Ingmar Bergman

[CTTT]

I'm very curious about this director. I know Criterion has a big box set of his movies. Any recommendations? What is his directing style like?

[Kirby101]

Dark, brooding Swedish master. Heavy on psychology and questions of life.
Best for me, seventh Seal, must see.
Wild Strawberries
Smiles of a Summer Night
Fanny and Alexander

[chicago_bastard]

Introspective, yet visually compelling. Heavy on close-ups and static takes. Religion, death, human relations, and the meaning of life as constant themes.

My favorites:

The Seventh Seal (his definite masterpiece)
Cries and Whispers (both depressing and stunning at the same time)
Persona (his most radical; can't be descibed, has to be experienced)
Hour of the Wolf (Lynch clearly took some inspiration from this one)
Wild Strawberries (beautifully shot)

Almost all of his films are worth seeing.

[SiegePerilous02]

So far I've seen Seventh Seal, Persona, Hour of the Wolf and The Virgin Spring and I've enjoyed all of them.

I've been meaning to get around to watching more.

[Frobisher]

Have seen Seventh Seal and two cuts of Fanny & Alexander, which I think was made as a TV series. Dude is bleak, but obviously super influential on Euro cinema.

[Timothy Hunter]

I'm a fan of his films, although I thought The Rite was forgettable.

What would you say his American equivalent is? A lot of Woody Allen's 70s and 80s wofk is very Bergman-y particularly Interiors and September.

[Soubhagya]

In my opinion Wild Strawberries is a must see. I will recommend the other two movies i have watched as well. Seventh Seal and Persona. While not my favorites by any means, they were interesting to watch. In any case his visuals are stunning. I pity the people who stay away from black and white movies because they lack color. Bergman is the kind of director who can make black and white films beautiful. If you want to appreciate different kinds of films, and expand your vision from the usual fare, then watching his films is kind of a must. I found Persona to be most disappointing of the bunch. By the end i was like what did i watch? What was the point? But the visuals were great. And the characters and setting were compelling to watch.

[C_Miller]

Bergman is one of the top pillars of Art House cinema. His movies don't always hit the pure entertainment factor, but all of the ones I've seen are super interesting with great visuals and messages/themes you'll want to mull over. I definitely have to echo The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and Persona. He's made a ton of great films, but those are three that will give you a decent sampling of what he has to say as a filmmaker.

[Mister Mets]

I'm a fan of his films, although I thought The Rite was forgettable.

What would you say his American equivalent is? A lot of Woody Allen's 70s and 80s wofk is very Bergman-y particularly Interiors and September.

I think Bergman is very of his culture. There are some Altman-like films, but few directors who cover domestic dramas with small casts set over a small period of time in several dozen films. Granted, Altman does have some diversity in his work. Smiles From a Summer's Night and The Seventh Seal are very different from his typical work (typical in the sense that it's serious; it's really high quality.)

One Night in Miami and Fences are probably Altman-like films.

Maybe Paul Schraeder. First Reformed borrows heavily from Winter Light.

This article makes the case for a few directors.

http://www.tasteofcin********/2016/1...ngmar-bergman/

[ed2962]

For a while he was Woody Allen's favorite director.

[Nods]

I'm very curious about this director. I know Criterion has a big box set of his movies. Any recommendations? What is his directing style like?

His stuff is all over the place...it really depends on what you like if you want his lighter stuff

Scenes from a Marriage
Fanny and Alexander
The Magic Flute
Wild Strawberries

If you want more claustrophobic horror stuff
Shame
Life of Marionettes
Cries and Whispers
The Virgin Spring

If you want to go for more emotional personal stuff
Summer with Monika
Persona
Through a Glass Darkly