Ingmar Bergman

Started by filmcritic, June 23, 2003, 12:11:24 AM

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MacGuffin

U.S. company has plans for Ingmar Bergman catalog

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rights to the complete works of Swedish film legend Ingmar Bergman , at least in the United States, now rest with the former owners of a Colorado movie theater after an eight-year legal battle with a Scandinavian media group.

To satisfy an unpaid multimillion-dollar court judgment against Svensk Filmindustri, a Colorado judge last year ordered rights to its entire movie catalog transferred to operators of the landmark Isis Theater in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado.

The process of assigning and recording rights to Bergman's films and dozens of others with the U.S. Copyright Office was completed in late December, Isis representatives said on Friday.

Transferred so far are roughly 450 movie and television titles, including Bergman's complete film collection , among them " Cries and Whispers ," " Fanny and Alexander ," " Hour of the Wolf ," " The Seventh Seal " and "Wild Strawberries."

Other art-house classics included are Lasse Hallstrom 's " My Life as a Dog " and Bo Widerberg 's " Elvira Madigan ."

The move is expected to pave the way for renewed public and commercial access to Bergman's films, whose distribution was hampered for several years by the litigation over their ownership. Bergman died on July 30, 2007, at age 89.

Isis is now seeking distribution and licensing deals for his films, bringing them to a wider audience, said Denver-based lawyer Jack Smith.

"We didn't choose to go into the Swedish film business. All we chose was to collect the money that we're owed on this judgment," Smith said.

The judgment, which has grown with interest to nearly $10 million, stemmed from a lawsuit over a 1997 agreement between Isis and Svensk to transform the historic theater in Aspen into a multiplex cinema .

Svensk guaranteed the lease on the project but refused to pay when its partner, Resort Theaters of America, went bankrupt in 2000 and the venture failed.

Svensk in recent years declined to contest Isis' claims in U.S. courts, and Smith said the Swedish film company may continue to assert competing rights to the films in other countries.

"The actual enforcement of this (judgment) outside the United States is something that remains to be seen," he said.

Isis has, however, managed to collect about $500,000 by garnishing Svensk royalties paid by U.S. movie distributors, Smith said.

No officials from Svensk were immediately available for comment. Nor were representatives of its parent company, the family-owned media conglomerate the Bonnier Group.

But Hollywood trade magazine Daily Variety quoted Bonnier executive Torsten Larsson last July as saying, "A court decision in Colorado means nothing in Sweden . ... We offered a settlement (to Isis) but they were not interested."

While Isis lacks physical prints of the movies at issue, most exist in digital format, "so that makes obtaining a master film version less significant," Smith said.

Isis recently launched a new movie retail website, SwedishClassicFilms.com , where individuals can order DVD copies of Bergman's works.
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SiliasRuby

I just watched 'The Virgin Spring' and my God, how sad and disturbing this film was. I haven't seen as much bergman as I want to (my yellow box has not been open yet) and I am constantly amazed at the quietness of his films. This was such a great story and I was yelling at the TV "Jesus!...Oh Fuck!". It was really worth the viewing and at  a brisk 89 minutes it seems to really be compact. Color me impressed. Still have a lot to see, the only other bergmans I've seen are 'persona' and 'The Seventh Seal' and I need to rewatch both.
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Jefferson

Quote from: SiliasRuby on February 08, 2009, 09:30:44 PM
I just watched 'The Virgin Spring' and my God, how sad and disturbing this film was. I haven't seen as much bergman as I want to (my yellow box has not been open yet) and I am constantly amazed at the quietness of his films. This was such a great story and I was yelling at the TV "Jesus!...Oh Fuck!". It was really worth the viewing and at  a brisk 89 minutes it seems to really be compact. Color me impressed. Still have a lot to see, the only other bergmans I've seen are 'persona' and 'The Seventh Seal' and I need to rewatch both.

give wild strawberries a shot if you get the chance. it was between seventh seal and virgin spring so has similar cinematography and narrative feel. it's not nearly as explicitly dark as virgin spring, but it still kicks my ass every time i think about it. winter light/the silence/ through a glass darkly is a psuedo trilogy that came pretty soon after and is even more similar to virgin spring. all four are on criterion so pretty easy to get ahold of. im in the middle of rewatching all of his that i own and the trilogy is next up. last one i'd suggest is scenes from a marriage. came a bit later and doesn't have much of the same feel but i absolutely love it and would feel like a turd if i didn't suggest it.

SiliasRuby

I have Wild Strawberries on DVD and I have that psuedo trilogy on my wish list. Reviews coming soon.
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ElPandaRoyal

Also, watch Hour of The Wolf, one of the scariest pieces of cinema that I've ever seen - it's quite disturbing and intense, and Max von Sydows' best performance for Bergman in my opinion.
Si

matt35mm

I dunno, I'd suggest making Scenes from a Marriage a priority.  Long version.  So simple and accessible but really powerful.

