Bergman Season on Film 4 from tonight

christeb

As the title says, got this from Twitter today. Linky. On a bit late for me but I'll be recording them all.

johnny_ultimate

Awesome, seen most of 'em but a few early ones in there I'll check out

Silence of God films are the best you'll find about issues of faith and religion. Grim stuff, but truly beautiful cinema.

Kess73

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Awesome, seen most of 'em but a few early ones in there I'll check out

Silence of God films are the best you'll find about issues of faith and religion. Grim stuff, but truly beautiful cinema.

The Faith Trilogy is well worth anyone's time. Grim, as you said, but thoroughly engrossing.

Would advise anyone who has not seen the obvious name on the list, The Seventh Seal, to watch that if they are only going to watch one Bergman film during the run of his films. Like Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, it is a film that I never tire of, and one that rewards repeat viewings. Viewings that have become more immersive since both films made the transitiuon to blu ray.

johnny_ultimate

The Seventh Seal is magnificent, timeless cinema. It's a good entry point to his films, but IMO Persona is his masterpiece and by extent one of my favourite films of all time. I would advise anybody new to his work to start off with the Faith trilogy or Seventh Seal though, and work your way up to Persona as it's very much a culmination of the themes and ideas he puts forward in the earlier films.

Virgin Spring and Cries and Whispers are another two fantastic films showing here. It's a shame his most accessible film - Fanny & Alexander - isn't showing. It's not my favourite of his, but still a beautiful, very personal and surprisingly optimistic film from the master.

Kess73

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The Seventh Seal is magnificent, timeless cinema. It's a good entry point to his films, but IMO Persona is his masterpiece and by extent one of my favourite films of all time. I would advise anybody new to his work to start off with the Faith trilogy or Seventh Seal though, and work your way up to Persona as it's very much a culmination of the themes and ideas he puts forward in the earlier films.

Virgin Spring and Cries and Whispers are another two fantastic films showing here. It's a shame his most accessible film - Fanny & Alexander - isn't showing. It's not my favourite of his, but still a beautiful, very personal and surprisingly optimistic film from the master.

Totally forgot about Virgin Spring. Excellent film with a similar feel, for me, to The Seventh Seal.


Persona is indeed a brilliant film, but The Seventh Seal remains my favourite Berman film.


Was never a fan of Fanny & Alexander though. Both versions do nothing for me, especially the shorter 3 hour cut. The main thrust of the ending was a bit too wishy washy and happy for me although

the return of the Bishop's ghost

as part of the ending did add a typically Bergman feel to a climax that was most unBergmanlike.

LittleBook

Kess73 wrote: »

Grim, as you said, but thoroughly engrossing.

There's a "Woody Allen on Bergman" interview included which is repeated several times, short but interesting. I didn't find Allen to be particularly eloquent (I never felt he was a confident interviewee at the best of times) but he said something which struck a chord ... something like, you don't feel after watching a Bergman film that you've seen a grim film as such, more that you've experienced a piece of art, a journey, a vision that just happened to have some grimness to it ... something like that, I'm sure it's on YouTube which I can't access.

I've only seen Persona, really looking forward to my own little festival.

johnny_ultimate

Kess73 wrote: »

Was never a fan of Fanny & Alexander though. Both versions do nothing for me, especially the shorter 3 hour cut. The main thrust of the ending was a bit too wishy washy and happy for me although

the return of the Bishop's ghost

as part of the ending did add a typically Bergman feel to a climax that was most unBergmanlike.

It's far from my favourite Bergman film for sure (only seen the three hour cut in the IFI a good few years ago), but I do feel it's a good introduction to his work in many ways, and I think having read his autobiography I become much fonder of how he weaved his childhood nostalgia into the narrative. Like Saraband - his last and somewhat underappreciated great, and certainly a stronger film than its 'prequel' Scenes from a Marriage - there are lots of moments of cynicism but ultimately a triumph of humanity on an even greater scale than his earlier films. The Seventh Seal is another one you emerge from quietly optimistic despite a penetrating grimness throughout. This is opposed to his straight up depressing stuff - The Silence or his mid-era Faro films are ones with far less (yet still not entirely absent) hopefulness. However, despite his deserved reputation for grimness there was the majority of the times rays of celebration and warm humanity. And Fanny & Alexander is the warmest of all - what it lacks in typical Bergmanisms, it makes up for in other areas. He was a director who always translated his life into his art (like the ending of Winter Light is based on an experience with his father, and the letter Ullman sends in Persona is word-for-word one he received himself) and F&A is the clearest example of this.

Some excellent essays on Bergman on the Senses of Cinema site if anyone's interested. Was in contact with one of the writers Hamish Ford when I was doing an essay on the Faith trilogy in college and he really knows his stuff. One on the Silence here, a film where all the secrets are well hidden and really worth investigating: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2009/cteq/silence/