Edwin, I was talking to the thread, not you.
I’m not really sure how Bergman, or Kubrick can be labeled as overrated. Both of them have been responsible for enough fascinating and influential work to be worthy of more film scholars’, authors’ and essayists’ time than almost all other filmmakers.
With Bergman, it’s important to remember that sensibilities in cinema have greatly changed since the time he was making films. At the time, people’s minds were blown by what he was doing.
With that being said, I could not take Sawdust and Tinsel seriously at all. I have no idea why.
Sorry Eli.
That’s embarassing.
I don’t participate in silly topics that are not worth my time but this topic made me laugh. Judging by your favorite movies I don’t think you should be watching let alone discussing Bergman’s work. I guess you were just bored.
I’ve never found any of Ingmar Bergman’s films boring, in fact, I think he’s one of the least boring directors there are.
M.: What exactly do you mean by “Wild Strawberries was cute.”?
<<my movie mantra is pretty simple…
“you can’t call yourself a film buff…unless you watch EVERYTHING!…and, yes…this includes the crap”
from art house classics…
…to foreign films…
…to mainstream summer flicks…
…to the “sublimely stupid” comedies of the last decade…
…to the soft-hearted “chick flicks”…
…to pain-staking beauty of animation…
…to the cheap thrills and scary things that go bump in the night…
…to movies for the younger set…
…to stark realities about ourselves…
…to even the simple, dime-a-dozen types…
only TRUE film buffs can say that they have taken a sample of each of these categories…and have walked away with a few choice selections from them…
i’ve seen everything from…an old man looking for the last tragic bit of his innocence (CITIZEN KANE)…to love stories that have defied every known barrier, including age (HAROLD AND MAUDE)…to strange voyages into man’s place in the universe (2001)…
i’ve seen hookers with hearts of gold…summer camps with “death curses”…elephants fly…close encounters with intergalactic beings who weren’t always of the friendly kind…to three transvestites going on a walkabout…
take heed from those that exclusively praise the works of Godard, Kurosawa, Lean…while refusing to “lowering” themselves to check out the latest work from Shyamalan, Cameron, or Hughes…
for these are wolves in sheeps’ clothing trying to infiltrate the Church of Cinemaphile…
where the commandments are simple…because there are only two…
-watch EVERYTHING!
-discuss
now, if you’ll excuse me, the 2005 version of “Black Christmas” is on>>
Founder of this thread
Comments?
Does anyone know why a ridiculous thread like this is still alive after one year while countless serious discussions are buried? These nonsense threads should get deleted after a couple of months so that they won´t continue to waste our time.
GENIUS! no doubt.
Depends on the film. I think Cries and Whispers is magnificent, but Scenes from a Marriage is absolute boredom.
Scenes from a Marriage is absolute boredom, huh?
Don’t you think it was kinda the point?
^ Well, I think you’re defeating your own argument when you phrase it like that. Boredom should not be the point of ANY film, in fact it just can’t be (intentionally at least). If a writer or director actually strive to achieve “boredom” then they really should figure out whether they have any sensibility at all.
That being said, Scenes from a Marriage is anything but boring. There are some very intense arguments as well as Bergman’s signature “harrowing moments”. Not my favourite Bergman film, but an interesting one nevertheless.
Is this honestly a question? Bergman films are boring!? WHAT? I completely disagree, all that I have seen of his work has being absolutely fantastic.
i just watched “wild strawberries” for the first time. its sort of uninteresting and stale to me. the film doesnt feel natural. everything is forced. i get no emotional charge from either the characters, story, or the film form. hate to say it for all you orthodox cineastes, but bergman continues to be a bit unimpressive, for my tastes.
on another subject. is it me, or does “bonnie and clyde” owe a lot to this film?
I would probably agree with you on the Wild Strawberries take. However, you got to admit Winter Light and Shame are powerful films. They really showcase Bergman’s talent and are, IMO, his best by far.
Edwin, whoever wrote that big post you quoted, that post is ridiculously annoying and conceited.
ive never seen “winter light” or “shame”. so i cant comment. but by this stage, ive seen all the “canonical” bergmans. by canonical, im talking “seventh seal” and “persona”. and now, “strawberries.” so far the best ive seen from him is non-canonical work. “virgin spring” and “the serpent’s egg” to name a few.
Overall I love Bergman, but he’s not one of my all-time favorites, and I can find him either a genius or a bore, depending on the film. I’m most partial to his medieval films, SEVENTH SEAL and THE VIRGIN SPRING. He excelled at that material, but I admit I find some of his artier, 60s films to be pretentious and boring, namely PERSONA and WINTER LIGHT, among the ones I’ve seen.
On the other hand, I absolutely was floored by HOUR OF THE WOLF, which seems to be most underrated of his films, and probably my favorite Bergman. The imagery is unforgettable in that one, I don’t know why it isn’t discussed more often. I also saw SHAME recently, and quite liked it. I still have yet to see FANNY AND ALEXANDER, which I imagine I will like.
Bergman was a genious!
Part of my problem with Bergman is that his films are a little too passive. He lacks a real style, in other words most of the time his work comes off as “generic art film” to me. That being said, I was really very impressed by The Silence, and think it’s a masterpiece.
JEFFY
I can see and understand the mastery of his films, its just that to me they are hard to love because the themes can make you feel so lonely and despairing……if i dwelled on those kind of subjects i might do myself harm….physical or psychological….