Posted on 08/04/2017 1:53:03 PM PDT by Borges
Woody Allen once lauded Ingmar Bergman as “probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera” – yet he is also the most misunderstood. Ten years after Bergman’s death, the received wisdom about his work continues to obscure his legacy, and discourages new audiences from discovering his achievements.
The obituaries a decade ago were predictably clichéd: Bergman’s films are ‘morbid’ and ‘pitiless’, ‘a long, dark night of the soul'. Yet the primary theme of Bergman’s work – the thread that links all his films together, across genres – is not death but the redemptive possibility of love. His bleakest visions relate not to mortality but to isolation and rejection; in particular, to unrequited love.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
John Carpenter
Undoubtedly the dukes influence. And possibly Walt Disney’s as well.
What was that movie with Robert Duvall where they are transporting horses and come across and rescue 4 Chines girls who are being taken as sex slaves?
John Schneider had a small role. Supposedly a true story.
Harold Ramis for comedies
That is it. A really good movie considering most people never heard of it.
There a very good over looked western by Ron Howard with Tommy Lee Jones in it call ‘The Missing’. A great tale of redemption and family. Has one of the scariest bad guys I can remember.
He just didn’t dig the 1960s hippie stuff. The first Republican President he voted for was almost certainly Nixon in 1968.
George Stevens (”Shane”, “A Place in the Sun”, “Giant”), William Wyler, Billy Wilder, David Lean, George Cukor (”My Fair Lady”, “The Women”), Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan.
My pick for best western ever made:’Open Range’
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Great movie. And it had one of the very best gun fights, ever.
Hitchcock, with too many masterpieces to mention.
All a joy to watch.
A long article about Bergman being the greatest filmmaker, that never mentions what Bergman did that makes him the greatest filmmaker. It talks about themes and motivations, but a crappy director can cover those same topics. They don’t make a director great. What made Bergman great? Won’t learn it from reading this.
No problem “understanding” Bergman. He was interested in the dark side of the moon.
Hitchcock has, to his credit, probably more films listed on “greatest films ever made” than anyone else. Seems like that qualifies him as greatest ever. I also throw Akira Kurosawa’s name into the discussion. His films are worth struggling over the subtitles.
The last leg of the marathon film-watching enterprise was significantly less edifying. To me, everything from Cries and Whispers onward seemed absurdly depressing and monotonous; in many cases I found myself literally cringing in the presence of autumnal work by a once-great director who had simply lost his way and was not going to find it again. It probably didn't help matters that I watched Bergman's complete works in the dead of winter, a decision my wife viewed with great apprehension and, on a few nights, abject terror. From the moment Bergman hooked up with David Carradine in his absurd 1977 Weimar costume drama The Serpent's Egg to the moment four years ago when he shot Saraband - More Scenes From the Same Horrible Marriage - Bergman made no films that were even vaguely in the same weight class as Persona, The Virgin Spring, Smiles of a Summer Night, or Wild Strawberries. By the time I dragged myself into the TV room to watch Autumn Sonata, the 38th film in the canon, I couldn't wait for the project to be over. Bergman had long since run out of gas as a screenwriter and auteur, and no matter how good the films may have looked, thanks to Nykvist's breathtaking work, the director's voice sounded like a broken record. Enough with the busted marriages. Enough with the ill-advised abortions. Enough with the whining and moping. Enough with Liv Ullman.I emphasized Nykvist: for anyone who likes Bergman type films, try to watch Tarkovsky's The Sacrfice (also filmed by Nykvist).
Bonus tip: Bille August directs Best Intensions, written by Bergman.
Sergio Leone and “Bloody” Sam Peckinpah could make some western movies. That’s fer shure.
Kudos on Kubrick.
In my vid library, I have Spartacus, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, and a few others.
He’s a brilliant Director. Period.
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