On Reflection

[poliphilo]

The Guardian gave Bergman a rather grudging obituary. We used to think he was a great director, the guy said. Now we know  the true greats are Ozu, Dreyer,  Bresson, Rosselini and Renoir.

Hmmmm....

Seems like Bergman just isn't obscure enough.

I love Ozu, but he makes the same film over and over again. I haven't seen anything of Dreyer's for ages. Bresson- with his amateur actors, ruthless minimalism and refusal to crack a smile- always seems to me to be teetering on the edge of absurdity. Rosselini I understand to be historically important (Rome, Open City and all that) but he's never grabbed me. Renoir's fine.

But it's absurd to argue over matters of taste. 

Bergman's death has hit me so hard because he was the last of the great film makers who dominated the middle decades of the 20th century. That was when film meant something, when it was still taken seriously. The others in the gang were Bunuel, Antonioni, Fellini, Pasolini, Kurosawa, Ray, the French New Wavers. Tarkovsky came along a little later. They made films that challenged and defined the culture, that created the weather.  OK, most of the French New Wavers are still alive but they no longer make films that matter. Bergman never ceased to matter. 

Maybe this is just an old man's moan, but it seems to me as if cinema itself  is dead.

Comments

[sovay]

Maybe this is just an old man's moan, but it seems to me as if cinema itself is dead.

I don't know if cinema itself is dead. But I think it matters that Bergman is gone.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Obviously the cinema isn't really dead, but I think its golden age is over.

Which isn't to that there may not be another golden age in the future.

[sovay]

Which isn't to that there may not be another golden age in the future.

That's what I'm hoping for: this year has been brutal on artists who created work I care about.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's possible cinema will morph into something else. There's talk of 3D becoming the norm. I can't imagine Bergman or any of his contemporaries wanting to work in 3D, but maybe a new generation of artists will grab hold of the possibilities and run with them.

[sovay]

There's talk of 3D becoming the norm.

*blink*

I think I'm old-fashioned . . .

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Me too.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

Do you know this guy? http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/marker.html

I am just listening to a review of his work that calls him "the Voltaire of film".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've seen La Jetee and A.K.- his film about Kurosawa- but I can't say I've formed an opinion of his work. La Jetee is highly original and A.K. is a fairly run of the mill documentary. Thanks for the link. It makes me want to know more....

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

There's new Criterion DVD of two of his films--La Jete and another one--not AK. That's what the review of. It definitely seems much more your taste than mine.

[sculptruth.livejournal.com]

...That was when film meant something, when it was still taken seriously.

I don't know if cinema is dead; it certainly seems all the aspects of older film are not at all present in contemporary film. Poignant/profound/witty dialogue; creativity.

Certainly, there is no longer a Bergman. Perhaps we are not only mourning his death, but the death of his kind.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've been asking myself if there's anyone around today who belongs up there with Bergman et al. I don't think there is.

David Lynch, maybe.

[ibid.livejournal.com]

Not yet!
Bergman had not made a film in some time so I don't really think you could mourn him so much, had he been still active that's another matter.

Just as long as Herzog and Watkins make another film apiece...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

He made his last film as recently as 2003 but, yes, he had finally retired.

Watkins and Herzog both seem to have difficulty getting funding for their work. When did Watkins last receive a commission from the BBC? What people insist on calling "art house cinema" ( a term I detest) has been marginalised.

[ibid.livejournal.com]

Watkins has not recieved a comission since the War Game scandal. His last film was 'La commune' in 2000, it was subsidised by French tv but shown in the graveyard slot as it was too 'difficult'.