Fanny och Alexander (1982)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (written by)

Release Date:

17 June 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

En film av Ingmar Bergman

Plot:

The title characters are children in the exuberant and colorful Ekdahl household in a Swedish town early in the twentieth century...

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Bishop | Puppet | Christmas | Sweden

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Pernilla Allwin	...	Ekdahlska huset - Fanny Ekdahl
Bertil Guve	...	Ekdahlska huset - Alexander Ekdahl
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Ekdahlska huset - Carl Ekdahl
Allan Edwall	...	Ekdahlska huset - Oscar Ekdahl
Ewa Fröling	...	Ekdahlska huset - Emilie Ekdahl
Gunn Wållgren	...	Ekdahlska huset - Helena Ekdahl (as Gun Wållgren)
Jarl Kulle	...	Ekdahlska huset - Gustav Adolf Ekdahl
Jan Malmsjö	...	Biskopsgården - Bishop Edvard Vergerus
Christina Schollin	...	Ekdahlska huset - Lydia Ekdahl
Kerstin Tidelius	...	Biskopsgården - Henrietta Vergerus
Emelie Werkö	...	Ekdahlska huset - Jenny Ekdahl
Marianne Aminoff	...	Biskopsgården - Blenda Vergérus
Sonya Hedenbratt	...	Ekdahlska huset - Aunt Emma
Svea Holst	...	Ekdahlska huset - Miss Ester
Kristina Adolphson	...	Ekdahlska huset - Siri

Also Known As:

Fanny and Alexander (UK) (USA)
Fanny et Alexandre (France)
Fanny und Alexander (West Germany)

Runtime:

188 min | Sweden:312 min (director's cut)

Country:

Sweden | France | West Germany

Language:

Swedish | German | Yiddish | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:T | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-13 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Norway:16 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Europa Studios, Bromma, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Cinematograph AB

Trivia:

Famous Swedish song and dance man Jan Malmsjö, who is playing the evil bishop Vergerus, thought it was strange that director Ingmar Bergman approached him for a role very much different from anything else he had done. He asked Ingmar Bergman, who replied: "Well, I sense some hidden dark and evil streaks inside you, Jan. You have it, I have it, all of us have."

Goofs:

Continuity: In the theatre scene, early in the movie, Georg Årlin, who plays a high ranking military man, is seen whispering with a person sitting next to him. The next shot shows other people talking, and then Årlin is seen behind them at the left corner, in conversation with no one, staring into space in front of him.

Quotes:

Ekdahlska huset - Helena Ekdahl: Are you sad because you've grown old?
Jacobis hus - Isak Jacobi: I'm certainly not. Everything's getting worse. Worse people, worse machines, worse wars... and worse weather. I'm glad I'll soon be dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Oi treis harites: Antistrofi metrisi" (1991)

Triumphant

This film could never have been made in the United States. I realize when it was made Bergman had been around for a long time and had his own clout but it still has too much of a philosophical slant to be mainstream here. This film is amazing. The first hour moves at a slow pace but it really sets up the rest of the movie well and then it really picks up. The cinematography is breathtaking and while this story makes you think a lot you don't feel ambivalent towards the characters through the rest of the first film after having been slowly introduced to all the characters you have a certain identifcation that is purely emotional and blends wonderfully with the other aspects of the film. It's truly great and should be considered one of Bergman's best works.