Try Wild Strawberries (probably his most accessible) or Persona. Those were the first 2 Bergman films I saw and was very impressed. Can’t say much for his other works…
The Passion of Anna—Bergman at his insightful best
I was coming in to say The Seventh Seal which I completely love and find his most accessible. Outside of The Seventh Seal, it would depends how interested you are in religion and stuff. If you have ever had any conflict/struggle with or interest in religion, the Faith Trilogy is an excellent starting point. If you like Fellini, Sawdust and Tinsel is the way to go. If you like dream sequences and something poignant, Wild Strawberries.
Another double post?!
Well Bergman like’s to think of his films in trilogies, so even though you hated Seventh Seal I would recommend you move on to The Virgin Spring, it’s a lot less trippy and cerebral and much more straight forward in its intent. The Last House on the Left was based on the same premise, thats pretty much as mainstream as he gets.
I have a feeling that many people would disagree, but “Cries and Whispers” is the film that turned me onto Bergman. I’ve noticed that people seem to classify it as more “advanced” Bergman, but I found it really accessible and powerful. If I were to introduce a more “casual” film fan to his work, however, I might actually choose “Hour of the Wolf” over “Wild Strawberries”.
From what I can tell looking into some of his films on IMDB, Rotten Tomotatoes, and Criterion – Hour of the Wolf and The Virgin Spring seem the easiest. Does this sound about right? Remember – what would you recommend to your Grandmother or your retarded cousin? I’m looking for a Bergman film with training wheels!
The Silence to my grandmother.
Persona to my retarded cousin.
I had the misfortune of watching the Seventh Seal as my first Bergman, I just couldn’t connect with it. At that point I took a step back from exploring him more until I decided to rent Wild Strawberries. Put it simply, I was shaken to the core and realized Bergman was a poet. Haven’t looked back since, he is now among my favorite directors and strikes a spiritual chord deeper than any other filmmaker for me.
If it’s for grandma, definately Wild Strawberries.
Go with Wild Strawberries. Not to be argumentative, but Persona is not the way to start. At all.
Thanks Everyone!
@Stevieg987 – have you revisited The Seventh Seal? Are you able to embrace it now?
Seventh Seal is a great starter.
I would go with something like The Virgin Spring to ease into Bergman. The Seventh Seal is alot to take in for a first time Bergman watcher. I agree with others that Wild Strawberries would be good also. Smiles of a Summer Night is pretty easy to take in too.
Also The Virgin Spring has been remade at least twice in American as The Last House on the Left and the most recent remake. So that one is pretty accessible.
I started with the television (longer) version of Fanny and Alexander did not like it. I suppose a five-hour film is not the best way to start. I guess I expected to love it since I had heard so much hype about it.
I started with Fanny and Alexander, but hey, that’s me.
For anyone else, though, I’d recommend Smiles of a Summer Night. It’s light, enjoyable, and is still a prime example of Bergman’s cinematic style. Wild Strawberries is a good selection also, but I feel like even that would be too much for a first-timer.
I’m sorry but I have to disagree with “Wild Strawberries”, that was my first Bergman film and it went way over my head. I’m glad to see everyone else enjoyed it their first viewing, but it was definitely too heavy for me as an introduction to Bergman. Without a doubt I’d suggest “Smiles of a Summer Night” as the film to start out with. It’s light and funny, but it still packs a powerful and enlightening message. That film is almost guaranteed to put you in a good mood no matter what state you’re in.
The Seventh Seal.
Humour is very subjective so I would suggest finding out if the humour in Smiles of a Summer Night is the kind you enjoy before watching it.
Scenes From A Marriage: the TV version.
Through A Glass Darkly
i saw scenes from a marriage at the everyman in hampstead, london when i was very young i think it scarred me forever. it either had people shouting at one another or long brooding silences, not a fun night out.
