Monday, July 30, 2007

Ingmar Bergman Dies at 89



Ingmar Bergman, one of THE greatest directors died today at the age of 89. (NYT obit) I will never forget my first encounter with a Bergman film. That scene from Wild Strawberies, where the funeral procession just drolls on and on as it moves slowly down the street. Horses... clip clop.... And then... bada AHHHH ! If you've seen it, you know. if not - i couldn't spoil it for you. It's too much fun. Later, I watched the Seventh Seal - so creepy and ethereal. And saw a bunch more too.... with still so many more to see. (I am not even a quarter of the way thru all his films). Ingmar Bergman changed the course of film. He made it some kind of spiritual and heightened experience. On so many levels and layers. He was a true artist. A ground breaker. May God bless Ingmar Bergman and all the great works he made in the course of his long and fruitful lifetime. We'll miss him.

Here's one of my favorites, The Brink of Life, lesser known but really terrific.