BTLXX 1983: Ingmar Bergman Bids Farewell to Film

Ingmar Bergman Bids Farewell to Film (Ingmar Bergman tar farväl av filmenb). Nils-Petter Sundgren. 1983. ⭐⭐⭐⭐★★.

Hey! Another documentary following Fanny & Alexander. The previous one was a fly-on-the-wall “making of”, and it was absolutely brilliant. This one is basically a guy interviewing Bergman about Fanny & Alexander for an hour.

For what it is, it’s good, but it’s completely unambitious.

I got my copy of this, too, from the Criterion bluray.

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.

BTLXIX 1985: The Making of Fanny & Alexander

The Making of Fanny & Alexander (Dokument Fanny och Alexander ). Ingmar Bergman. 1985. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

I’ve seen more than a handful of “making of” films, but this is pretty unique. The documentary camera person is present throughout the filming and must have been just a few inches from the cinematographer. It really feels as if we’re present at the shoot; boring bits and all. No boring voice-over to explain what we’re seeing, just a few interstitial cards making a few comments.

It’s mostly technical details and people walking around trying to make minutia correct.

It’s absolutely fascinating.

I got my version of this from the Criterion bluray edition.

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.

BTLXVIII 1984: Karin’s Face

Karin’s Face (Karins ansikte). Ingmar Bergman. 1984. ⭐⭐⭐⭐★★.

This short is basically Bergman showing us some pictures from his family album, with an emphasis on pictures of his mom.

I got my copy off of teh torrenzes.

The accompanying music is sentimental in the extreme. Perhaps Bergman should have used a disco soundtrack instead.

But it’s quite moving somehow.

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.

BTLXVII 1984: After the Rehersal

After the Rehersal (Efter repetitionen). Ingmar Bergman. 1984. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐★.

Bergman insists that he had meant for Fanny & Alexander to be his final theatrical release, but After the Rehearsal ended up being released for cinemas in the US anyway. That’s the version on this DVD, I think, because it looks super-grainy and very crackly and isn’t in 4:3.

The original was done for TV, but shot on 16mm. Perhaps as a result of this, Bergman would do his subsequent TV films on video, and with multiple cameras, and this made Bergman’s long time cinematographer Sven Nyqist bow out, so this is his final Bergman film.

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.