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I liked it well enough, although there are many other Bergmans that I prefer. The Virgin Spring and Autumn Sonata would be my top 2 this far.
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I liked it well enough, although there are many other Bergmans that I prefer. The Virgin Spring and Autumn Sonata would be my top 2 this far.
Still haven't seen Autumn Sonata, but I definitely will, as I'm moving chronologically through Bergman's filmography.
So far my favourite is Wild Strawberries.
I liked Silence and Through a Glass Darkly, but Winter Light is the Bergman film I most struggled with so far.
Last edited by Jeff Costello; 04-01-17 at 11:42 AM.
What made you struggle with Winter Light Cricket?
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Persona (1966) - Ingmar Berman
For an astronomic reputation this film enjoys, I honestly thought I'd like it much better. Don't get me wrong Persona is an art-house heaven, providing some of the most iconic and surreal images ever put on screen. However I thought it was pretty impersonal and lifeless. I couldn't really connect to the story and be drawn into it. From my gathering, Persona looked like a Bergman's exercise on Jung's archetypes, a theory established by a Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, a major influence on European directors like Fellini and Bergman. And it was done in a very impressive fashion, swiftly demonstrating deep traumas and repressed desires, through visceral images and patterns which derived from a deep unconcsius. The performances by two leads : Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson were very good. Persona was actually the first colaboration between Ullmann and Bergman and she was simply magnetic, while playing the role of the mute actress who's being taken care of by a young nurse (Andersson). Their power stuggle and mutual objection to emotional and physical abuse was really an intriguing watch. By far my favourite scene was Alma's (Andersson) narration of the sexual orgy she encountered with two adolescents and another woman. This particular scene oozed with eroticism and rawness, and was very unconfortable yet powerful. The cinematography was drop dead gorgeous and one of the film's strongest aspects, which is a credit by Bergman's long time collaborator Sven Nykvist. Overall an intriguing philosophical work by Bergman with countless metaphysical elements and a deep exploration of human's psyche. Undoubtedly an experience. Too bad it left me so indifferent.
Rating: +
For an astronomic reputation this film enjoys, I honestly thought I'd like it much better. Don't get me wrong Persona is an art-house heaven, providing some of the most iconic and surreal images ever put on screen. However I thought it was pretty impersonal and lifeless. I couldn't really connect to the story and be drawn into it. From my gathering, Persona looked like a Bergman's exercise on Jung's archetypes, a theory established by a Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, a major influence on European directors like Fellini and Bergman. And it was done in a very impressive fashion, swiftly demonstrating deep traumas and repressed desires, through visceral images and patterns which derived from a deep unconcsius. The performances by two leads : Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson were very good. Persona was actually the first colaboration between Ullmann and Bergman and she was simply magnetic, while playing the role of the mute actress who's being taken care of by a young nurse (Andersson). Their power stuggle and mutual objection to emotional and physical abuse was really an intriguing watch. By far my favourite scene was Alma's (Andersson) narration of the sexual orgy she encountered with two adolescents and another woman. This particular scene oozed with eroticism and rawness, and was very unconfortable yet powerful. The cinematography was drop dead gorgeous and one of the film's strongest aspects, which is a credit by Bergman's long time collaborator Sven Nykvist. Overall an intriguing philosophical work by Bergman with countless metaphysical elements and a deep exploration of human's psyche. Undoubtedly an experience. Too bad it left me so indifferent.
Rating: +
I haven't seen any of those 4 Bergman films, but nice reviews. Personally I've seen only 2 or 3 Bergman and haven't liked them. Maybe one of these days, I will find a Bergman film I can relate to. I find them to cold for my taste. But cool that others appreciate them.
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I haven't seen any of those 4 Bergman films, but nice reviews. Personally I've seen only 2 or 3 Bergman and haven't liked them. Maybe one of these days, I will find a Bergman film I can relate to. I find them to cold for my taste. But cool that others appreciate them.
Persona seems to be one of Bergman's most popular, but it would be in the bottom third of my favorites. That could change with another watch.
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Persona seems to be one of Bergman's most popular, but it would be in the bottom third of my favorites. That could change with another watch.
I pretty much feel the same about Persona. Appreciated it; didn't really like it. Fanny & Alexander is my favorite from Bergman. His stuff is almost always beautiful in its own way. The Magician is somewhat shrouded by the rest of his catalogue too. Now I feel like revisiting Bergman. You've given me a sleep aid for the next month JC. 
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I pretty much feel the same about Persona. Appreciated it; didn't really like it. Fanny & Alexander is my favorite from Bergman. His stuff is almost always beautiful in its own way. The Magician is somewhat shrouded by the rest of his catalogue too. Now I feel like revisiting Bergman. You've given me a sleep aid for the next month JC.
Le Notti Bianche aka White Nights (1957) - Luchino Visconti
Le Notti Bianche is Visconti's adaptation of Dostoevsky's short story. It is about an indigent young man Mario(Marcello Mastroianni), who encounters a disfunctional lonely young woman Natalia (Maria Schell) during the night on a city square. Having found her in a very destructive state, he approaches her and gradually starts to interact with her. Throughout the next 4 days, they continue to meet regularly, as Mario's love towards her progressively intensifies. However her heart is already occupied by a man( Jean Marais), who may never return to her again.