SiliasRuby

I just saw 'Through a glass darkly and its horrifyingly good. So much beauty and so much torment. I still have the other two in the trilogy, 'Winter Light' and 'Silence'. The more and more I see of bergman, the more he's becoming one of my favorite film makers. There are some scenes in this film that were a definite punch to the gut.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

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SiliasRuby

I saw 'Winter light' tonight and the overall feeling of sadness got me by the balls. I'm not a heavily religious man because I've studied all types of religions and I've discarded most of them. I'm actually an agnostic deist. Look it up. But, really this film had me think of plenty of revelant questions of faith and how people percive it, had me asking as many questions as 'religuous'. I especially like the whole talking strait into the camera bit. Bergman continues to entertain me AND depress me, which so few film makers can do these days.

Next up, 'The Silence'.
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edison

That is a very good box set. I too love that letter spoken directly to the camera scene. Looking forward to reading your thoughts about The Silence.

Others have given you suggestions about what else to watch and I have a personal favourite: Fanny and Alexander. Another amazing set by Criterion.

SiliasRuby

I also have fanny and alexander on dvd. I got the whole box set for 40 bucks when they first released it. I haven't looked at it yet.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

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Pwaybloe

FYI, "The Virgin Spring" is up to view for free at www.theauteurs.com.

I dabbled with "Wild Strawberries" and "Persona" several years ago and passed them off as good, but a little too pretentious.  Then I watched "Cries and Whispers" shortly after that and I was sold.  Though, I still think his best work is with "Scenes from a Marriage." 

Recently I've crawled back into his arms after watching the entire "Fanny and Alexander" series last weekend. 

SiliasRuby

'The Silence'.---Spoilers----

There's possibly more I will catch when I view it again but here are my initial reactions. This little boy is quite wonderful and has all the innocence and nievete that haley joel osment once had before he started crashing cars and drinking alcohol. Before LA took hold of him. I don't like reading the summary for films where I know the director, so I'm always surprised when I sit down to watch a piece of cinema. This has been happening lately when I've been netflixing plenty of foreign films.

Maybe its just different times or maybe its a whole different culture but the casual nudity that Anna shows to her son Johan was a bit unnerving at first. Esther, the sister, although first she looks ill, comes off like one of those women who want to do nothing for something, always get their way, blow how she feels out of proportion and does things just get to attention. The reason I say this is because when the three of them check into a suite Esther begins drinking and smoking cigarettes and then masturbates. What would happen if a woman like this actually was sick, well you have what happens in the film.

The thing I'm learning more and more about bergman is what his trademarks are and one of them is how he uses quietness and silence to give his films a bit more potentcy. The other being how me can make it so how you are not thinking you are watching a film and still keep you right in the mess of the scene. Hope that made sense. The other thing I'm finding quite fascinating is how he can pack so much into so little amount of time and yet time doesn't constrict his films.

The highlights of this film are the little people, the 2 beautiful women playing the leads and bellhop who doesn't speak their language.

One of the questions I had not that it matters or is very important is where are they? The area looks very french but some of the actors actually look very russian.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

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SiliasRuby

Autumn Sonata- Spoilers-
This is a very sad film, as most bergman films are, but this one has the powerhouse performance by Ingrid Bergman. Its a excruciating look at how a mother deals with a person who liquidates that she once loved. It really is a solid film that feels like its going to hit an emotional wall very soon. Ingrid's performance reminds me of Gena Rowlands in 'A Woman Under The influence', but almost the exact opposite. The mother being in complete denial about what's happening to her younger daughter. Maybe thats just my interpretation. Her emotions come crawling out, screeching and scurrying out. There's also some other things of note I found intriguing. The break of the fourth wall in the very beginning. The slide show and the conversation that proceeds.

Its all very heartbreaking and sad in the best bergman way. I haven't seen 'september' yet, but from what I've seen of Bergman, Woody can't touch him.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

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SiliasRuby

Scenes From A Marriage Review

I saw the TV episode version of this piece of art This was heavy, possibly the heaviest piece of bergman I've seen yet and it has gotten me realizing how terrible most dramas are compared to this. When I first got this in the mail from netflix I'll be blunt, I thought it was going to be a chore. It definitely was not one. The dialogue was quick and astonishingly realistic. It showed the rollercoaster with going through a divorce. I have never seen heartache and pointed brutal honesty done so well since 'Closer'.
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection

SiliasRuby

'Saraband' review

A quiet revisit to two emotionally distraught people, dealing with their emotions now still in a flux. I realize that you really have to be in a certain mood to watch bergman films. They get under your skin so much that it becomes scary and uncomfortable for your soul to open up to. The two of them have become so old that fighting doesn't seem logical or well worth it to do so. Its a completely beautiful film though...
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection