The Serpent's Egg (1977)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

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:

Terror | Nazism | Inhumanity | Circus Performer | Nudity

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:

Schlangenei, Das (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) | 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:

Dustin Hoffman was offered the lead role but turned it down.

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:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in German Expressionism (2004) (V)

The Vision of a Master for the Seed of the Nazism

In November of 1923, in a Berlin where a pack of cigarettes costs four million marks and people has lost faith in the present and future days, the alcoholic and unemployed American acrobat Abel Rosenberg (David Carradine) loses his brother Max, who has just committed suicide after feeling depressed for a period. Seeing the modifications in the behavior of people, but without clearly understanding the reasons, Abel moves to the room of his former sister-in-law Manuela Rosenberg (Liv Ullmann), who works in a cabaret in the night and in a whorehouse in the morning. Together, they move to a small apartment near to the clinic of their acquaintance, Professor Hans Vergerus (Heinz Bennent), who gives a job opportunity to Abel in his clinic. While working in the place, Abel discloses the evil truth behind the researches of Hans.

"The Serpent's Egg" is an underrated, but also excellent work of Master Ingmar Bergman, one of my favorite directors. In the environment of a Germany with hyperinflation, where people in a moment exchanged marks in weight so fast the currency lost its value; lack of job opportunities, with massive unemployment; the great people and nation humiliated and hopeless, paying for the loss of World War I, Bergman presents his view for the seeds of the Nazism. He introduces the evil character of Professor Hans Vergerus and his sick experiments, and the common person Abel Rosenberg, who sees the modifications in a country where he has problems with communication, since he does not speak German, but can not understand. Unfortunately this movie has not been released on DVD in Brazil, and my VHS has a bad quality of image, impairing the magnificent cinematography, especially in the nocturnal shots. The cool David Carradine is in the best moment of his career and is amazing in the role of Abel Rosenberg. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Ovo da Serpente" ("The Serpent's Egg")