Ingmar Bergman [antikvár]

A FELLINI, AN ANTONIONI, A TARKOVSKY NGMAR BERGMAN IS UNQUESTIONABLY among the best known Swedes in the world. He is not only Sweden's foremost filmmaker of all time, but is generally regarded as one of the foremost figures in the entire history of the cinematic arts. In fact, Bergman is among a relatively small, exclusive group of filmmakers — a Fellini, an Antonioni, a Tarkovsky — whose family names rarely need to be accompanied by a given name: "Bergman" is a concept, a kind of "brand name" in itself Bergman's career as a cinematic artist is unique in its sheer volume. From his directing debut in Crisis (1946) to Fanny and Alexander (1982), he found time to direct more than 40 films, including some — for example The Naked Night (1953, UK tide Sawdust and Tinsel), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Silence (1963) and Persona (1966) - considered to be among the absolute classics of the cinema. But what is really unique about Bergman and certainly helped make him world-famous is his ability to use the mass medium of film - by nature as much an industry as an art - as a deeply personal form of expression, equally suited to depicting existential or psychological problems as well as a tangible world of events. Parallel with his career in the cinematic arts, Bergman also worked in the theater, directing countless plays both in Sweden and abroad. In fact, Bergman began his theater directing career as a young student and continued almost to the end of his life, directing his last production in 2002. "They'll have to carry me out of the theater feet first," Bergman said.