Persona (1966)

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (story)

Release Date:

16 March 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Previously unseen Director's Cut

Plot:

A nurse is put in charge of an actress who can't talk and finds that the actress's persona is melding with hers.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Nurse | Medical | Beach | Silence

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bibi Andersson	...	Alma, The Nurse
Liv Ullmann	...	Elisabeth Vogler, The Actress
Margaretha Krook	...	The Doctor
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Mr. Vogler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jörgen Lindström	...	The Boy, Elisabeth's Son (uncredited)

Directed by
Ingmar Bergman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ingmar Bergman		story and screenplay

Produced by
Ingmar Bergman	....	producer

Original Music by
Lars Johan Werle

Cinematography by
Sven Nykvist

Film Editing by
Ulla Ryghe

Production Design by
Bibi Lindström

Costume Design by
Mago

Makeup Department
Tina Johansson	....	assistant makeup artist
Börje Lundh	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Lars-Owe Carlberg	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lenn Hjortzberg	....	assistant director
Bo Arne Vibenius	....	assistant director (as Bo Vibenius)

Art Department
Karl-Arne Bergman	....	property master (as Karl Arne Bergman)

Sound Department
Evald Andersson	....	special sound effects
Lennart Engholm	....	sound
Olle Jacobsson	....	sound mixer
Per-Olof Pettersson	....	sound (as P.O. Pettersson)

Camera and Electrical Department
Anders Bodin	....	assistant camera
Lars Johnsson	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eivor Kullberg	....	costume assistant

Other crew
Kerstin Berg	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Distributors

• United Artists (1967) (Belgium) (theatrical) (as Les Artistes Associés S.A.B.)
• Lopert Pictures Corporation (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (video)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Gutek Film (2006) (Poland) (all media)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Gloria Filmverleih (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (UK)
• Video Yesteryear

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min | Argentina:80 min | USA:83 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

AGA Sound System

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2002) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1967) | France:Unrated | Portugal:M/16 | USA:Not Rated | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivia:

Susan Sontag wrote that she considered Persona the greatest film ever made.

Quotes:

Mr. Vogler:The important thing is the effort, not what we achieve.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

An intriguing, beguiling and fascinating look into the state of individual existence, psychosis and shared experiences

persona n 1: an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; 2: Jungian psychology A personal facade one presents to the world, a public image is "as fragile as Humpty Dumpty"

personas pl: The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one's public image or personality as distinguished from the inner self.

The above definitions help, at least a little, to understand or define the experience of Ingmar Bergmann's 1966 film "Persona".

"Persona" is an experience. And "Persona" IS experience. Indescribable not because it wants to be, but indescribable because it is. Who are we? Who do we want to be? Who are we comfortable being? Who do we need to be? And why? Some of the overlapping questions in this reviewer's mind during and after this engrossing and occasionally haunting work include, just how does this event and that event happen? Is it live, or is it memorex?? Most notably, Bergmann's skillful black-and-white film, which stars Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, raises complex and interesting questions through the simplest images and minimum movement of camera and actor. The visual psychology is remarkable, powerful. Sven Nykvist's textured cinematography vividly brings the power (and subtlety) alive. Close-ups of the two lead actors' faces, and their symmetry, blend to make strong suggestions about what is transpiring between the two characters.

The two characters, Alma the Nurse (Andersson) and Elisabet Vogel (Ullmann), a stage actress, share very little. Alternately, they might share quite a lot. Much more perhaps than they want to. Elisabet gives new meaning to the expression "silence is golden", and that expression serves the film perfectly. "Persona" is "Fight Club" before "Fight Club" -- without the noise, dizzying effects and backgrounds of David Fincher's 1999 film. In "Persona", everything, from the very beginning to the very end, happen for a reason. The minimalist aspects, the editing, the continuous metaphor laden within dialogue, movement, time and space; the fact that the film is in Swedish language with English white-text subtitles, and with surrealism engulfing the viewer, makes Bergmann's "Persona" a pleasure personified (excuse the pun). Indeed, "Persona" is explicit in feel, mood, tone, dialogue, revelation and imagery.

Together, Bergmann and Nykvist produce beautiful artistry. There are moments of deconstruction within the film to distance its audience, and this is an artistic statement designed to formulate questions in the viewer's mind, rather than to baffle the viewer. The moments of deconstruction of narrative/medium at the beginning, middle and end of "Persona" are what one might call psychological, not "special", effects, as audiences today are accustomed to. The black-and-white film stock of "Persona" symbolizes the gray areas residing around, within and between Alma and Elisabet. Seeing this film in a theater is a treat, and although it has been available on video for many years, it is amazing to experience on a big screen. With the artistry and visuals working to perfection to ingeniously challenge the audience, one is inclined to almost forget the great performances of Anderson and Ullmann.

Cinema, when articulated through films like "Persona", is never better.