Today, on July 30th 2007, one of cinema’s remaing great directors passed away. For six decades Swedish director Ingmar Bergman made sometimes difficult, often beautiful, and always powerful films. We should regard his “track record” of awards, which include 9 Oscar nominations, and be more concerned with his influence. Kubrick said he was one of the few directors who were not “artistic opportunists”, referring to Bergman’s regularity and consistent quality throughout his lifetime. Woody Allen considered him a “genius”, and often copied Bergman’s style for his own dramas. For Ang Lee, Bergman was “number one”, Ebert called him the greatest living filmmaker, and Spielberg was intimidated by him.

I remember my first true experience with a Bergman film. My local arthouse cinema had a retrospective on the man. I picked Persona. It’s a film that is both difficult and profound. It retains an experimentalism and prowess that left me reeling as I left the cinema. Persona remains one of my favourite films to date. The film has inspired directors from Woody Allen to David Lynch.

But Bergman is more than what some may consider inaccessible art-house. For the director’s main strength was his ability to understand and chart human feelings and interactions. His TV drama Scenes from a Marriage is a stark and raw portrayal of a relationship. And Fanny and Alexander is a glorious celebration of the imagination. As he said in an introduction to his Four Screenplays:

People ask what are my intentions with my films — my aims. It is a difficult and dangerous question, and I usually give an evasive answer: I try to tell the truth about the human condition, the truth as I see it.

Bergman’s most famous film is The Seventh Seal, where a knight plays chess with death as he struggles to find meaning in existence. It’s a rare film that is not only visually stunning and iconic, but is meaningful in an accessible manner. If you like cinema in any form, do yourrself a favour and watch this film. At the very least, you’ll understand the reference in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.

Bergman died at the age of 89.

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