Are you kidding me? “Wild Strawberries” isn’t mainstream at all. Maybe mainstream when it comes to Bergman, but I think what he’s talking about is MAINSTREAM mainstream. I wouldn’t describe “Wild Strawberries” as very easy to grasp the first time watching it. Yes, it’s a great film without a doubt but is very deep, personal, and VERY moderately paced. I think you guys are confusing your love for the movie with the actual accessibility of it.
Seriously, watch “The Virgin Spring” first. There’s a fight sequence! In a Bergman film! And it’s a pretty straight forward story. Then after that, watch “Smiles of a Summer Night”. It’s a comedy that is incredibly witty and sharp even after all these years. From there, you can probably have a good grasp of his basic style and move forward to other films.
Thank you Ryan. Since I’ve seen the new remake of Last House on the Left (which was unbearably awful), at least I’ll know what’s going on when I watch The Virgin Spring.
Well, Fredo, sorry, but if you hated THE SEVENTH SEAL I’m having a hard time believing that you’re going to get much out of Bergman’s other films. So what did you hate so completely about SEVENTH SEAL?
I like THE MAGICIAN a great deal, it almost comes off as a sort of knowing, deliberate self-parody. There’s some good fun in it, I thought. SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT is a good romantic comedy. I always find A GLASS DARKLY just tiresome, and the same with much of PERSONA: all that stuff about the film breaking, I mean really.
The Bergman film I’m most particularly fond of is FANNY AND ALEXANDER, but it is so far from his usual stuff that I doubt it would work as in introduction.
I’m a bit in the same boat as you Fredo, only I saw WIld Strawberries as my first Bergman and didn’t like it at all. Well… not that it was terrible but it just didn’t really do anything for me. Some of the dream sequences were great, but other than that nothing in it really pulled me in, and the light soap opera-like plot got to me a little bit. Definitely a film for grandma, like someone stated before. Maybe its that I’m not an aging professor and I can’t relate to the idea… or maybe it did go over my head a little bit. Who knows, I’ll probably watch it again someday.
Anyway I recently watched The Seventh Seal and was completely awestruck. I’m about to watch Through a Glass Darkly sometime today and I have Persona and Fanny and Alexander (Theatrical) coming on Netflix soon. It seems like a lot of people didn’t like the first Bergman movie they saw… We need to get to the bottom of this.
I liked the first Bergman film I saw, which just happened to be SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT. Several of the films of his I’ve seen since have been grave disappointments: phony posturing silliness like CRIES AND WHISPERS and the second half of PERSONA.
But when he’s good, there’s nobody better. FANNY AND ALEXANDER is one for the ages, and THE SEVENTH SEAL really is something.
Fredo, taking a quick gander at your favorite films I would have to recommend Shame. It has the rawness of Woman Under The Influence or Battle Of Algiers, and I think feels the most modern of the Bergmans I’ve seen, which could be a good gateway drug.
I saw Cries and Whispers first, and I loved it. I would not say, though, to watch it first, if you’re after a more mainstream type of film. I’m thinking perhaps either Fanny and Alexander, or Scenes from a Marriage, although those are both very long films.
Frankly, my favorite is Winter Light, followed closely by The Silence. I think the entire Silence Trilogy is one of the best trilogies of film I’ve ever seen, and I love the entire concept of the “chamber drama.” Now, though, I can’t say that those films are for everyone, as much as I’d like to, because they are very quiet, and, with The Silence, the film is so obscure as to what it means that it might as well not be saying anything at all (although it most certainly is).
Savvy
Fredo
Ok, I have a very specific question regarding Ingmar Bergman that I could not find in any other thread associated with him. What film of his should I see first to get acquianted with his work? Please keep in mind, I have seen The Seventh Seal and hated it. Before you crucify me and exclaim that if I hated The Seventh Seal I couldn’t possibly like any of his films, I ask you to consider if there are any Bergman films that are accessible to a person like me. I’m not asking what is his best film or what your favorite is. I’m asking what film is his most mainstream, his most straight forward and easiest to understand.
I feel like if I slowly take in Bergman, I’ll be more apt to liking his more complex films later on once I’ve gotten used to him and maybe some day will come to love and understand The Seventh Seal.