Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007)

[Sortini]

In the Assayas/Bjorkman book, Bergman hints at some very serious problem with Ingrid in After the Rehearsal which resulted in that film being 35 minutes shorter than it was meant to be.

Anyway, as regards instructions to actors, nothing beats what Fellini had to say to Terence Stamp.

(I'm new here, sorry if this is an old joke to you).

[BB]

I liked the sense of seeing someone wrestle with big questions, even if in wrestling with huge, indefinable vagaries of religion or love Bergman laid the films themselves open to ridicule or for parody.

Any person or artist who speaks honestly and openly is subject to ridicule. It's much easier to hide behind irony. Bergman had balls of steel and what's more the raw talent to pull it off.

[Alyosha]

Jonathan Rosenbaum rips Ingmar a new one in the NYT

Roger Ebert replies.

[Oedipax]

Jonathan Rosenbaum rips Ingmar a new one in the NYT

Roger Ebert replies.

Yeah, the Ebert response is really puzzling - most obvious is his calling Rosenbaum "Rosenberg" a few times in the piece. But ultimately more problematic than that is he spends a couple paragraphs tearing down the exact opposite of a point Rosenbaum was making, I suppose because he misread it. Here's what Ebert says:

Who else but Rosenberg could actually believe that Bergman “lacked Dreyer and Bresson's power to entertain, which often meant a reluctance to challenge conventional film-going habitsâ€

[Jeff]

[quote="Oedipax"]Here's what Ebert says:

[quote]Who else but Rosenberg could actually believe that Bergman “lacked Dreyer and Bresson's power to entertain, which often meant a reluctance to challenge conventional film-going habitsâ€

[domino harvey]

Roger Ebert replies.

See, here's where I should have saved my "Did you mean to post that on the .com forum" line

[tavernier]

NY Times letters to the editor about Rosenbaum's article.

The best swing at Rosenbaum is saved for last (the editor of the letters page is obviously a Bergman fan, unlike the editor of the Op-Ed page):

[quote]It's worth noting that my 15-year-old son is a self-motivated devotee of classic foreign films and of Bergman in particular; and when I showed him Jonathan Rosenbaum's article, he was aghast. “Oh, man,â€

[Barmy]

Rosenbaum is a tool. However, it must be said that Bergman's "style" is middlebrow, bourgeois and, even, suburban. E.g. that dreadful "Smiles of a Summer Night". That is why he is an arthouse icon and won all those Oscars® and why housewives know who he is.

That said, I agree that his films are entertaining--most of them from the 50s on are, in some way.

Edited after I read the JR piece.

[jorencain]

E.g. that dreadful "Smiles of a Summer Night".

WTF? I can't even fathom how the word "dreadful" can be attached to that film. I understand that you're above it all and can't be brought down to such a low level as to enjoy a film like this, but your dismissals of so many great films and directors is getting old. I can't tell if you are saying things just to piss people off or if you really believe all of these negatives things you have to say about so many people. Either way, it's a drag to read every day.

While "Smiles Of A Summer Night" wouldn't top my list of favorite Bergman films, it's still wonderful. The dialogue alone qualifies it as a great movie.

[Michael]

that dreadful "Smiles of a Summer Night".

Whew, another reason for me to be joyous that you're still not on my cruise.

[MichaelB]

On the other hand, I can't think of any more apposite adjectives than "suburban" to describe Persona and Hour of the Wolf.

[Barmy]

I think SSN is smirky and gormless. Adultery is HI-LARIOUS!!!

[tryavna]

It scares me, but I sort of agree with Barmy about Smiles of a Summer Night. I guess I just don't see its charm, but it's one of my least favorite Bergmans that I've seen. It's the kind of movie that the French, especially Renoir, did so much more successfully.

[Eclisse]

A little 2 page tribute to Bergman and Antonioni on EW. Quotes from Scorsese and Elliott Gould:

Scorsese

Bergman was a giant;Antonioni was another.Both of them cast very,very long shadows.

Elliott Gould

Ingmar was always digging.He told me that, up until that time,his two best films were Persona and Winter Light.And the message in Winter Light is that even if there's nobody on the congregation,you must continue to deliver the message...That's what he's doing right now

[Michael]

I actually prefer Smiles of a Summer Night a lot more than Persona and Hour of the Wolf. It's full of charm and bitter humor, capturing the laziness of a summer day better than any other films, except for Dazed and Confused and Meatballs. It's sort of Bergman's Rules of the Game with all the swinging but of course it's very slight if sitting next to Renoir's opus. Plus a suicide attempt that turns out ultimately funny and romantic. I love that dinner gathering with the mom. And the windmill. It's a very beautiful, fun and simple film that never fails to leave me with a smile.

[jorencain]

I actually prefer Smiles of a Summer Night a lot more than Persona and Hour of the Wolf. It's full of charm and bitter humor, capturing the laziness of a summer day better than any other films, except for Dazed and Confused and Meatballs. It's sort of Bergman's Rules of the Game with all the swinging but of course it's very slight if sitting next to Renoir's opus. Plus a suicide attempt that turns out ultimately funny and romantic. I love that dinner gathering with the mom. And the windmill. It's a very beautiful, fun and simple film that never fails to leave me with a smile.

=D> I second that.

[Mr Sausage]

However, it must be said that Bergman's "style" is middlebrow, bourgeois and, even, suburban.

At least he escapes the middling banality of your statement.

Adultery is HI-LARIOUS!!!

Yes, it is, and has been since the late sixteenth century. Cuckoldry is one of the major themes of stage comedy (that and cross-dressing).

I do like Smiles of a Summer Night, I think it has a pleasant charm to it; but speaking of Bergman and the stage, the script--specifically its structure, themes, character-types--is heavily infused with theatrical convention, is indeed lifted from the tradition of stage comedy. Don't confuse that with saying it's a filmed play, it is not. But its debts to the theatre are large and obvious.

[Barmy]

Yes, it is, and has been since the late sixteenth century. Cuckoldry is one of the major themes of stage comedy (that and cross-dressing).

Umm, that's why it is so BORING now. It's been done and done and done. To death.

[tavernier]

Yes, it is, and has been since the late sixteenth century. Cuckoldry is one of the major themes of stage comedy (that and cross-dressing).

Umm, that's why it is so BORING now. It's been done and done and done. To death.

Hasn't everything?

[Barmy]

No. Mutilating your labia with a piece of glass has only been done once.

[MichaelB]

No. Mutilating your labia with a piece of glass has only been done once.

And you think this would have improved Smiles of a Summer Night?

[Barmy]

Yes. It might have made it funny.

[Mr Sausage]

Yes, it is, and has been since the late sixteenth century. Cuckoldry is one of the major themes of stage comedy (that and cross-dressing).

Umm, that's why it is so BORING now. It's been done and done and done. To death.

I might buy that if I thought you were actually aware of its tradition before today.

[tavernier]

Woody on Bergman in Sunday's NY Times.

[portnoy]

Can you post it for those of us who don't have TimesSelect?