Maybe not start with that. That’s like killing yourself before being born. Which is hard.
Probably start with the 1957 films (wild strawberries and the seventh seal). They are accessible and such.
I sound like a fool. I published a paper on Bergman and I love to party, so I should sound smarter on this.
Maybe All these Women after those.
Not From the Life of the Marionettes.
He’s an acquired taste and a taste I have yet to fully acquire. It seems like you either love him to death or hate his guts. I have seen four of his films and really can fully only recommend one, Scenes from a Marriage.
But I loved his sister’s work in Casablanca.
That’s my Fredo. He’s gonna learn the casino business!
Go with The Seventh Seal and The Virgin Spring. Easiest to get into, easiest to watch, still very interesting pictures.
Yeah, The Virgin Spring is a real party pleaser.
and get a little more perspective on a director like bergman before you try to immediately size him up. not just off of one film. the guys output was way too big for that.
This site should be called The Bergmauteurs.
Fredo,what others have you seen?have they all been 70’s work and only???
Yes. Have you seen Karin’s Face??!
hahahah
Mike! You do not come to Las Vegas and talk to a man like Moe Greene like that!This site SHOULD be called The Bergmauteurs.
I have only seen The Seventh Seal, Virgin Spring, Fanny & Alexander, and Scenes From a Marriage (in that order). Each one I liked progressively better than the previous. I had a similar reaction to Bergman when I first saw The Seventh Seal and went years before I saw another one of his films. But he has made so many films that most people should be able to at least find one they enjoy (I finally did). I don’t know if I’ll ever be a Bermauteur but I certainly don’t have as much distaste for him as I used to.
c’mon man…you had a distaste for Bergman and not for Wise?both have made lots of films but..well..after a 1000 years,it won’t be Wise who will be talked as much as Bergman ;)
i think i’ve only been disappointed with one Bergman film and that goes for Autumn Sonata which i found very “simple” for Bergman….i say disappointed but compare it to some other dramas like Terms of Endearment and it comes up as masterpiece,hehe…
the worst however Bergman film was his TV movie,Saraband…definitely the fall down of Bergman there but at least it wasn’t an official film,just a TV film…
Fredo. Ingrid Bergman and Ingmar Bergman arent related in any way.
@Alex Krupl – lol…I think Fredo was being facetious.
Fredo – Try Persona. I thought that was magnificent.
wait… me??
smiles of a summer night might be a good one to start with. It was actually one of the last ones I watched. It is much more lighthearted than cries and whispers, but still has that eye for human behavior that is the reason his work resonates so well for so many of us.
Smiles is such a delight!! =))
i see a lot more people talking about how they dont like bergman and how hes so overrated than people talking positively about him
if you dont love bergman youre a monstrous subhuman creature, possessed by a 10,000 year old ghost, who exists only to be obnoxious on the internet
i swear ive read almost that exact post by fredo about the 4 bergmans he’s seen in 10 different threads over the past week.
Oopyman – I agree! Why do people keep asking me about Bergman?! I feel like I’m constantly having to repeat myself. Nobody should care what I think about this guy. Seriously.
But I don’t agree that most people here hate him. Since joining the site my impression has been that most people love him – probably more than any other filmmaker out there. This is why I’ve recently decided to give him another chance and watch some of his films. And it’s also why I think User was right in saying this site should be The Bergmauteurs.
Repubblica, I also started with Cries and Whispers, and I had the exact opposite reaction to Bergman. Oh man, do I love this guy’s work, most specifically his chamber dramas (especially Winter Light and The Silence, two films on my top ten favorites list). He is, in my own opinion, the greatest filmmaker to grace the world with his pressence, someone who got down to the nitty-gritty of life’s situations, of relationships, of people in general. I, for one, think that Bergman is deservedly spoken about on this site, because there is something so damn appealing about his work (maybe not for everyone, and that’s fine, but for those who love him).
I am not saying, of course, that, because I disagree with you, you are obviously wrong; no, I would not say that at all. I can completely see why someone would not exactly take to liking Bergman all that well; while his films are accessible, they are also often bleak, and, they are also difficult to watch (sometimes). His films tell the truth, which is often something cold and mean-hearted, rather than being something someone would love to hear. In my film class in college, we had to choose a scene as our favorite scene in any movie ever (I originally was going to choose 8 1/2, but then I changed it), and so I chose Cries and Whispers, specifically the scene where Erlang Josephsson describes Liv Ullman’s face, the two of them so near to each other, the camera watching every twitch of her face, while both seem mesmerized looking at the mirror together. The first time I saw that scene, all I could think was “wow…” just because it was so damn beautiful and awesome.
Also, I think that this film in particular shows how someone can attempt to liberate herself, completely and utterly, while trying to push other people out of her mind. Oh man was that easily identifiable (or so I felt at the time). I feel that it is one crazy good movie, but, as I said, if you do not agree, then oh well. Not everyone is going to like his, or anyone else’s, films.
Savvy
I’m not purposely trying to judge Bergman based on one film alone. It’s just that his one film that I have seen was difficult, if not unbearable, to watch and was wondering if his other films are likely to evoke similar emotions.
zachary- thanks for your post. I can totally see what you mean when you say that his films tell the truth. Maybe I can’t handle the truth.
Try to watch the Eclipse Series 1: Early Bergman
Torment-1944
Crisis-1946
Port of Call-1948
Thirst-1949
To Joy-1949
repubblica
All I see on this site is talk about Bergman. bergmanbergmanbergman. I watched Cries and Whispers a few months ago. This is his only film that I’ve seen. I don’t get all the love for him at all. I hated Cries and Whispers. It made me sick. I felt masochistic. Is this what makes him so great? Should I watch more of his films? If so, which ones? Can someone explain to me why they think Bergman is brilliant?