 Ingmar
Bergman
delved deep into the conflicts that torture human souls in ways
that few other filmmakers have. Raised by a prominent and stern
Lutheran minister--his father would lock him in a dark closet for
transgressions like wetting the bed--Swedish director Bergman's dark
view of the human condition was colored by his painful childhood.
Illness, betrayal, the fragile nature of the psyche, the struggle with
identity and with the reality of mortality--these themes undergird the
majority of Bergman's work.
Notwithstanding the challenging nature of his films, Bergman is
recognized as one of the greats of world cinema. He directed 62 films
over his long career and worked extensively in the theater as well,
directing over 170 plays.
Bergman is best known for his 1957 film The Seventh Seal,an
allegorical drama in which a knight plays chess with the
personification of Death. It was a banner year for Bergman; his film Wild Strawberries
was also released in 1957. Although he had been directing films since
the 1940's, he had first come to international attention two years
previous with Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), an uncharacteristically comedic if still cerebral film.
Bergman had a run of highly regarded films throughout the next 20 years--Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1962), The Silence (1963), Persona (1966), Hour of the Wolf and Shame (1968), The Passion of Anna (1969), Cries and Whispers (1972), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), The Magic Flute (1975), Autumn Sonata (1978) and Fanny and Alexander (1982). Bergman's last film as a director was Saraband, made for TV in 2003.
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