Movie Greats

I just thought I'd say a little bit about Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni, both of whom have died this week. Yes, two of the world's greatest film directors have gone within a day of each other.

I was moved to hear of Bergman's death, although he did, of course, live to a fine age (89). I don't qualify as a huge fan, so far: I have only seen about half a dozen of his films - inc. Smiles of a Summer Night, Wild Strawberries, Through a Glass Darkly, Persona, Cries and Whispers and Fanny and Alexander - but I was impressed with all of them (especially the later ones). And I've been looking forward to seeing the likes of Shame, The Magic Flute, Face to Face and Autumn Sonata.

As well as some of his features, I greatly enjoyed The Making of Fanny and Alexander (which is included in Criterion's Fanny and Alexander 5-disc box set). This is a two-hour on-set documentary, filmed and compiled by Bergman himself, in which we get an insight into the man at work on the set of what he announced as his final theatrical feature. Instead of a standard narration, it generally shows footage of activities on the set intercut with title cards explaining things (or sometimes just giving quotes which can then be applied to what we're seeing). It is a very effective way of seeing how a director (and a film set) works. The intricacy with which he and cinematographer Sven Nykvist set up one shot at the bedside of Fanny and Alexander's dying father illustrates his mastery.

Antonioni was 94, and had been slowed somewhat in his output after suffering a stroke in the 1980s. I like Antonioni's films a lot. In fact, only a week ago I watched L'eclisse again and realised something I hadn't felt about it before, that its study of a woman looking for love in 'the city' is absorbing.

His most famous English language movie is probably Blowup, which helped define swinging London and managed to combine Antonioni's familiar preoccupations with the plot twists of a classic mystery. But who can forget L'eclisse, Zabriskie Point and The Passenger? (He did great endings.) Or L'avventura, with the woman who disappears? And then there are his fifties films, such as I vinti and Il grido, which explore their flawed characters' lives with tenderness and compassion. In all of his movies, he had a way of filming the action so as to elucidate the search for one's 'place' in the world. These are highly significant works and, along with Bergman's, will resonate for years to come.

To add to the pile-up, actor Michel Serrault has also passed away in the last few days. He played lots of fine roles in French cinema, such as Ugo Tognazzi's camp partner who drags up in an attempt to please in La Cage aux Folles, and M. Arnaud in Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud opposite Emmanuelle Béart in 1996.

Hopefully there won't be any more cinema deaths for a while!