Malaspina Great Books - Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007)

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The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Selections Annotated and Explained by Malaspina Great Books Web Editor Russell McNeil PhD

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius:
Selections Annotated and Explained
Russell McNeil, PhD
Editor, Malaspina Great Books

In 1862 the English literary critic and poet Matthew Arnold described Marcus Aurelius as "the most beautiful figure in history." The Stoicism of Aurelius is grounded in rationality and rests solidly on an ethical approach rooted in nature. Stoicism promises real happiness and joy in this life and a serenity that can never be soured by personal misfortune. This philosophy has universal appeal with practical implications on problems ranging from climate change and terrorism to the personal management of sickness, aging, depression and addiction. I truly believe that the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has much to offer us now...(Click on book cover for more)

Category:

Cinema

Name:

Ingmar Bergman

Birth Year:

1918

Death Year:

2007

Representative Image:

Biography, Lectures, and Research Links:

Malaspina Great Books - Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) Biography

Blog Ingmar Bergman!

Born in Uppsala, Sweden, to a Lutheran minister, Ingmar Bergman grew up surrounded by religious imagery and discussion. Bergman attended the Stockholm University and became interested in theater, and later in cinema.

His films usually deal with existential questions about mortality, loneliness, and faith; they are also usually direct and not overtly stylized. Persona, one of Bergman's most famous films, is unusual among Bergman's work for being both existentialist and avant-garde.

As a director, Bergman favors intuition over intellect, and chooses to be unaggressive in dealing with actors. Bergman sees himself as having a great responsibility toward them, whom he views as collaborators in a psychologically vulnerable position. He states that a director must be both honest and supportive to allow others their best work.

Bergman usually writes his own scripts, thinking about them for months or years before starting the actual process of writing, which he views as somewhat tedious. His earlier films are carefully structured, and are either based on plays or written with other authors, usually as a matter of convenience. Bergman states that in his later works, when his characters sometimes start wanting to do things different from what he had intended, he lets them, calling the results "disastrous" when he doesn't. Throughout his career, Bergman increasingly lets his actors improvise their dialogue. In his latest films, he has written just the ideas behind the dialogue, keeping in mind the general direction he thinks it should take. Bergman developed a personal "repertory company" of Swedish actors whom he repeatedly cast in his films, including Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Erland Josephson, and the late Ingrid Thulin. Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann was the last to join this group (in the 1966 film Persona), and ultimately became most closely associated with Bergman, both artistically and personally.

Bergman began working with Sven Nykvist, his cinematographer, in 1953. The two of them have sufficient rapport to allow Bergman not to worry about the composition of a shot until the day before it is filmed. On the morning of the shoot, he speaks to Nykvist briefly about the mood and composition he hopes for, and then leaves him to work without interruption or comment until they discuss the next day's work.

When viewing daily rushes, Bergman stresses the importance of being critical but unemotional, claiming that he asks himself not if the work is great or terrible, but if it is sufficient or if it needs to be reshot.

Bergman encourages young directors not to direct any film that does not have a "message," but to wait until one comes along that does, yet admits that he himself is not always sure of the message of some of his films. By Bergman's own accounts, he has never had a problem with funding. He cites two reasons for it: one, that he does not live in the United States, which he views as obsessed with box-office earnings; and two, that his films tend to be low-budget affairs. (Cries and Whispers, for instance, was finished for about $450,000, while Scenes from a Marriage--a six-episode television feature--cost only $200,000.) Bergman left Sweden for Munich when accused of tax evasion. Though he was later cleared of the charges, he remained in Munich and did not film again in Sweden until 1982. In 1982 he directed Fanny and Alexander. Bergman stated that the film would be his last, and that afterwards he would focus on directing theater. Since then he has directed a number of television specials and written several additional scripts, though he does continue to work in theater. In 2003, Bergman, at 86 years old, directed a new film, Saraband, that represents a departure from his previous works.

When asked about his movies, he says he holds Persona and Cries and Whispers highest in regard, though in an interview in 2004, Bergman said that he is 'depressed' by his own films and cannot watch them anymore. In these films, he says, he managed to push the medium to its limit. He has denounced the critical classification of three of his films (Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light and The Silence) as a trilogy: he had no intention of so connecting them, and cannot see any common motifs in them.

His daughter Eva Bergman (born 1945), is also a director, as is his son Daniel Bergman. He is also the father of writer Linn Ullmann, with actress Liv Ullmann.

In 1970, Bergman received The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Filmography

Saraband (2003)(TV)
Faithless (2000)
In The Presence of a Clown (1997) (TV)
Karin's Face (1986) (Karins ansikte) (TV)
Fanny and Alexander (1982) (Fanny och Alexander) (won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)
After Practise (1982) (Efter repetitionen)
From the Life of the Marionettes (1980) (Aus dem Leben der Marionetten)
Autumn Sonata (1978)
The Serpent's Egg (1977) (Das Schlangenei)
The Magic Flute (1975), first shown on Swedish television, followed by a cinematic release
Face to Face (1975) (Ansikte mot ansikte)
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Cries and Whispers (1973) (Viskningar och rop) (won Academy Award for Best Cinematography)
The Touch (1971)
The Passion of Anna (1969) (En passion)
Hour of the Wolf (1968) (Vargtimmen)
The Rite (1968) (Riten) (TV)
Shame (1968) (Skammen)
Persona (1966)
All These Women (1964)
Winter Light (1963)
The Silence (1963) (Tystnaden)
Through a Glass Darkly (1961) (won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)
The Virgin Spring (1960) (won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film)
The Devil's Eye (1960)
Brink of Life (1958)
The Magician (1958) (Ansiktet )
Wild Strawberries (1957)
The Seventh Seal (1957) (Det sjunde inseglet)
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) (Sommarnattens leende)
Dreams (1955)
A Lesson in Love (1954)
Summer with Monika (1953) (Sommaren med Monika)
The Naked Night (1953) (Gycklarnas afton)
Secrets of Women (1952)
Summerplay (1951) (Sommarlek)
To Joy (1950)
This Can't Happen Here (1950)
Thirst (1949)
Prison (1949)
Port of Call (1948) (Hamnstad)
Music in Darkness (1948)
A Ship to India (1947) (Skepp till India land)
It Rains on Our Love (1946)
Crisis (1946) (Kris)