Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's name is virtually synonymous with the sort of intellectual European films that most critics love to praise—but that many moviegoers love to hate. His complex explorations of sweeping topics like loneliness, spiritual faith, love, and death have been closely imitated, but also parodied for their overt reliance on symbol and metaphor, for their philosophical dialogue, and for their arguably opaque dreamlike qualities. Famous Bergman images reappear throughout the spectrum of popular culture, images like that of Death, scythe in hand, leading a line of dancing victims through an open field, the figures silhouetted against the sky. Bergman began his prolific career in Stockholm during the 1930s. He directed theater and eventually radio and television dramas. His catalogue of over fifty films includes classics like The Seventh Seal (1956), Wild Strawberries (1957), Through a Glass Darkly (1960), and Fanny and Alexander (1983).

Further Reading:

Bergman, Ingmar. The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography. New York, Viking, 1988.

Cohen, Hubert. Ingmar Bergman: The Art of Confession. New York, Twayne, 1993.

Steene, Birgitta. Ingmar Bergman: A Guide to References and Resources. Boston, G.K. Hall, 1987.