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Persona

  • 1966
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
136K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,593
75
Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann in Persona (1966)
Theatrical Trailer
Play trailer5:01
1 Video
99+ Photos
Psychological DramaDramaThriller

A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.

  • Director
    • Ingmar Bergman
  • Writer
    • Ingmar Bergman
  • Stars
    • Bibi Andersson
    • Liv Ullmann
    • Margaretha Krook
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    136K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,593
    75
    • Director
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • Writer
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • Stars
      • Bibi Andersson
      • Liv Ullmann
      • Margaretha Krook
    • 306User reviews
    • 100Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 8 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Persona
    Trailer 5:01
    Persona

    Photos163

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    + 157
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    Top cast5

    Edit
    Bibi Andersson
    Bibi Andersson
    • Alma
    Liv Ullmann
    Liv Ullmann
    • Elisabet Vogler
    Margaretha Krook
    Margaretha Krook
    • The Doctor
    Gunnar Björnstrand
    Gunnar Björnstrand
    • Mr. Vogler
    Jörgen Lindström
    Jörgen Lindström
    • Elisabet's Son
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • Writer
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to himself, Ingmar Bergman fell in love with Liv Ullmann during the making of the movie.
    • Goofs
      The part where Alma reads a passage from her book to Elisabeth at the beach was translated clumsily to English version where the passage loses most of its meaning.
    • Quotes

      The Doctor: I understand, all right. The hopeless dream of being - not seeming, but being. At every waking moment, alert. The gulf between what you are with others and what you are alone. The vertigo and the constant hunger to be exposed, to be seen through, perhaps even wiped out. Every inflection and every gesture a lie, every smile a grimace. Suicide? No, too vulgar. But you can refuse to move, refuse to talk, so that you don't have to lie. You can shut yourself in. Then you needn't play any parts or make wrong gestures. Or so you thought. But reality is diabolical. Your hiding place isn't watertight. Life trickles in from the outside, and you're forced to react. No one asks if it is true or false, if you're genuine or just a sham. Such things matter only in the theatre, and hardly there either. I understand why you don't speak, why you don't move, why you've created a part for yourself out of apathy. I understand. I admire. You should go on with this part until it is played out, until it loses interest for you. Then you can leave it, just as you've left your other parts one by one.

    • Alternate versions
      The American version, released by United Artists, omits a brief close-up shot of an erect penis from the film's pre-credit collage.
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Adagio from Concerto No. 2 in E major for Violin, Strings and Continuo, BWV 1042
      Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

    User reviews306

    Featured review

    Love Poem to Liv Ullmann

    There are few motion pictures that rely on bodily expression and imagery as most films depend too much on dialogue and speech. Persona(1966) is one of those raw movies that succeeds almost on a metaphysical level. Its about the relationship between an actress who broke down during a stage performance and the nurse who is assigned to take care of her. Bergman's camera has a fascination with Ullmann's figure as most of the film's closeup shots are on her. Liv Ullmann does an outstanding job in playing a character that hardly utters a line of dialogue.

    There are a few scenes where the image dominates the screen in a manner that hasn't been done successfully since the silent film period. The director, Ingmar Bergman did an excellent job in presenting powerful images with the use of natural sound. Persona(1966) is a triumph of acting because both Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann are terrific in their perspective roles. There is hardly any movie music and this adds to the tension between the two women. Its a film that was deserving of a Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1966.

    One scene that was wonderful is when Alma describes her life to her patient. Another excellent scene is when Mr. Vogler mistakes Alma for his wife(its as if he too has suffered a breakdown and has failed to recognize his own wife). Finally, the sequence where Alma and Mrs. Vogler's image blends together to form one person. Its an errie image because they cease to exist as individual people. Persona(1966) would influence Robert Altman very greatly when he directed the film, Three Women(1977).
    • eibon09
    • Sep 18, 2000
    • Permalink

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 16, 1967 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Sweden
    • Languages
      • Swedish
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El pecado compartido
    • Filming locations
      • Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden
    • Production company
      • AB Svensk Filmindustri
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $90,813
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • AGA Sound System
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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