Found this e-mail in my inbox from Anna Hakansson of the Swedish Film Institute about an hour ago:
Ingmar Bergman passed away today at his home on Fårö. He was 89.Astrid Söderbergh Widding, CEO of Ingmar Bergman Foundation:
Ingmar Bergman's passing away represents a loss of unfathomable magnitude. His artistic accomplishments were ground-breaking, unique - but also of a scope that covered film and theatre as well as literature. He was the internationally most renowned Swede, and just a few months ago his artistic achievement was incorporated into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. We remember him as a very bold person, always present, often biting in his comments. But he was often one step ahead of his contemporaries. Even when he grew old surprises from Fårö were not unexpected. I believe it will take some time before we fully understand that he is no longer with us, but also the importance of his art to other people. The steady stream of letters arriving here at the Ingmar Bergman Foundation since its inception testifies to that.
Also read Face to Face’s consideration of Bergman’s work as a filmmaker, here.
Face to Face also offers the possibility to express condolences by e-mailing info@ingmarbergman.se.
Very bummed about this, but at the same time, the man had a very long life and he certainly did a lot with it.
I just heard about it this morning. It's such a shame. I wonder, will there be comments about Saraband being his swan song?
Just a little shared history moment here:
It was the various critics' analysis of The Seventh Seal -- along with the multimedia add-ons -- in Cinemania '96 that first gave me a glimpse of how deep and how far I could go if I devoted a great portion of my life to the movies. So, thanks to you, Ebert, and Bergman, I am where I am now.
I was quite surprised myself and taken aback.
I was very uncertain about my own ideas and writing style until I came across Bergman. Some one that they did not include in the film school repertoire.
I had seen a couple of his films then it was Roger Ebert who suggested I see "Cries and Whispers".
He dies as my favorite director.
I was painfully saddened to hear of Bergman's passing this morning. Not many directors make 1 great movie in their career, but Bergman seemed incapable of making at least an interesting movie. For me "Persona" and "Fanny and Alexander" are two of the greatest movies I've ever seen. I was so struck by "Persona" when I saw it that I started it over and immediately watched it again. I don't know that I'll ever understand it fully, but I love it just the same. When Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullman's faced are melded together, I got goosebumps worse than I ever did from "The Shining" or "Halloween". When I first saw "Fanny and Alexander" (seeing it after "The Seventh Seal" and "Persona", but before "Cries and Whispers") I was surprised that the best Dickens movie ever made was not made from a Dickens book. I felt so moved that I had just experienced a true masterpiece of the movies, deep in visuals, theme, acting, etc. that I almost started crying from how good it was. I'm very sad about losing another of my favorite directors. Hitchcock, and Kurosawa are both gone and now Bergman joins them. Who knows how many movies we have left from Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg, and Allen. They're not getting any younger. Thankfully we'll always have their movies, in fact I may go watch "Fanny and Alexander" again as a personal tribute to the great, and already greatly missed, Ingmar Bergman.
I've only seen a few of Bergman's films, it was the same when Altman died a few months ago. I was turned off by Bergman for a long time because I experienced him at a young age and when I saw "The Seventh Seal" for the first time it disturbed me. Now that I'm a little older I can understand what Bergman was trying to say and in a way the film has become a comfort.
Bergman was one of my five or six favourite directors...I am very saddened by his passing. But as with Altman's death, it provides us with another incentive to reconsider and revisit the astounding body of work he has left us.
It bothers me that Bergman is often characterized as a somber, demanding director. There is so much humour, warmth and LIFE in masterpieces like "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries" and "Smiles of a Summer Night".
I'd also like to recommend a Bergman film that doesn't get much press, but I consider to be his greatest work, and one of the best films I have ever seen: "Shame". It's examination of the way war can exist on the periphery of a society is masterful, and a clear influence (not often cited) on Spielberg's underrated "War of the Worlds".
Antonioni too, today. Sad:
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2007/07/31/antonioni-obit.html
To me the four greats were Bergman, Kurosawa, Kubrick, and Fellini. Now they're all gone.
Since Bergman had retired, it's a little less depressing than when Altman died. But it's still depressing.
Also, did you hear that Antonioni just died?
Five major directors (Altman, Sembene, Yang, Bergman, and Antonioni) in less than a year. And four of them in the last two months. This is bad.
Bergman...and now Antonioni!?!?
Depressing week...very depressing...
WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT FILM DIRECTORS OF EUROPE?!?!??!