The Serpent's Egg (1977)

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Berlin 1923! A dangerous time to be alive and stay that way!

Plot:

Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American...

Plot Keywords:

1920s | Nazism | Terror | Actual Animal Killed | Inhumanity

Cast

David Carradine	...	Abel Rosenberg
Liv Ullmann	...	Manuela Rosenberg
Heinz Bennent	...	Hans Vergerus
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Isolde Barth	...	Girl in uniform
Toni Berger	...	Mr. Rosenberg
Christian Berkel	...	Student
Richard Bohne	...	Police officer
Paula Braend	...	Mrs. Hemse
Erna Brünell	...	Mrs. Rosenberg
Paul Burian	...	Experiment person
Paul Bürks	...	Cabaret comedian
Hildegard Busse	...	Prostitute
Gaby Dohm	...	Woman with baby
Hans Eichler	...	Max
Emil Feist	...	Miser
Kai Fischer
Gert Fröbe	...	Inspector Bauer
Herbert Fux
Renate Grosser	...	Prostitute
Heino Hallhuber	...	Bride
Georg Hartmann	...	Hollinger
Edith Heerdegen	...	Mrs. Holle
Rosemarie Heinikel	...	Girl in uniform
Klaus Hoffmann
Grischa Huber	...	Stella
Harry Kalenberg	...	Coroner
Volkert Kraeft
Andrea L'Arronge	...	Girl in uniform
Gunther Malzacher	...	Husband
Lisi Mangold	...	Mikaela
Beverly McNeely	...	Girl in uniform
Günter Meisner
Anne Mertin
Hubert Mittendorf	...	Comforter
Kyra Mladeck	...	Miss Dorst
Heide Picha	...	Wife
Hans Quest	...	Dr. Silbermann
Charles Régnier	...	Doctor
Walter Schmidinger	...	Solomon
Irene Steinbeisser	...	Groom
Fritz Strassner	...	Dr. Soltermann
Glynn Turman	...	Monroe
Ellen Umlauf	...	Hostess
Hertha von Walther	...	Woman in street
Wolfgang Weiser	...	Civil servant
James Whitmore	...	The Priest
Ralf Wolter

Also Known As:

Das Schlangenei (West Germany)

Runtime:

Argentina:120 min | USA:119 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Norway:18 | UK:18 (video rating) (1990) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

De Laurentiis

Trivia:

Ingmar Bergman had planned to have a horse killed on camera to show the desperation of the German people during the Weimar Republic's inflation crisis of 1923. David Carradine said he would walk off the film if Bergman went ahead with is plans. Bergman compromised, and the horse was killed off-screen, but the corpse is shown, as an impoverished man offers up handfuls of offal to Carradine's character.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Nazi-looking thugs that are beating up people are wearing Model 1943 German army caps and 1940s style clothing. This film is supposed to take place in the 1920s.

Quotes:

Hans Vergerus: [explains the upcoming social and political developments in Germany to Abel Rosenberg] It's like a serpent's egg. Through the thin membranes, you can clearly discern the already perfect reptile.

Movie Connections:

Featured in German Expressionism (2004) (V)

Is It Really The Master's Mistake?

Fear, Loathing, and Despair in Berlin, November 1923

This film universally considered "the master's failure" but I don't agree with the statement. It is very different from the rest of Bergman's films I've seen but that does not make it failure for me. It is only Bergman's second film in English and it boasts an unusual for his films large budget (Dino De Laurentis was a producer) with enormous and elaborate sets. Bergman was able to recreate on the screen Germany (Berlin) of 1920th exactly how it was seen in the films of 1920th German directors - Fritz Lang's films come to mind first. Another film that The Serpent's Egg reminded me of was Bob Fosse's Cabaret - the theme of the Feast during the Time of Plague sounds very prominent in both films, and the cabaret's musical numbers in Bergman's film could've came from Fosse's. I was very impressed by Liv Ullmann's singing and dancing in the beginning of the film - she can do anything.

In spite of the film's obvious differences from Bergman's earlier work, it explores many of his favorite themes. It is in part a political film about the helpless, distressed and terrorized members of society that face the merciless and inevitable force of history and are perished without a trace in the process. Also like the earlier films, The Serpent's Egg explores its characters' self-isolation, inability to communicate, their attempt to cope with the pain of living, their despair, fear, and disintegration.

The Serpent's Egg may not be a perfect film and a lot has been said about the abrupt and heavy handed ending, the dialogs that don't always work, and David Carradine's performance as a main character. Perfect or not, I think it is an interesting, visually always amazing (cinematography by Sven Nykvist is above any praise) and very honest and thorough study of the human condition in the unbearable situation.

In the documentary 'Serpent's Egg: Away From Home' (2004), Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann and David Carradine talk about making the film, how it started and how and why it was so different. Liv said that couple of years ago she and Bergman had seen The Serpent's Egg for the first time, and they both liked it. I am in a good company, then, because I believe that Serpent's Egg is an unforgettable film and everyone who was involved in making it should not be ashamed of it. I am yet to see a Bergman's film that I don't like.