1)Wild Strawberries
2)Fanny & Alexander
3) Scenes from a Marriage
The other day I watched Persona again, for perhaps the seventh or eighth time, and the film never ceases to grab me, though perhaps not so tightly by the throat this time around, its minimalism subtracting a little something more with each viewing. And Bergman’s overlay of artifice, his subplot on moviemaking, seems a bit more gimmicky as time passes. But this remains a masterpiece, for these two women, especially Bibi Andersson (who, after all, does most of the work, or all of the talking). In the accompanying (and relatively recent) interviews with the actresses, Andersson recalls first reading the script for the beach encounter monologue and being appalled by it. To paraphrase: “I can’t say these things! ‘The woman had a big bush.’ Women don’t talk like that!” Bergman sent her home with instructions that she recast the monologue in her own language, and thank god for that: the scene still carries its full erotic charge. The prosecutor’s monologue, on the other hand, gets harder to watch twice, when you know its coming. In retrospect I think the scene wouldn’t have suffered much if he’d cut back and forth between the two faces and given us just the one take. Someone (Ullmann?) comments that this had been the original intent, but that Bergman liked them both so much he decided to keep them.
Or I could change my mind and say Cries and Whispers.
Or change it again to Smiles of a Summer Night, a comedy so happy … as happy as they come.
i think i would have to pick fanny & alexander, although i havent seen a bad bergman film. im also crazy about scenes from a marriage and wild strawberries.
Randell, If seeking a “bad Bergman,” look no further than Serpent’s Egg.
As with Kurosawa, my favorite Bergman generally is the one I just finished watching. But I’ll go back to basics with The Seventh Seal, one of those Citizen Kane-type films that is so iconic and sacrosanct that we take it for granted and forget what a masterpiece it is. Watching it recently for the first time in forever, the older me reveled in its ruminations of life and death, pain and joy, and I realized – with fresh eyes – what a spell it still weaves.
Shame
The Virgin Spring
The Seventh Seal
And MMOORE I have to disagree with you, I loved “Serpent’s Egg”.
Bergman is my favorite director, and I’ve seen about twenty of his films. I even wrote a paper about how the themes of disease and death relate to religion in Seventh Seal, Through a Glass Darkly, and From the Life of Marionettes.
A few favorites:
Seventh Seal
Through a Glass Darkly
Silence
Fanny and Alexander
Persona
I also didn’t particularly care for The Serpents Egg. It was OK, and got better near the end, but all-in-all, kind of meh. The Virgin Spring wasn’t my favorite either, but the version I watched was dubbed for some stupid reason.
I totally forgot about Shame, I really liked that one.
The Seventh Seal…yeah, it’s a classic but I’ve seen it so many times when I sit down for time with Ingmar, I usually pick something else. Cries & Whispers is one of my faves as well. I don’t think I’ve seen one I disliked.
The comedic ones are a little disturbing to me though. I usually watch them very seldomly. Bergman = introspective, dramatic, beauty…not knee-slapping.
WINTER LIGHT
i have the box set and the serpents egg is the only one i havent watched yet. ill have to watch it and see what i think.
I can’t tolerate dubbed films. It makes me want to hit something.
Persona is the ultimate Bergman. This film explores the same dramatic territory with his regular actreses, but unlike other films he is less conservative in his narrative technice and editing. He experimented with allegory and dream sequences before and after but in this film Bergman really disturbs the viewers expectations and experiments with editing unseen in his other films. The acting and cinematography is top notch as well. I personally hate that most people only see seventh seal.
Yeah Serpants Egg is definetly a failure even for a hack. I can only say that the last ten minutes are good.
Seventh Seal
Persona
The Silence
Shame
Cries and Whispers
Persona for Ullmann’s amazing performance and the incredible imagery!
the silence. first time i saw it, in theater, i was totaly blown away by how sad,sexy,subtle,seductive, sensational the actresses were. theres so much going on in that film just thinkng about it blows my minddddd . luv it
Bergman for me is an emotionally challenging director.
Scenes From a Marriage and Autumn Sonata tore me up and left me for dead.
I’m working on expanding my Bergman viewings, since I have only seen a few of his films, however while I LOVED The Seventh Seal, It was most certainly my recent viewing of Cries and Whispers that has sparked my urge to venture through the rest of his extensive catalog. Cries and Whispers was simply perfection on screen (while I’m sure you could make an argument against this statement, I make it none the less), The complexity of the compositions, narrative structure(s), and most importantly character development, floored me! And I feel the same way about this film as DCDreams felt about Scenes From a Marriage and Autumn Sonata, “tore me up and left me for dead,” but in a good way, I felt torn up, but as I smoked my post film cigarette, while I was left with much to think about and newly acquired emotional questions, it was a pleasant feeling. I can’t explain it, but while this was a heavy film, in the end I felt light and yet full of thought.
I recently had the chance to see The Magician in the theatre. It quickly became my favorite. It’s religion versus reason. Max von Sydow playing some heavy tricks. It was so amazing. I really hope Criterion will get around to releasing it.
Smiles of a Summer Night is great too. Perfect if you’re trying to introduce someone to Bergman.
There are so many good ones.
