Product Description

Great Britain released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: Swedish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Production Notes, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: When 'Vogler's Magnetic Health Theater' comes to town, there's bound to be a spectacle. Reading reports of a variety of supernatural disturbances at Vogler's prior performances abroad, the leading townspeople (including the police chief and medical examiner) request that their troupe provide them a sample of their act, before allowing them public audiences. The scientific-minded disbelievers try to expose them as charlatans, but Vogler and his crew prove too clever for them. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, Venice Film Festival,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #119673 in DVD
• Formats: Import, PAL, Subtitled
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Features

• THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER

Customer Reviews

"The Tortured Soul of an Artist or Smiles of a Summer Night meets Hour of the Wolf."
With the exception for the abrupt and somehow rushed and unsatisfying ending, "Magician" is a typical (in a good sense of the word) Bergman's film that I liked a lot. I would call it "The Tortured Soul of an Artist or Smiles of a Summer Night meets Hour of the Wolf." I did not know what to expect from the film and was pleasantly surprised by an interesting story; impressive (especially in the earlier scenes in the woods) black and white cinematography; perfect blend of humor, intense drama, and mystery. Acting was perfect - not a big surprise with the cast like that: Max von Sydow, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bibi Andersson, and Erland Josephson. I'd like to mention Naima Wifstrand as Granny Vogler - what a great actress and what a character - she stepped out from the pages of the fairy tales, the old witch, wise and powerful; she also provides many comical scenes.

Criterion, where are you?
I was lucky enough to see "The Magician" at a revival series in Baltimore about two years ago. All I need to say about this film is that it is vintage Bergman: haunting, at times hypnotic, at times humorous, and beautifully filmed. While it may not be as dark or intense as "The Seventh Seal," it is probably more accessible, and the climax scene is unforgettable. Here is my complaint - it is sadly unavailable in the U.S.! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Criterion Collection will eventually do the job. Until then, I'll just have to suffer!

INGMAR BERGMAN, OPUS 20
***1/2 1958. Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Special Jury Prize in Venice. Albert Emanuel Vogler's company has just arrived in town. Before being allowed to give public performances, Vogler, an hypnotizer and a magician, must give a performance in front of the local authorities. THE MAGICIAN is a film about the artist's condition and, as a consequence, about Bergman himself. Vogler is, like a movie director, a manipulative person who plays with his public, a mute cog in the process of film making who only recovers his voice in order to convince producers to finance his project. In this perspective, THE MAGICIAN handles all the literary themes about illusions: the make-up, the dead man who's not dead after all, magic, love, transvestite characters and so on. While, in my opinion, the first scenes in the forest and the final duel between Dr. Vergerus and Vogler are little jewels of cinema, the scenes at the Egerman's are rather long and theatrical. At this moment, the mise en scene doesn't do justice to the high quality of the screenplay. But THE MAGICIAN is still an indispensable movie for the Ingmar Bergman aficionado who sleeps in every movie lover's mind. Recommended.