Like other two Visconti's pieces I saw, the visuals were carefully sculptured. The first thing that's noticable of the bat is the dark,gloomy and barely lighted city streets in which most of the film takes place, which added a very neorealistic tone to it. The ambient Visconti constructed was certainly one of the film's strongest assets. First half started out quite slowly and I wasn't really hooked on this fairy tale romance, however the second half really picked it up and left me with quite a few mesmerizing scenes. The second part is what really made me love this film, as the distance between the characters and their wavelenghts became very visible, indicating the doom of this untried romance.
I really liked Mastroianni's performance here. He nailed his role as an introverted, melancholic and fatalistic young clerk in a very subtle manner. MM made his character very relatable and pitiable, while not being overly melodramatic. However I wasn't really a fan of Schell's performance. She seemed to overact in certain scenes and she made her character too hysterical for my taste.
One of the most intriguing scenes that really made me appreciate, this film was the dancing scene at the night club. Simply a great metaphore for their uncomfortable relationship. I won't even mention the ending, which was executed and shot brilliantly and has left a profound mark on me.
Great film, that has also inspired me to check out Visconti's adaptation of Camus's "The Stranger" next.
Rating :
Le Notti Bianche is Visconti's adaptation of Dostoevsky's short story. It is about an indigent young man Mario(Marcello Mastroianni), who encounters a disfunctional lonely young woman Natalia (Maria Schell) during the night on a city square. Having found her in a very destructive state, he approaches her and gradually starts to interact with her. Throughout the next 4 days, they continue to meet regularly, as Mario's love towards her progressively intensifies. However her heart is already occupied by a man( Jean Marais), who may never return to her again.
Like other two Visconti's pieces I saw, the visuals were carefully sculptured. The first thing that's noticable of the bat is the dark,gloomy and barely lighted city streets in which most of the film takes place, which added a very neorealistic tone to it. The ambient Visconti constructed was certainly one of the film's strongest assets. First half started out quite slowly and I wasn't really hooked on this fairy tale romance, however the second half really picked it up and left me with quite a few mesmerizing scenes. The second part is what really made me love this film, as the distance between the characters and their wavelenghts became very visible, indicating the doom of this untried romance.
I really liked Mastroianni's performance here. He nailed his role as an introverted, melancholic and fatalistic young clerk in a very subtle manner. MM made his character very relatable and pitiable, while not being overly melodramatic. However I wasn't really a fan of Schell's performance. She seemed to overact in certain scenes and she made her character too hysterical for my taste.
One of the most intriguing scenes that really made me appreciate, this film was the dancing scene at the night club. Simply a great metaphore for their uncomfortable relationship. I won't even mention the ending, which was executed and shot brilliantly and has left a profound mark on me.
Great film, that has also inspired me to check out Visconti's adaptation of Camus's "The Stranger" next.
Rating :
Last edited by Jeff Costello; 04-06-17 at 05:21 PM.
El (1953) - Luis Bunuel
Surreal, satirical, provocative and tense. In one word Bunuel. I'm also quite sure that Hitchock borrowed some elements from it in Vertigo. Nice gem from his Mexican period. I'll probly revisit it later, and maybe than will review it more minutely.
Rating:
Surreal, satirical, provocative and tense. In one word Bunuel. I'm also quite sure that Hitchock borrowed some elements from it in Vertigo. Nice gem from his Mexican period. I'll probly revisit it later, and maybe than will review it more minutely.
Rating:
La Grande Bouffee (1973) - Marco Ferreri
I actually heard about this flick, while reading Bunuel's autobiography "My Last Sigh" where he listed it among his favourite movies. Naturally I decided to check it out, and my goodness it was definitely like nothing I've ever seen.
The plot was about 4 men of different socio-economic backrounds , who decided to isolate themselves in the country side villa and eat themselves to death. Meanwhile they participated in countless group orgies with prostitutes , which were oftenly very explicit. Literally the entire film consisted of gruesome overeating and sex. And it was done in such a repulsive and disturbing manner that it was oftenly uncomfortable to watch. I can definitely see why this was one of Bunuel's favourites as it served well as a mockery of hedonism and materialistic lifestyles of modern days society, which were often themes in his own film. But this was honestly a bit over the top for me.
The film featured some of the greats of European cinema like : Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli and Ugo Tognazzi. It was especially bizzare to see Marcello playing the role of a sexual maniac frustrated with his impotence, after I just recently saw him playing such an innocent role as a hopeless romantic in Le Notti Bianchi. The cast was pretty good and really brave for taking up their roles.
La Grande Bouffee also got a few laughs for me. There were some scenes, which were at the same time disturbing, bizzare and funny. Like the time MM's character , caused sanitary pipes to explode, leaving the house covered in feces. Yeah, I know right...
Really an anarchic and bizzare film, filled with grotesque images. But one simply has to admire Ferreri's originality, vision and an uncompromising social commentary. In my opinion it could've been shortened a bit, but even in this state, it remained quite of entertaining.