I recently had the chance to see The Magician in the theatre. It quickly became my favorite. It’s religion versus reason. Max von Sydow playing some heavy tricks. It was so amazing. I really hope Criterion will get around to releasing it.
Smiles of a Summer Night is great too. Perfect if you’re trying to introduce someone to Bergman.
There are so many good ones.
I recently had the chance to see The Magician in the theatre. It quickly became my favorite. It’s religion versus reason. Max von Sydow playing some heavy tricks. It was so amazing. I really hope Criterion will get around to releasing it.
Smiles of a Summer Night is great too. Perfect if you’re trying to introduce someone to Bergman.
There are so many good ones.
There are a dozen or so films from Seventh Seal to Fanny and Alexander that could be defended as his best. I’d have to say, personally I’m a bit more in the Seventh Seal camp—all it’s pretensions notwithstanding—rather than Persona group, (although I love that one as well). Seal’s photography is absolutely luminous, and the imagery throughout became iconic. But for me, choosing a favorite Bergman just depends on the mood of the day, and how much despair I’m able to endure.
I will go on record defending Serpent’s Egg, however—not as one of Bergman’s best, but at least as a movie worthy of serious consideration. Based on memory, I’d have to say that I found it a bit muddled but pretty strong. It came off to me like Cabaret, but with about 40 more IQ points and no crap show tunes. (I love Joel Grey, but Liza-With-A-Z in unendurable in any context. And Michael York, (whose work I’ve often enjoyed) seemed unable to distinguish between repressed and bloodless in the portrayal of his character.) Also, I found S.E. to be a bolder and broader take on human nature, and the then-nascent resentment that would grow into Nazi hatred, than Cabaret bothered to explore. Egg’s closing scene is the most harrowing take on humanity than I’ve found almost anywhere, and given the film’s milieu, not entirely unwarranted. I thought it showed the greatest marriage of honesty to cynicism Bergman ever allowed himself.
Well for a Bergman comedy nothing beats his uproarious screwball comedy The Devil’s Eye!
Cheerful priest smiling, wringing hands “I’ve got a demon in my cupboard!”
Persona because it was awesome
Just saw “The Touch” (in the theater) and “Thirst” (on the auteurs!) and both were absolutely amazing.
Wow…I’m surprised more people didn’t mention Wild Strawberries as I simply couldn’t live without that one.
My top five :
Persona
Scene from a mariage
After the rehearsal
The seventh seal
Hour of the wolf
I think “Fanny and Alexander” is a REAL failure.
I’m glad Willi Patton mentioned The Magician, since I always remembered it as one of Bergman’s best — although I thought of it as a parable on the artist (who is a magician of sorts) and not on reason and religion. Best lists are, as I’ve learned from looking at other lists in the Forum, problematic, since they often dwindle into subjective claims — and, as someone who’s 61 (!), I know likes and dislikes change with age. I saw Persona, as with many of Bergman films, when it was released — and it blew me away. I recently saw it again — but on television — and I thought it insufferable; but I knew that much of the change had to do with me, as I’m looking for other aspects in film. I have to agree with Tom Wilson, though. No matter how often I see The Seventh Seal, it succeeds in doing the impossible — of portraying religious dread in the Middle Ages in a Shakespearean drama - and with all those iconic images that still manage to remain iconic. I remember Shame as knocking me out. And will always be fond of The Magic Flute. I’ve never understood the attraction for Wild Strawberries - but that, I know, is me. Favorites with Bergman really are a matter of time; as one changes, so do they. To my mind, only Fellini compares with the richness of his imagination and the brilliance of his images.
Fanny and Alexander (the theatrical version) was an absolute perfect movie for me. As I have expanded in my review of the film on this site, it has a story that is captivating in every little detail. The acting of all the leads is spot on. The cinematography is gorgeous. But the story is so deep and reverberent, with so many levels and layers of meaning, that it must be Bergman’s most stunning achievement in film – the sum of all he knew about the art of storytelling, drama, and cinema. The scene in the puppet theatre alone would move it above almost any film – his or any other director. It shows the master at work, creating a world of illusion and magic on film equal to the mysterious world of the puppet theatre. He left us so many rich and interesting films, it is hard to pick this one above all the others.
Wild Strawberries also still is close to my heart and I believe his use of symbolism here, especially in the extended dream sequence, is his most effective in all his films, including Seventh Seal. Of course, all this is a matter of personal taste, as Bergman gave us so many rich and varied movies to pick during his long and creative career. He is the ultimate film artist, never surpassed, seldom equalled. I, too, could expound, for instance, on why I would pick Persona or The Silence as examples of his best work, but I will stick with F & A as a clear first choice.
Winter Light and The Seventh Seal. And maybe Virgin Spring as runner up.
Love those movies where the struggle for faith is extremely challenging but worthwhile.
Any others to recommend in this vein?
CineSnag
I’ve always wondered where other people stood on his films. I find myself torn so often when I force myself to try and pick the “Top Three.”
I’m not even sure why I do such a thing, but for some reason I want to see what others think are some of his “top” films. I guess for the sake of argument, I’ll twist my own arm and say…
(in no particular order)
a) Wild Strawberries
b) Fanny & Alexander
c) Through A Glass Darkly