Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007)

[porquenegar]

I've been slowly making my way through his films over the last several years, recently viewing Wild Strawberries, Autumn Sonata, Fanny and Alexander. I find them all to be so real. For me, he connects so clearly to what it is to be human. Wild Strawberries is so beautiful and wistful and I now think of it often. Winter Light also deeply affected me and I think has the most perfect ending of any film I've ever seen.

I've had the MGM box set for about 6 months now and hadn't delved into it. I've been trying to find the right time to view Persona for the first time. Looks like the time is tonight.

[Antoine Doinel]

Studs Terkel, Paul Cox, Paul Schrader, Richard Linklater, Gregory Nava, David Mamet, Guy Maddin, Haskell Wexler, David Gordon Green, Sally Potter, Paul Theroux and David Bordwell share their thoughts on Bergman with Roger Ebert.

[Jeff]

Ebert also has a separate article with his own ruminations on Bergman. Ebert talks about how he always worked with the same crew of 18, year after year. I loved this little passage:
[quote]“How large a crew do you use?â€

[tryavna]

Slate has posted a short appreciation, too.

[bunuelian]

The San Francisco Chronicle had a front page block and 3/4 page photo of Igmar and Liv, along with an extensive (filmcentric) obituary in the paper's Datebook section. The article was gushing and appropriate, but not earth-shattering, else I'd look for a link. But it certainly belied the notion that American papers would altogether ignore the passing of one of the greatest artists of living memory, especially because Bill Walsh, one of the Bay Area's great sports figures, also died and had his own share of well deserved space.

I credit Bergman with inspiring me to go deeply into what I then thought of as "art" or "foreign" film. He wasn't my first "ah ha!" moment (Tarkovsky was) but his works proved to me that a director can sustain consistent artistic greatness over a lifetime. Since then I've discovered plenty of others, but Bergman will always hold a very special place for me.

To me, Bergman's great achievement is his balance of his own tremendous talent and his keen awareness of the need to surround himself with other great talent. Bergman's genius is no less his actors' genius, and his cinematographers' genius. Watching his films, it is impossible to ignore the feeling that there is the utmost intimacy among the people making the film. It is that pairing of universal human story and specific, palpable artistic collabration that makes Begman undeniably important and unforgetable.

It's interesting to contrast this element of Bergman to other great directors. The Bresson actors were quite literally discarded after their use. Bunuel had few close collaborators in his economical style. Tarkovsky's tortured introspection made him into a mystery to most of his colleagues. With Bergman, it's that unique circumstance of the Swedish film industry and Bergman's relationship with his colleagues (great friends and lovers) that even after they soured they reconciled, that I think is the great, universal achievement of his art.

Bergman's faults and mistakes are on full display in his work, but we are also reminded that we ultimately are left only with each other, and love's pain is a prerequisite to love's enduring strength. May the world see many more artists of such integrity, opportunity, and intellect.

[tavernier]

^^^^^

Well said.... =D> =D>

[Oedipax]

I wonder if we'll start seeing various quotes and tributes from other filmmakers start trickling in - I'm especially curious to see if Godard makes any sort of statement.

Although his inclusion of clips is sometimes ambiguous (as to whether they are there for praise or ridicule), as recently as 2000, Godard included a short excerpt from The Silence in L'origine du XXIe siècle, the shot where the young boy is looking out from the window of the train in horror as ominous tanks roll by.

[Antoine Doinel]

A rundown of Woody Allen's various homages/tributes/parodies to Bergman in film.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I'd always thought that Bergman would live forever. I never knew him, but I'll miss his presence in this world. At least we have the legacy of his films - well-acted, elevating the form, and beautiful. I can only think of Renoir as his peer. What's truly sad is that we may never see the likes of Bergman again.

[domino harvey]

I am pleased to see so many papers and international newscasts devoting space and time to Bergman's passing, and therefore I retract my earlier panic in this thread that his death would be marginalized.

[orlik]

I am pleased to see so many papers and international newscasts devoting space and time to Bergman's passing, and therefore I retract my earlier panic in this thread that his death would be marginalized.

That said, the BBC Newsnight coverage of both Bergman and Antonioni's deaths (I only heard about the former 'tribute' but had the misfortune to see the latter) were quite shameful, a display of British anti-intellectualism at its 'best'. I ended up even more depressed.

[colinr0380]

I saw that as well. So not marginalised, instead trivialised! The first piece on Bergman was just snarky with implied views inherent in the tone of the questions asked. The second was an out and out attack by someone annoyed he had to deal with the cinema for a second night in a row - I got the impression that there would absolutely be no coverage given over to any filmmaker who dies in the next week just because they felt they had dealt with enough dead artists!

Considering the number of film questions Paxman asks the contestants on University Challenge you'd think he would at least have some knowledge of the subject!

I get the impression that criticism of that style is not targeted at the filmmakers themselves, who the people presenting the segment or writing the articles could probably care less about (and to criticise their work properly they would actually have to watch the films), but is more just the stick used to beat those with an interest in the subject!

Channel 4 news, on the other hand, had a shaky start on the Monday with the Bergman tribute (Jon Snow and Krishnan Guru Murthy, the two news presenters playing a game of chess in the studio in black and white over the end credits was particularly embarassing. As was Krishnan's gleeful final call of "Checkmate! You're dead!" to his companion) but the Antonioni piece on Tuesday was quite decent, relatively respectful, and devoted five minutes to discussing his work.

[exte]

World film-makers pay tribute to the master, Ingmar Bergman

[Jeff]

I am pleased to see so many papers and international newscasts devoting space and time to Bergman's passing, and therefore I retract my earlier panic in this thread that his death would be marginalized.

[Antoine Doinel]

Paul Schrader with his thoughts on Bergman.

[tavernier]

What's funny about that Simpsons cartoon is that the people who created the show/movie do know who Bergman is....still, the cartoon would have been better if there was a string of posters of all the lamebrained summer blockbusters so far this year.

[Matt]

What's funny about that Simpsons cartoon....

And that's the only thing funny about it.

[souvenir]

What's funny about that Simpsons cartoon is that the people who created the show/movie do know who Bergman is...

Thinking of television shows and Bergman reminded me of that great Northern Exposure episode where Ed Chigliak watches Wild Strawberries with "Woody Allen's grandmother."

[Matt]

Presciently, University of Chicago Press just published a new edition of Bergman's autobiography, The Magic Camera.

[Robert de la Cheyniest]

I shouldn't even be posting this but:

The dumbest thing I've ever read

Way to just shit all over a great artist, asshole. No wonder they say appreciation of "art cinema" is dying.

[MichaelB]

Stephen Pollard has a longstanding track record as a professional idiot - sorry, "controversialist".

There is absolutely no point reading anything he writes, let alone getting worked up about it.

[Robert de la Cheyniest]

Stephen Pollard has a longstanding track record as a professional idiot - sorry, "controversialist".

There is absolutely no point reading anything he writes, let alone getting worked up about it.

Thanks for the info Michael, I had no idea who Pollard was and it just came up on Google news while I was skimming through tributes.

[Luke M]

The dumbest thing I've ever read

Wow, I always thought it was just America that had ignorant redneck Nascar lovin' movie critics.

[MichaelB]

Pollard isn't a movie critic - he's a newspaper columnist.

Seriously, it's not worth paying him more than a second's attention. He deliberately writes contentious crap to be provocative, and if it generates a huge virtual or actual postbag, even if it's overwhelmingly negative, his editors are delighted - because that's why they hire him

[exte]

Bergman defined art-house genre

Woody Allen on Ingmar Bergman