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bibliothecarivs's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
 My sixth and final Bergman-related book of 2022Â
mondovertigo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
dane_h's review against another edition
3.0
My main problem with this book is its lack of sequential logic, and, as an extension, its lack of discipline. The publishers claim it's "written" by Bergman, when it's in fact transcriptions from Lasse Bergstrom's interviews with him, presented as if Bergman had sat down and written it. As such, the book is presented in dry prose format, but mined from material that floated off the top of Bergman's head. He tends to sound like a character in one of his films -- less insightful into his artistic process and more obfuscating, poetic, writhing around in his stereotypical existential agony ("The film is a tombstone over a traumatic conflict, which ran like an inflamed nerve throughout throughout my conscious life.")
The organization of Images is also confusing: It is not in chronological order, which I would have preferred -- Bergman is unique in that he wasn't born a great director. It took him as long as other directors' careers to "become" Bergman; I wanted to learn how his life correlated to the trajectory of his films. Instead, they organize it arbitrarily by "theme": for some reason Wild Strawberries, Persona, and Cries and Whispers -- three completely different films from completely different eras in his career -- are lumped in to "Dreams Dreamers." Huh?
So this is, for the most part, a disappointing read. It is worth it, though, for good little moments that would delight fans who have seen enough of his stuff. If the names Liv, Harriet, Bibi, Max, Gunnar, and Ingrid mean something to you, his discussions of how much he loves his actors near the end of his book is wonderful. His discussion of his "First Films" is the only section that works through things sequentially, and it's fascinating to hear him talk practically about how worked his way from the lower ranks of the Swedish studio system to eventually become... ya know, Ingmar Bergman. And, of course, there's this, which is basically catnip for film dorks:
"If I had had the strength to do what I intended to do at the beginning, it would not have turned out that way. I love and admire the filmmaker Tarkovsky and believe him to be one of the greatest of all time. My admiration for Fellini is limitless. But I also feel that Tarkovsky began to make Tarkovsky films and that Fellini began to make Fellini films. Yet Kurosawa has never made a Kurosawa film. I have never been able to appreciate Buñuel. He discovered at an early stage that it is possible to fabricate ingenious tricks, which he elevated to a special kind of genius, particular to Buñuel, and then he repeated and varied his tricks. He always received applause. Buñuel nearly always made Buñuel films. So the time has come for me to look in the mirror and ask: Where are we going? Has Bergman begun to make Bergman films?"
The organization of Images is also confusing: It is not in chronological order, which I would have preferred -- Bergman is unique in that he wasn't born a great director. It took him as long as other directors' careers to "become" Bergman; I wanted to learn how his life correlated to the trajectory of his films. Instead, they organize it arbitrarily by "theme": for some reason Wild Strawberries, Persona, and Cries and Whispers -- three completely different films from completely different eras in his career -- are lumped in to "Dreams Dreamers." Huh?
So this is, for the most part, a disappointing read. It is worth it, though, for good little moments that would delight fans who have seen enough of his stuff. If the names Liv, Harriet, Bibi, Max, Gunnar, and Ingrid mean something to you, his discussions of how much he loves his actors near the end of his book is wonderful. His discussion of his "First Films" is the only section that works through things sequentially, and it's fascinating to hear him talk practically about how worked his way from the lower ranks of the Swedish studio system to eventually become... ya know, Ingmar Bergman. And, of course, there's this, which is basically catnip for film dorks:
"If I had had the strength to do what I intended to do at the beginning, it would not have turned out that way. I love and admire the filmmaker Tarkovsky and believe him to be one of the greatest of all time. My admiration for Fellini is limitless. But I also feel that Tarkovsky began to make Tarkovsky films and that Fellini began to make Fellini films. Yet Kurosawa has never made a Kurosawa film. I have never been able to appreciate Buñuel. He discovered at an early stage that it is possible to fabricate ingenious tricks, which he elevated to a special kind of genius, particular to Buñuel, and then he repeated and varied his tricks. He always received applause. Buñuel nearly always made Buñuel films. So the time has come for me to look in the mirror and ask: Where are we going? Has Bergman begun to make Bergman films?"
eric_peartree's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
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