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The Silence (1963 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Silence | |
|---|---|
 Region 1 DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Produced by | Allan Ekelund |
| Written by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Starring | Ingrid Thulin Gunnel Lindblom Birger Malmsten Håkan Jahnberg Jörgen Lindström |
| Cinematography | Sven Nykvist |
| Distributed by | Svensk Filmindustri Palador Pictures Pvt. Ltd. (India) |
| Release date(s) |  September 23, 1963 3 February 1964 |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Language | Swedish |
| IMDb profile | |
The Silence (Swedish: Tystnaden) is a 1963 film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Ingrid Thulin and Gunnel Lindblom.
Contents |
Two sisters stop at a hotel in an unidentified European country on the brink of war or insurrection. The older, more cultured sister, Ester (Ingrid Thulin), who translates literature, is terminally ill, and her fear of death clouds her relationship with her younger, beautiful sister Anna (Gunnel Lindblom), who's depicted as the fleshly side of the spirit/flesh dichotomy. The younger sister neglects her son Johan (Jörgen Lindström) (a boy of 12 or so), who wanders the seemingly half-empty hotel.
- Ingrid Thulin - Ester
- Gunnel Lindblom - Anna
- Birger Malmsten - The Bartender
- Håkan Jahnberg - The Waiter
- Jörgen Lindström - Johan
After Bergman's death, in the New York Times, Woody Allen noted that the film opens up when you realize that the two women represent different aspects of the same woman.
In the film's most famous scene, Johan stares out of the window as a lone tank rolls down the street at night; in Against Interpretation, Susan Sontag considers it an all-too-obvious phallic symbol. According to critic Leo Braudy, Bergman intended the film as "a rendering of hell on earth — my hell."[citation needed]
The film has been classified as a "landmark of modernist cinema" alongside Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura (1960), and Luis Buñuel's Belle de Jour (1967).[1] Popular film critic Vernon Young reversed his position on Bergman and admitted in 1971 that The Silence was an "extraordinary achievement in its way...The Silence rewards effort..."[2]
The Silence was released without censorship in Sweden in October, 1963, but the original directors cut included controversial sex scenes, homosexuality, nudity, masturbation, urination, and strong language, leading to a "storm of controversy" with censor boards at the time.[3][4][5]
According to Jerry Vermilye, The Silence "...achieved a measure of sensationalistic attention by dint of its scenes of sensuality, mild though they were. It raised a great deal of controversy in Sweden, and its notoriety continued to raise hackles elsewhere in Europe. All of which attracted the attention of filmgoers; in Britain and the United States it became a considerable hit, perhaps for reasons of prurience rather than art."[6]
Due to its reputation for "pornographic sequences" the film became a financial success.[2]
- ^ Michaels, Lloyd (2000). Ingmar Bergman's Persona. Cambridge University, 21. ISBN 0521656982.
- ^ a b Gado, Frank (1986). The Passion of Ingmar Bergman. Duke University Press, 305. ISBN 0822305860.
- ^ Robertson, James Crighton (1993). The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action, 1913-1975. Routledge, 127-128. ISBN 0415090342.
- ^ Morwaski, Stefan (1974). Inquiries Into the Fundamentals of Aesthetics. MIT Press, 375. ISBN 0262130963.
- ^ von Bagh, Peter; Per Olov Qvist (2000). Guide to the Cinema of Sweden and Finland. Greenwood Press, 16. ISBN 0313303770.
- ^ Vermilye, Jerry (2002). Ingmar Bergman: His Life and Films. McFarland & Company, 28. ISBN 0786411600.
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| 1940s | Crisis • It Rains on Our Love • A Ship to India • Music in Darkness • Port of Call • Prison • Thirst |
| 1950s | To Joy • This Can't Happen Here • Summer Interlude • Secrets of Women • Summer with Monika • Sawdust and Tinsel • A Lesson in Love • Dreams • Smiles of a Summer Night • The Seventh Seal • Wild Strawberries • Brink of Life • The Magician |
| 1960s | The Virgin Spring • The Devil's Eye • Through a Glass Darkly • Winter Light • The Silence • All These Women • Persona • Hour of the Wolf • Shame • The Rite • The Passion of Anna |
| 1970s | The Touch • Cries and Whispers • Scenes from a Marriage • The Magic Flute • Face to Face • The Serpent's Egg • Autumn Sonata |
| 1980s | From the Life of the Marionettes • Fanny and Alexander • Karin's Face • After the Rehearsal |
| 1990s | In the Presence of a Clown |
| 2000s | The Image Makers • Saraband |
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