Tro och Dod: The Ingmar Bergman Club

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I didn't get into Bergman until a few years ago, to be honest, but when I finally invested some time to explore some of his films I was hooked. I remember finishing Autumn Sonata and thinking to myself that this guy pretty much only deals in masterpieces. I can't justify that thought now but the number of masterpieces he does have is pretty remarkable. What's even more remarkable is the variety each of these masterpieces have. Even if there are similar themes throughout much of his work, each one is a little different in my opinion, to where if you hate one of them you might love another. His themes of faith and death resonate with me to be sure, but what I really love and what maybe is the one thing that puts him up on my personal pedestal for "favorite director ever" is his often intimate, personal depiction of different illnesses, be it physical or mental. I think having a director like Bergman look at schizophrenia the way he does with a film like Through a Glass Darkly helped me through my own struggles.

That's just a little bit of what Ingmar Bergman means to me. I open the floor to everyone else to share their experiences and thoughts regarding this director and his work.

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I'm planning on doing some activities in the long run, but I'm still figuring them out and am definitely open to suggestions. But first things first, I've been trying to figure out a name for the club. Seanc had the brilliant idea that the "catch" of the club name should be in Swedish. We thought about Tro och Dod: The Ingmar Bergman Club (effectively Fear and Death: The Ingmar Bergman Club), but I'd like to see what other people think.



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I'm glad I've watched Bergman. He's definitely expanded my horizons. Will he be a personal favorite director, probably not. But he is certainly an important filmmaker in history and there are some films of his that I consider great filmmaking.



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I'm in.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.





Picked this up this week, and it's awesome. Haven't started to dig into watching the films yet but if you are a fan this bad boy is for you.
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Picked this up this week, and it's awesome. Haven't started to dig into watching the films yet but if you are a fan this bad boy is for you.

Awesome! What's all included?
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Awesome! What's all included?
39 movies. So for a plebe like me, basically everything. Plus a really nice color book with quotes and people's thoughts on him. It is set up like a festival. So they have and order to it and notes for "each day". It's really sweet. More than I have ever spent on a set by far but considering it's 39 movies, it isn't nuts.



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39 movies. So for a plebe like me, basically everything. Plus a really nice color book with quotes and people's thoughts on him. It is set up like a festival. So they have and order to it and notes for "each day". It's really sweet. More than I have ever spent on a set by far but considering it's 39 movies, it isn't nuts.

Very jealous!



I saw The Virgin Spring in the early '60s. It was my first Bergman, and I was knocked out. It was a strong and shocking story for its day. I'd never seen a film with such use of silence. The production put both Bergman and Max von Sydow on the map. Von Sydow remains one of my favorite actors today. Based on that film, I sought out a few of Bergman's earlier films, and saw a few more over the years.

It was a wonderful time in cinema. American audiences were starting to get exposure to foreign films; not only Bergman, but Fellini's La Dolce Vita, Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player, Anderson's This Sporting Life, and the like.

~Doc



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That's some going Matt. I'm on 18. Top 10 director for me too.
I just looked, and there seems to be another handful of TV movies I haven't seen, and his early works.. I think the English vs. Swedish movie titles mislead me, and maybe the IMDB lists. I also need to remember to rank after I watch them. In order.

The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
Persona
Autumn Sonata
Shame
Summer With Monika
Scenes From a Marriage
Cries and Whispers
Brink of Life
The Passion of Anna
From The Life of the Marionettes
Face to Face
Winter Light
Saraband
The Serpent's Egg
Through a Glass Darkly
The Virgin Spring
Smiles of a Summer Night
The Magician



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I just looked, and there seems to be another handful of TV movies I haven't seen, and his early works.. I think the English vs. Swedish movie titles mislead me, and maybe the IMDB lists. I also need to remember to rank after I watch them. In order.

The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
Persona
Autumn Sonata
Shame
Summer With Monika
Scenes From a Marriage
Cries and Whispers
Brink of Life
The Passion of Anna
From The Life of the Marionettes
Face to Face
Winter Light
Saraband
The Serpent's Egg
Through a Glass Darkly
The Virgin Spring
Smiles of a Summer Night
The Magician

The Serpent's Egg is probably my least favourite, certainly one of them but I'd definitely have Through A Glass Darkly, Virgin Spring (this one would probably rank somewhere along the middle for me)and Smiles Of a Summer Night much higher.



matt72582's Avatar
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I guess I've only seen 20 of his.
(my ranking in order.. All my exact scores are on "Last Movie..." thread)

The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
Persona
Autumn Sonata
Shame
Summer With Monika
Scenes From a Marriage
Cries and Whispers
Brink of Life
Riten

The Passion of Anna
From The Life of the Marionettes
Face to Face
Winter Light
Saraband
The Serpent's Egg
Through a Glass Darkly (I'm going to try and watch this today)
The Virgin Spring
The Silence
Smiles of a Summer Night
The Magician
Hour of the Wolf



Saw this today and found it really interesting: 3.5 hours of behind the scenes footage from Autumn Sonata. Fabulous insights into the film making process.