Ingmar Bergman

by | Aug 1, 2007 | Blogroll, Directors, Film, Movies

7th-seal-good.jpgFamed director Ingmar Bergman passed away last week, (along with another legendary filmaker, Michelangelo Antonioni). Of course, there is acknowledgment of his talent and what he brought to film, but, frankly, I immediately felt this wave of nostalgia. 

I associate Mr. Bergman with a black and white film about a chalk faced man in a black cloak. The movie was “The Seventh Seal”,(1957) with Max von Sydow and rest of Bergman’s stable of actors, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekero, Nils Poppe and Bibi Andersson. In short, the story is about a knight that returns from the crusades. After being followed home thru the devastation of a war torn and plague infested countryside, he plays a game of chess with “death” to save his life. Lots of stark landscapes, lots of symbolism. Terrific film.

In NYC, back in the day, you gained immediate “cred” if you had seen the “The Seventh Seal”. It established you as a serious person. In fact you were seen as a person  with substance – you were not deterred by subtitles. (Yes, it seems silly and pretentious now, but, we saw great stuff! – Fellini, Truffaut, Antonioni, and Rosselini)

Anyway, nostalgia. A great director, and we still have his work. Hugely prolific, below are only some of Ingmar Bergman’s films that were seen here. We should all be grateful for DVD:

1950s: Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries
1960s: The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, Persona
1970s: Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage , Autumn Sonata
1980s: Fanny and Alexander

Martin Scorsese – The Departed

by | Feb 25, 2007 | Directors, Film, Movies

A violent, hard film, no sweetness here, no happy ending. Who’re the good guys? Who’s wearing the “white” hat?
Cynical with assorted shades of grey, both cops and criminals seem to have other revenue sources, sort of a cross pollination effect.
As always, this director knows the value of a good story- a lot of blood, high suspense and one of the most explosive final lines of any film that I’ve heard. The actors were totally committed to making the bizarre characters real, believable which is not just an example of the talent of Di Caprio, Nicholson and Wahlberg, but is also a testament to Scorsese’s skill.
I’ve seen most of Scorsese’s films and I hope he wins the best director Oscar today. If The Departed isn’t the “best” he has done, its pretty close to
Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, etc.
P.S –- I’ll take a risk: I’m writing this at 2:30pm, Sunday afternoon – I predict Martin Scorsese will win the Oscar! (After 6 nominations, it is time)
Nominated: Best Director
1980 Raging Bull
1988 The Last Temptation of Christ
1990 Goodfellas
2002 Gangs of New York
2004 The Aviator