The Serpent's Egg (1977)

Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American circus acrobat living in poverty-stricken Berlin following Germany's defeat in World... See full summary »

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Liv Ullmann, David Carradine, Gert Fröbe

Cast

Credited cast:
Liv Ullmann	...	Manuela Rosenberg
David Carradine	...	Abel Rosenberg
Gert Fröbe	...	Inspector Bauer (as Gert Froebe)
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 (as Erna Bruenell)
Paul Burian	...	Experiment person
Hildegard Busse	...	Prostitute
Paul Bürks	...	Cabaret Comedian (as Paul Buerks)
Gaby Dohm	...	Woman with baby
Hans Eichler	...	Max

Storyline

Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American circus acrobat living in poverty-stricken Berlin following Germany's defeat in World War I. When his brother commits suicide, Abel seeks refuge in the apartment of an old acquaintance Professor Veregus. Desperate to make ends meet in the war-ravaged city, Abel takes a job in Veregus' clinic, where he discovers the horrific truth behind the work of the strangely beneficent professor and unlocks the chilling mystery that drove his brother to kill himself.

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Plot Keywords:

clinic | suicide | serpent | circus | cabaret | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 February 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

El huevo de la serpiente

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 2,359,946 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, De Laurentiis, Rialto Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Near the beginning of the movie Manuela is said to live at Bergmanstrasse, which is German for "Bergman's street". This movie was directed by Ingmar Bergman.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Abel Rosenberg: I wake up from a nightmare and find that real life is worse than the dream.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.33 (2005)

User Reviews

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.