Ingmar Bergman

( in Swedish) (born July 14, 1918) is a Swedish stage and film director who is one of the key film auteurs of the second half of the twentieth century.

Biography and style characteristics

Born in Uppsala, Sweden, to a Lutheran minister of Danish descent, Bergman grew up surrounded by religious imagery and discussion. He had a strict upbringing and was locked up in dark closets for infractions such as wetting the bed. Bergman attended Stockholm University and became interested in theater, and later in cinema. His films usually deal with existential questions about mortality, loneliness, and faith; they are also usually direct and not overtly stylized. Persona, one of Bergman's most famous films, is unusual among Bergman's work for being both existentialist and avant-garde.

As a director, Bergman favors intuition over intellect, and chooses to be unaggressive in dealing with actors. Bergman sees himself as having a great responsibility toward them, whom he views as collaborators in a psychologically vulnerable position. He states that a director must be both honest and supportive to allow others their best work.

Bergman usually writes his own scripts, thinking about them for months or years before starting the actual process of writing, which he views as somewhat tedious. His earlier films are carefully structured, and are either based on plays or written with other authors, usually as a matter of convenience. Bergman states that in his later works, when his actors sometimes start wanting to do things different from what he had intended, he lets them, calling the results "disastrous" when he doesn't. Throughout his career, Bergman increasingly lets his actors improvise their dialogue. In his latest films, he has written just the ideas behind the dialogue, keeping in mind the general direction he thinks it should take.

Bergman developed a personal "repertory company" of Swedish actors whom he repeatedly cast in his films, including Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Erland Josephson, the late Ingrid Thulin, and Gunnar Björnstrand, each of whom appeared in at least five Bergman features. Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann was the last to join this group (in the 1966 film Persona), and ultimately became most closely associated with Bergman, both artistically and personally.

Bergman began working with Sven Nykvist, his cinematographer, in 1953. The two of them have sufficient rapport to allow Bergman not to worry about the composition of a shot until the day before it is filmed. On the morning of the shoot, he speaks to Nykvist briefly about the mood and composition he hopes for, and then leaves him to work without interruption or comment until they discuss the next day's work.

When viewing daily rushes, Bergman stresses the importance of being critical but unemotional, claiming that he asks himself not if the work is great or terrible, but if it is sufficient or if it needs to be reshot.

Bergman encourages young directors not to direct any film that does not have a "message," but to wait until one comes along that does, yet admits that he himself is not always sure of the message of some of his films. By Bergman's own accounts, he has never had a problem with funding. He cites two reasons for it: one, that he does not live in the United States, which he views as obsessed with box-office earnings; and two, that his films tend to be low-budget affairs. (Cries and Whispers, for instance, was finished for about $450,000, while Scenes from a Marriagecost only $200,000.) Bergman left Sweden for Munich when accused of tax evasion. Though he was later cleared of the charges, he remained in Munich and did not film again in Sweden until 1982. In 1982 he directed Fanny and Alexander. Bergman stated that the film would be his last, and that afterwards he would focus on directing theater. Since then he has directed a number of television specials and written several additional scripts, though he does continue to work in theater. In 2003, Bergman, at 84 years old, directed a new film, Saraband, that represents a departure from his previous works.

When asked about his movies, he says he holds Winter Light [1], Persona and Cries and Whispers highest in regard, though in an interview in 2004, Bergman said that he is 'depressed' by his own films and cannot watch them anymore. [2] In these films, he says, he managed to push the medium to its limit. He has denounced the critical classification of three of his films (Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light and The Silence) as a trilogy: he had no intention of connecting them, and cannot see any common motifs in them.

His daughter Eva Bergman (born 1945), is also a director, as is his son Daniel Bergman. He is also the father of writer Linn Ullmann, with actress Liv Ullmann.

In 1971, Bergman received The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards ceremony. Three of his films have won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: The Virgin Spring in 1961; Through a Glass Darkly in 1962; and Fanny and Alexander in 1984.

In addition has has been nominated nine times:
Wild Strawberries (1959) Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written directly for the screen
Through a Glass Darkly (1962) Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written directly for the screen
Cries and Whispers (1973) Best Picture (nominated as producer), Director and Writing - Story and Screenplay based on factual material or material not previously published or produced
Face to Face (1976) Best Director
Autumn Sonata (1978) Best Writing, Screenplay written directly for the screen
Fanny and Alexander (1982) Best Director and Writing - Screenplay written directly for the screen

The film director, writer and actor Woody Allen cites the work of Bergman as a major influence.

