Posted on 07/31/2007 3:59:31 AM PDT by WesternCulture
Tributes have been pouring in for Ingmar Bergman, one of the most influential film directors of the 20th century, who died on Monday at his home on the Swedish island of Fårö. He was 89.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt hailed Bergman as "one of the great dramatists in this world," and French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to "one of the geniuses of our time."
"The dream ended, the music went quiet that night on the island of Fårö, where Ingmar Bergman died," Sarkozy said. "France, a land of the cultural exception that was dear to Ingmar Bergman, honours his memory."
Max Von Sydow, who appeared in 11 Bergman films, spoke of his "infinite gratitude" not only for the professional opportunities but also "the immense privilege to have been his friend."
As an actor, he said, "no one counted as much for me as Ingmar Bergman."
Danish film director Lars von Trier said he felt like he and Bergman were family:
"I am therefore proud to say that he treated me exactly like his other children — with no interest whatsoever," von Trier said, according to AP.
Director Michael Apted, head of the Directors Guild of America, said in a statement:
"Bergman was the epitome of a director's director – creating beautiful, complex and smart films that imprinted permanently into the psyche." He had inspired filmmakers all over the world to create their own movies with similar passion, Apted added. The DGA gave Bergman its highest honour, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.
Filmmaker Woody Allen earlier paid tribute to Bergman, one of his biggest influences, by bidding him farewell with a final joke.
"I was very saddened by the death of Ingmar Bergman. He was a friend and certainly the greatest film artist of my lifetime," Allen said in a statement.
"He told me that he was afraid that he would die on a very, very sunny day and I can only hope it was overcast and he got the weather he wanted," he said.
Gilles Jacob, president of the Cannes film festival, said "modern cinema has lost one of its last pioneers, a pioneer of genius."
Bergman won three best foreign language film Oscars and, despite his preoccupation with dark themes such as death and sexual anguish, was widely acclaimed for perennial arthouse favourites like "The Seventh Seal" (1957) and "Fanny and Alexander" (1982),
For many movie buffs, Bergman was the greatest of the authorial film-makers of the 1950s and 1960s, outranking such figures as Federico Fellini, Luis Bunuel or Jean-Luc Godard.
His daughter Eva Bergman told the TT news agency her father had passed away "peacefully" on Monday but did not give the cause of death.
A funeral for family and friends was being organised, the agency said. Rumours about Bergman's declining health had been circulating for months.
AFP/The Local
What a loss..... I always loved “Smiles of a Summer Night” which was not one of his dark films, though it did have some moments of despair..... but it’s quite a lovely comedic gem..... anyone else here know it? The actress who played the maid, Petra I think?? was stunning. She was Bergman’s ‘discovery’ I believe, though I don’t know whether they did anything else together......
“The actress who played the maid, Petra I think?? was stunning. She was Bergman’s ‘discovery’ I believe, though I don’t know whether they did anything else together......”
- Her name is Harriet Andersson and she worked a lot with Bergman.
Wikipedia article about Harriet Andersson:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Andersson
About ‘Sommarnattens leende’/’Smiles of a Summer Night’:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048641/
Regards.
Ah, thanks for the info!! Have you seen that film? What’s your favorite of Bergman’s work?
“Ah, thanks for the info!! Have you seen that film? What’s your favorite of Bergman’s work?”
- I haven’t seen it yet, but I will.
So far, my favourite Bergman films are ‘Fanny and Alexander’ and ‘Wild Strawberries’.
Greetings from Gothenburg, Sweden!
I saw a few Bergman films and my favorite part was always the ending. Watching one of his films was like being in Vietnam again without the enjoyment of the monsoons.
- Well put, even though I beg to differ with people who view his films as all gloomy and full of melancholy.
In fact they are not if one bothers to look a bit deeper.
I get the impression that Bergman wished to display how human beings concentrate too much on the darker sides of existence. Often, his films portray souls which are more or less consumed by their complicated relationships, by careers and by fear of death and fear of loss.
However, in his films there is often some kind of counterweight to these sad beings. For instance, in ‘The Seventh Seal’ (featuring Max von Sydow playing chess with death) there is in fact a glaring contrast between the carefree bunch of jesters and the other characters who are obsessed with death, fear and loss of possessions.
Bergman’s message is perhaps something like this;
“God does not want us to be flagellants, scourging ourselves.
He who have made the choice of fully embracing life, despite it’s thorns, has proven himself worthy of it and shall find happiness on earth.”
http://homevideo.about.com/od/dvdreviewslong/a/TheMagicFluteRa.htm
Ingmar Bergman directed a 1975 made-for-television version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” that I rate among the very best of the filmed operas. Although the Swedish director is famous for his melancholy movies, here he has created a cheerful one. The strange story is a fairy tale, and historically the opera has been found entertaining by many children. But I particularly recommend it to people who enjoy an intellectual challenge.
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Oh, I thought this was mourning for Bill Walsh.
I think the one that particularly gave him a “gloomy” reputation was “The Seventh Seal” which was very depressing as I remember it (but it’s been 25 years and I don’t remember it well). Lots of deathly trances and flashbacks, with the knight being stalked by death???...... Also “The Virgin Spring” which is a sad nasty story but that one was nowhere near as well known as “The Seventh Seal” - at least as far as the USA goes, I can’t speak to Europe......
Greetings to Sweden from the mountains of Park City Utah!!
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