Match Cut Monthly Directors Consensus - Ingmar Bergman

[baby doll]

And pretty much all his other films you've seen.

Maybe, as it has been a few years.

I think we can agree though that A Lesson in Love is a mediocre comedy. And Smiles of a Summer Night is charming enough but not especially memorable either.

The Seventh Seal is like a filmed thesis rather than a movie. Wild Strawberries is marginally better, despite the slow, disjointed narrative, but it's still burdened with a tendency towards symbolism, as if film only becomes Art when the thing placed in front of the camera isn't itself but a symbol for something else. In these films, Bergman seems to be working against the grain of his chosen medium.

I have little use for angsty gab-fests, like Through a Glass, Darkly and Winter Light. I like the The Silence better in part because there's less dialogue.

I can barely remember The Passion of Anna, but it struck me as fairly mediocre at the time. And I've only seen the theatrical version of Fanny and Alexander which only interested me in the second hour, when the mother marries the priest. Those I should probably revisit.

And Saraband was a talky bore.

[Spun Lepton]

Persona is available on Netflix Instant, isn't it? Looks like I'll be watching that soon. I haven't watched any Bergman films, so shut up.

[Qrazy]

And Smiles of a Summer Night is charming enough but not especially memorable either.

I found it to be fairly tight, funny and generally excellent myself.

[trotchky]

Persona - 10

[Chac Mool]

(10)
Cries and Whispers (1973) (Viskningar och rop)
Persona (1966)

(9)
Face to Face (1976) (Ansikte mot ansikte)

(8)
The Seventh Seal (1957) (Det sjunde inseglet)
Wild Strawberries (1957) (Smultronstället)
Hour of the Wolf (1968) (Vargtimmen)

One of my favorite filmmakers -- and the greatest director of actors I can think of. Liv Ullmann's performance in Face to Face is mind-boggling.

[Llopin]

Crisis - 6
Summer Interlude - 6.5
Summer with Monika - 6.5
Smiles of a Summer Night - 7.5
The Seventh Seal - 8.5
Wild Strawberries - 9
The Magician/The Face - 7
The Virgin Spring - 8.5
Through a Glass Darkly - 8
Winter Light - 8.5
The Silence - 7
Persona - 10
Hour of the Wolf - 8
Shame - 7
Cries and Whispers - 6.5
Scenes from a Marriage - 8
Autumn Sonata - 6
Fanny and Alexander - 9.5
Serpent's Egg - 6
Saraband - 7.5

[dreamdead]

Bump if anyone wants to do any last minute changes or edits.

[Spinal]

I'll try to get to this before the day is out if you can hold on a bit.

[Spinal]

The Devil's Wanton - 8
To Joy - 7
Summer with Monika - 8.5
Sawdust and Tinsel - 8
Smiles of a Summer Night - 6
The Seventh Seal - 9
Wild Strawberries - 9
Brink of Life - 6
The Magician - 7.5
The Virgin Spring - 10
Through a Glass Darkly - 8.5
Winter Light - 10
The Silence - 7
Persona - 9
Hour of the Wolf - 10
Shame - 8.5
The Rite - 7
The Passion of Anna - 7.5
Cries and Whispers - 9.5
Scenes from a Marriage - 9.5
The Magic Flute - 7
Autumn Sonata - 8
Fanny and Alexander - 7.5
After the Rehearsal - 8.5

[dreamdead]

Results:
Persona – 9.16 (25)
The Virgin Spring – 8.75 (18)
The Seventh Seal – 8.6 (25)
Fanny and Alexander – 8.5714 (14)
Wild Strawberries – 8.25 (22)
Scenes from a Marriage – 8.1667 (12)
Smiles of a Summer Night – 8.0384 (13)
Shame – 8 (7)
Hour of the Wolf – 7.9722 (18)
Winter Light – 7.9444 (18)
Summer with Monika – 7.7 (5)
Cries and Whispers – 7.6667 (18)
Through a Glass Darkly – 7.5556 (18)
The Magician – 7.375 (8)
The Magic Flute - 7.375 (8)
Autumn Sonata – 7.2667 (15)
Sawdust and Tinsel – 7.25 (8)
The Silence – 6.9667 (15)
Saraband – 6.9167 (6)
The Passion (of Anna) – 6.5455 (11)
Crisis – 6.5 (4)
The Serpent’s Egg – 5.25 (4)


Did not Qualify:
The Devil’s Wanton – 7.75 (2)
Karen’s Face – 7.75 (2)
A Ship Bound for India – 7.5 (2)
After the Rehearsal – 7.3333 (3)
Dreams – 7.25 (2)
Summer Interlude – 7 (2)
The Devil’s Eye – 7 (1)
Brink of Life – 6.8333 (3)
To Joy – 6.6667 (3)
Face to Face – 6.6667 (3)
The Rite – 6.5 (2)
Port of Call – 6 (3)
Music in Darkness – 6 (2)
Thirst – 6 (2)
Secrets of Women – 6 (1)
It Rains on Our Love – 6 (2)
From the Life of the Marionettes – 5.5 (1)
A Lesson in Love – 5.25 (2)
High Tension – 2 (1)

Patterns = completists watch kinda boring films from a director
baby doll, Boner, and Ivan all reject The Seventh Seal
soitgoes... watched a buttload of Bergman and deserves our respect
Face to Face has the lowest viewership of what I always thought was a canonical film of his...