Filmography

Saraband (2003) (TV)
In The Presence of a Clown (1997) (Larmar och gör sig till) (TV)
After the Rehearsal (1984) (Efter repetitionen)
Karin's Face (1984) (Karins ansikte) (TV)
Fanny and Alexander (1982) (Fanny och Alexander) (won 4 Academy Awards, including one for Best Foreign Language Film)
From the Life of the Marionettes (1980) (Aus dem Leben der Marionetten)
Autumn Sonata (1978) (Höstsonaten)
The Serpent's Egg (1977) (Das Schlangenei)
Face to Face (1976) (Ansikte mot ansikte)
The Magic Flute (1975) (Trollflöjten), first shown on Swedish television, followed by a cinematic release
Scenes from a Marriage (1973) (Scener ur ett äktenskap)
Cries and Whispers (1973) (Viskningar och rop) (won Academy Award for Best Cinematography)
The Touch (1971) (Beröringen)
The Passion of Anna (1969) (En passion)
The Rite (1968) (Riten) (TV)
Shame (1968) (Skammen)
Hour of the Wolf (1967) (Vargtimmen)
Persona (1966)
All These Women (1964) (För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor)
The Silence (1963) (Tystnaden)
Winter Light (1963) (Nattvardsgästerna)
Through a Glass Darkly (1961) (Såsom i en spegel) (won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)
The Virgin Spring (1960) (Jungfrukällan) (won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)
The Devil's Eye (1960) (Djävulens öga)
Brink of Life (1958) (Nära livet)
The Magician (1958) (Ansiktet )
Wild Strawberries (1957) (Smultronstället)
The Seventh Seal (1957) (Det sjunde inseglet)
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) (Sommarnattens leende)
Dreams (1955) (Kvinnodröm)
A Lesson in Love (1954) (En lektion i kärlek)
Summer with Monika (1953) (Sommaren med Monika)
The Naked Night (1953) (Gycklarnas afton)
Secrets of Women (1952) (Kvinnors väntan)
Summer Interlude (1951) (Sommarlek)
To Joy (1950) (Till glädje)
This Can't Happen Here (1950) (Sånt händer inte här)
Thirst (1949) (Törst)
Prison (1949) (Fängelse)
Port of Call (1948) (Hamnstad)
Music in Darkness (1948) (Musik i mörker)
A Ship to India (1947) (Skepp till India land)
It Rains on Our Love (1946) (Det regnar på vår kärlek)
Crisis (1946) (Kris)

Screenwriting Works

Hets (Frenzy or Torment in English) (1944) (Directed by Alf Sjöberg)
Kvinna utan ansikte (1947) (Directed by Gustaf Molander)
Eva (1948) (Directed by Gustaf Molander)
Medan staden sover (1950) (Directed by Lars Erik Kjellgren)
Frånskild (1951) (Directed by Gustaf Molander)
Sista paret ut (1956) (Directed by Alf Sjöberg)
Lustgården (1961) (Directed by Alf Kjellin)
The Best Intentions (1992) (Den goda viljan) (Directed by Bille August)
Söndagsbarn (1992) (Directed by Daniel Bergman)
Faithless (2000) (Directed by Liv Ullmann)

Documentary Works

Fårö Documentary (1969) (Fårö dokument)
Fårö Documentary 1979 (1979) (Fårö-dokument 1979)
Fanny and Alexander Documentary (1985) (Dokument Fanny och Alexander)

Bibliography

Bergman on Bergman: Interviews with Ingmar Bergman. By Stig Björkman, Torsten Manns, and Jonas Sima; Translated by Paul Britten Austin. Simon & Schuster, New York. Swedish edition copyright 1970, English translation 1973.
Filmmakers on filmmaking : the American Film Institute seminars on motion pictures and television. Edited by Joseph McBride. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1983.
Images: my life in film, Ingmar Bergman, Translated by Marianne Ruuth. New York, Arcade Pub., 1994, ISBN 1559701862
The Magic Lantern, Ingmar Bergman, Translated by Joan Tate New York, Viking Press, 1988, ISBN 0670819115