The Magician
| Director | Ingmar Bergman |
|---|---|
| Year | 1958 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Runtime | 1h 36m |
| Language |
Swedish
In Swedish with English Subtitles
|
| Format | DCP |
| TMDB | View entry |
Synopsis
Max Von Sydow’s face was made for cinema—his starry-eyed gaze is redolent of silent film stars. This expressionist quality is at its height in THE MAGICIAN, in which he spends a great deal of the film performing without speech. In this battle of the wits between a Victorian-era traveling showman and a corrupt doctor, Van Sydow’s character is essentially a Bergman stand-in, a frustrated artist facing off against a bureaucratic and morally corroded society. Eerie and gorgeously shot in shadowy black and white, THE MAGICIAN casts a marvelous spell. It’s a film that brings us close to Bergman’s grievances about audiences and critics, and his appreciation of the transcendence of cinema. An absolutely essential work in Bergman’s oeuvre.
Listed at AFS
Archived on the AFS site between Tue, Jan 14 2025 and Tue, Dec 16 2025, across 3 captures. These dates are inferred from Wayback Machine captures and may not be accurate.