The Magician/Ansiktet/The Face (1958) or, Fool the Townfolk

9/09/2013

The Magician/Ansiktet/The Face (1958) or, Fool the Townfolk

♥♥♥♥♥

A strongly mystery-denoting original Swedish poster for Ingmar Bergman's The Magician

Dr. Vogler and his little troupe of con-men/magicians arrive in Södermalm, Sweden, in 1846, where they are confronted with the town's skeptical, haughty aristocrats.

The Magician is written and directed by Swedish master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (Face to Face/Ansikte mot Ansikte (1976)) as his 20th theatrical feature. The original title translates to, 'the face'.

As the masks fall in the film's compelling story, The Magician turns into a trembling showdown between judgemental, proud, pompous science and the right to believe and believe in superstition. The final ribbon that ties the tale together is a most merry one. There is plenty of both wisdom and foolishness before this.
The Magician is simply composed over diametric opposites and done in a frank and open-minded style with delightful acting, - especially from Ingrid Thulin (Winter Light/Nattvardsgästerna (1963)) and the other women.
This vivid gem blends comedy, thriller aspects and philosophy with drama in an elegant and enthusiastic way. It is a treasure from one of Bergman's most productive years, 1958, in which he directed two feature films and two TV movies.

Related posts:

Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander/Fanny och Alexander (1982) - Bergman's treasured mammoth drama farewell
All These Women/Now About These Women/För att Inte Tala om Alla Dessa Kvinnor (1964) - Bergman's pitifully awful farce

Watch a montage of the picturesque film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Magician was released 26 December (Sweden) and runs 107 minutes. The script was inspired by G.K. Chesterton's play Magic, which Bergman had previously staged. The film was shot in Stockholm, Sweden. It was chosen as Sweden's entry for the Oscars but didn't get nominated. It was nominated for a BAFTA and won 3 awards at the 1959 Venice Film Festival. Bergman returned with Storm Weather/Oväder (1960, TV movie) and theatrically with his masterpiece The Virgin Spring/Jungfrukällan (1960). Max Von Sydow (Dreamscape (1984)) returned in The Virgin Spring; Thulin in Älska (1959, TV movie), Vår Ofödde Son (1959, TV movie) and theatrically in The Judge/Domaren (1960); Gunnar Björnstrand (Taboo/Tabu (1977)) in Swinging at the Castle/Det Svänger på Slottet (1959); and Bibi Andersson (Drømspel (1994)) in Lilith (1959, TV movie) and theatrically in Den Kära Leken (1959). The Magician is fresh at 100 % with a 8.14/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Magician?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

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9/09/2013

The Magician/Ansiktet/The Face (1958) or, Fool the Townfolk

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