Customer Reviews

Ingmar Bergman: Magician and Prophet

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I read this book in my final years of college, when i was studying international film and writing for film---i was also studying and writing on Bergman's body of work in-depth, including watching all of his films. I loved this book as it offered some great insight, and was very easy to digest. Gervais
explores his films chronologically, touching on 'certain moments' [scenes] to help illustrate the 'magic' and 'power' [as well as addressing major thematic questioning and evolution] of Bergman. If possible, 'view inside the book' and see if you can read the Intoduction to understand how the book is written. Brilliant, intelligent and informed writing. An A+ book on Bergman in my opinion.
-Abel Rosenberg
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April 2006 Kiwibeak.com Review
A fantastic book that provides great insight into Bergman's films as a unified body of work. Easily conveyed and explained to the reader, the book is a definitive text study on Bergman.

Ingmar Bergman is a legendary film producer whose work had a seminal influence on an entire generation of filmmakers and whose films are still viewed today in film classes and speciality theaters throughout Europe and the United States. In Ingmar Bergman: Magician And Prophet, film scholar Marc Gervais explores how Bergman achieve his cinematic magic through his specific choices in the use of film language and the texturing and structuring of images, sounds, and rhythms. Gervais also shows how Bergman's work continues to resonate with new generations of viewers. Ingmar Bergman: Magician And Prophet is a "must" for all Bergman fans and students of the history of cinema.

Although this book has received high praises on Amazon.com, I cannot share this enthusiasm. The main problem with this book is that it is too superficial, and too cursory. Bergman's films are loaded with meaning, symbol, and depth. This book unfortunately, is lacking in depth. The author reviews each film, and then picks out one scene or theme of each movie and discusses it. He grossly simplifies each Bergman film, and thus fails to explicate the richness of his films. The author's analysis of a key scene from The Seventh Seal is trivial and added nothing to my understanding of Bergman as a dirctor. My advice: skip this book and listen to the audio commentaries on Bergman's DVD's. They are much more illuminating.