Despite being over the top with its obscenity , I'll give it a pretty good rating because it was simply like nothing I've ever seen and an impressionable experience.
Rating:
I actually heard about this flick, while reading Bunuel's autobiography "My Last Sigh" where he listed it among his favourite movies. Naturally I decided to check it out, and my goodness it was definitely like nothing I've ever seen.
The plot was about 4 men of different socio-economic backrounds , who decided to isolate themselves in the country side villa and eat themselves to death. Meanwhile they participated in countless group orgies with prostitutes , which were oftenly very explicit. Literally the entire film consisted of gruesome overeating and sex. And it was done in such a repulsive and disturbing manner that it was oftenly uncomfortable to watch. I can definitely see why this was one of Bunuel's favourites as it served well as a mockery of hedonism and materialistic lifestyles of modern days society, which were often themes in his own film. But this was honestly a bit over the top for me.
The film featured some of the greats of European cinema like : Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli and Ugo Tognazzi. It was especially bizzare to see Marcello playing the role of a sexual maniac frustrated with his impotence, after I just recently saw him playing such an innocent role as a hopeless romantic in Le Notti Bianchi. The cast was pretty good and really brave for taking up their roles.
La Grande Bouffee also got a few laughs for me. There were some scenes, which were at the same time disturbing, bizzare and funny. Like the time MM's character , caused sanitary pipes to explode, leaving the house covered in feces. Yeah, I know right...
Really an anarchic and bizzare film, filled with grotesque images. But one simply has to admire Ferreri's originality, vision and an uncompromising social commentary. In my opinion it could've been shortened a bit, but even in this state, it remained quite of entertaining.
Despite being over the top with its obscenity , I'll give it a pretty good rating because it was simply like nothing I've ever seen and an impressionable experience.
Rating:
Last edited by Jeff Costello; 04-10-17 at 11:26 PM.
Double Indemnity (1944) - Billy Wilder
Brief Synopsis : A seduced 35-year old insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) constructs an elaborate scheme to eliminate his lover's (Barbara Stanwyck) husband.
Often cited as one of the greatest film-noirs of all time, Double Indemnity certainly didn't overly impress me, despite being fairly good. There was just something lacking...It started out quite slow for me, and eventough the story got more tense as the film progressed, it was still predictable. Double Indemnity was technically well made, with predominant shadowy setting and a swift camera work. I generally liked the dialogue (eventough it was laughable at times) and the narration. And the story which dealt with elements like ; amorality, greed and betrayal, was engaging enough to keep me interested, but it lacked the involving and tense atmosphere, which would make me really like it.
I thought that one of the film's main problems was the lack of chemistry between MacMurray and Stanwyck. I found their acting to be pretty bland and stiff, especially MacMurray who basically seemed emotionless despite participating in such tense actions. Stanwyck also wasn't really convincing to me as femme fatale. The interactions between them felt really static and forced. By far my favourite performance, was by Edward G. Robinson, who served, as a some kind of balance to the story, with his unmistakeable gut and sharp intellect.
I wish I liked this film more, but it has kind of failed to live up to its reputation. At least for me.
Rating: +
Brief Synopsis : A seduced 35-year old insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) constructs an elaborate scheme to eliminate his lover's (Barbara Stanwyck) husband.
Often cited as one of the greatest film-noirs of all time, Double Indemnity certainly didn't overly impress me, despite being fairly good. There was just something lacking...It started out quite slow for me, and eventough the story got more tense as the film progressed, it was still predictable. Double Indemnity was technically well made, with predominant shadowy setting and a swift camera work. I generally liked the dialogue (eventough it was laughable at times) and the narration. And the story which dealt with elements like ; amorality, greed and betrayal, was engaging enough to keep me interested, but it lacked the involving and tense atmosphere, which would make me really like it.
I thought that one of the film's main problems was the lack of chemistry between MacMurray and Stanwyck. I found their acting to be pretty bland and stiff, especially MacMurray who basically seemed emotionless despite participating in such tense actions. Stanwyck also wasn't really convincing to me as femme fatale. The interactions between them felt really static and forced. By far my favourite performance, was by Edward G. Robinson, who served, as a some kind of balance to the story, with his unmistakeable gut and sharp intellect.
I wish I liked this film more, but it has kind of failed to live up to its reputation. At least for me.
Rating: +
Last edited by Jeff Costello; 04-08-17 at 11:47 PM.
I love Wilder, but DI is one I never really got. It's a decent noir though. I like when Wilder lets out his sense of humor; One, Two, Three and The Apartment are favorites.
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Jeff, you finally reviewed a film I've seen, yeah! Good review on Double Indemnity. I liked the film more than you, but we had some similar opinions in our reviews. That was also one of the nominations in the first Film Noir HoF that I ran. Overall it did really will too, coming in at #3 of 13 movies.
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I was also underwhelmed with Double Indemnity, despite not having any issues with it. I'd have to watch it again to fully comment. I felt the same way about Laura. Nothing about these movies grabbed me.
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Double Indemnity is one of my favourite films and my favourite Wilder so far. I get your problems with it though even though i don't agree,
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