[StanleyK]

The Devil’s Wanton – 8 (1)
Karen’s Face – 7.75 (2)
A Ship Bound for India – 7.5 (2)
Prison – 7.5 (1)
After the Rehearsal – 7.3333 (3)
Dreams – 7.25 (2)
Summer Interlude – 7 (2)
The Devil’s Eye – 7 (1)
Brink of Life – 6.8333 (3)
To Joy – 6.6667 (3)
Face to Face – 6.6667 (3)
The Rite – 6.5 (2)
Port of Call – 6 (3)
Music in Darkness – 6 (2)
Thirst – 6 (2)
Secrets of Women – 6 (1)
It Rains on Our Love – 6 (1)
Man with an Unbrella – 6 (1)
From the Life of the Marionettes – 5.5 (1)
A Lesson in Love – 5.25 (2)
High Tension – 2 (1)

Yo, some of these movies are the same:

It Rains on Our Love = Man with an Umbrella
The Devil's Wanton = Prison

[Mysterious Dude]

I don't see The Magic Flute in the results.

[dreamdead]

danke for noticing these slips. Soon to be edited results posted.

[baby doll]

baby doll, Boner, and Ivan all reject The Seventh Seal

Since Boner gave it a 6.5, am I to assume that not considering it a supreme masterpiece is as good as rejecting it?

[StanleyK]

Crisis - 7.5
It Rains on Our Love - 6
A Ship Bound for India - 8.5
Music in Darkness - 6.5
Port of Call - 6
Smiles of a Summer Night - 7
The Seventh Seal - 9
Wild Strawberries - 9.5
The Virgin Spring - 9.5
Through a Glass Darkly - 8.5
Winter Light - 10
The Silence - 8.5
Persona - 10
Hour of the Wolf - 10
The Passion of Anna - 9.5
The Rite - 6
Cries and Whispers - 10
Scenes from a Marriage - 9
Autumn Sonata - 9.5

He might just supplant Kubrick as my favorite director; I need to see more of his work.

Nine years and a day later:

Crisis - 7
It Rains on Our Love - 5.5
A Ship Bound for India - 5.5
Music in Darkness - 5.5
Port of Call - 5.5
Prison - 5.5
Thirst - 7
To Joy - 5.5
This Can't Happen Here - 7
Summer Interlude - 7
Secrets of Women - 5.5
Summer with Monika - 7
Sawdust and Tinsel - 8.5
A Lesson in Love - 2.5
Dreams - 7
Smiles of a Summer Night - 4
The Seventh Seal - 8.5
Wild Strawberries - 10
Brink of Life - 5.5
The Magician - 7
The Virgin Spring - 8.5
The Devil's Eye - 4
Through a Glass Darkly - 8.5
Winter Light - 7
The Silence - 8.5
All These Women - 5.5
Persona - 10
Hour of the Wolf - 7
Shame - 7
The Rite - 4
The Passion of Anna - 5.5
The Touch - 5.5
Cries and Whispers - 10
Scenes from a Marriage - 8.5
The Magic Flute - 5.5
Face to Face - 5.5
The Serpent's Egg - 7
Autumn Sonata - 7
From the Life of the Marionettes - 5.5
Fanny and Alexander - 8.5
After the Rehearsal - 5.5
The Making of Fanny and Alexander - 4
Karin's Face - 7
In the Presence of a Clown - 4
Saraband - 5.5



In the end, I still gotta go with Kubrick as the best. After having seen all these Bergman movies I have to confess that I found many of them exhausting and a bit too repetitive.

[Spinal]

The Devil's Wanton - 8
To Joy - 7
Summer with Monika - 8.5
Sawdust and Tinsel - 8
Smiles of a Summer Night - 6
The Seventh Seal - 9
Wild Strawberries - 9
Brink of Life - 6
The Magician - 7.5
The Virgin Spring - 10
Through a Glass Darkly - 8.5
Winter Light - 10
The Silence - 7
Persona - 9
Hour of the Wolf - 10
Shame - 8.5
The Rite - 7
The Passion of Anna - 7.5
Cries and Whispers - 9.5
Scenes from a Marriage - 9.5
The Magic Flute - 7
Autumn Sonata - 8
Fanny and Alexander - 7.5
After the Rehearsal - 8.5

Almost 9 years later, and I haven't seen any new Bergmans, although I have rewatched a few off of this list. Only thing I would really change is to make The Seventh Seal a 10, and perhaps drop Hour of the Wolf to about a 9. The one I'd be curious to revisit right now is Fanny and Alexander.

[Ezee E]

I apparently missed this many years ago, but now:

The Seventh Seal (1957) (Det sjunde inseglet) - 7
Wild Strawberries (1957) (Smultronstället) - 8
The Virgin Spring (1960) (Jungfrukällan) - 10
Persona (1966) - 9
Cries and Whispers (1973) (Viskningar och rop) - 8.5
The Serpent's Egg (1977) (Das Schlangenei) - 3
Autumn Sonata (1978) (Höstsonaten) - 6
Fanny and Alexander (1982) (Fanny och Alexander) - 7
Saraband (2003) (TV) - 4