharing.
Feels like a British "Kitchen Sink" drama and later a travelogue. Harriet Andersson is gorgeous. The scenery is beautiful, too. Harry's machinist boss, while just a minor character, makes the most of it, is likable, and has a good scene with Harry, the hapless male protagonist. Monika becomes a selfish pain in the ass. I'd have followed her to the ends of the Earth.
